Melissa Sipin

Creative Director

Melissa is an MFA graduate student at Mills College, studying creative writing with an emphasis in fiction. She graduated from the University of Southern California in 2010 and majored in English and philosophy.

Melissa was awarded the first full-tuition graduate assistantship in narrative writing and community engagement at Mills College. She coordinates and plans an extensive ethnic-studies curriculum in creative writing and counter-storytelling, partnering with the Filipino community and nonprofits in the San Francisco area. Melissa is also a marketing and production professional and is highly specialized in many industries, including publishing, bookmaking, nonprofit organization, marketing, and journalism.

In 2009, Melissa cofounded TAYO Literary Magazine, the first international literary journal dedicated to Filipino and Filipino American arts and culture. As creative director, she oversees its creative marketing, branding identity, design, outreach, and business development efforts.

She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2012 and her writing has been published or is forthcoming in Kweli Journal, Tidal Basin Review, and Kartika Review, among other publications.

Books that have affected my worldview:

1. Natural Goodness by Philippa Foot
2. Native Speaker by Chang-rae Lee
3. God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Education:
B.A. in English (Emphasis Creative Writing), Philosophy
University of Southern California, Graduated December 2010

M.F.A. in Prose Writing (Fiction)
Mills College, Expected in June 2014