mail	Twitter with Melanie at: http://twitter.com/MelanieJackson
ph	604-734-2721
e	dinahgalloway@gmail.com
web	www.theplottwists.blogspot.com, www.ailiemooney.blogspot.com http://www.orcabook.com/contributorinfo.cfm?ContribID=190

Biography

Born in Scotland, raised in Toronto, Melanie writes mystery stories for children and young adults. A former journalist, she volunteers as a creative writing mentor for the Vancouver School Board, and is on the boards of directors of the Lower Mainland Chapter of the International Reading Association, and of BC's Chocolate Lily Awards. The Big Dip, her first Orca Currents novel, narrated by a boy, and appealing to those who like the spare, hard-boiled style of writing, has roller coastered into print, to positive reviews in CM Magazine and School Library Journal.

Also out this year and critically acclaimed: Queen of Disguises, a Dinah Galloway adventure. And soon from Gumboot Books: The Midnight-Blue Marble, a y/a centering on a present-day sleuth who must solve the mystery of Marie Antoinette's infamous diamond necklace.

Book types: juvenile fiction, YA fiction

Guest speaker/presentation information

~ The Ups and Downs of a Plot: with readings from The Big Dip and Dinah, student exercises, a video clip, and handouts, a guide to the main elements and structure of story and plot, for Grades 4-9.

~ The Surprising History of the Mystery: all grades (with sound effects and readings)

~ Presentation on news and feature writing, for secondary school students, with exercises, slides and a video clip

Presentation geographic range: Vancouver, Coast, Lower Mainland, Gulf and Vancouver Islands, Thompson Okanagan, Northern British Columbia, Cariboo Chilcotin Coast, The Territories, Canada - beyond BC, USA

Presentation audience age groups: grades 4-6, grades 7-8, high school

Published work

The Dinah Galloway mysteries (Orca): The Spy in the Alley, The Man in the Moonstone, The Mask on the Cruise Ship, The Summer of the Spotted Owl, Shadows on the Train, Queen of Disguises. For ages 8-12.
Napoleon Is Winking, short story in The World of Stories (Gumboot Books).
The Big Dip (Orca, 2009)
The Midnight-Blue Marble (Gumboot Books, 2009)
Fast Slide, (Orca, 2010)

The On This Day historical newspapers (Chestnut) covering the events of and around seminal events such as The Battle of the Somme (1916) and Canada's win at the Summit Series (1972). For Grades 7-12.

Awards & recognition

The Spy in the Alley (2002), a Rocky Mountain Book Award 2004 nominee.
The Man in the Moonstone (2003), Second Prize Winner, the 2004-05 BC Chocolate Lily Book Awards
The Mask on the Cruise Ship (2004), Ontario Silver Birch Award nominee, 2006; BC Chocolate Lily Book Awards nominee, 2005-06
The Summer of the Spotted Owl (2005), CTV News 2006 Summer Reads Choice Shadows on the Train, Silver Birch nominee, 2008; Ontario Library Association Best Bets 2007; Chocolate Lily Award nominee 2008-09

"Jackson spares no artistic expense ... She knows how to write a full-bodied scene, gauges correctly that it's worth her time to drolly title her chapters ('Sour Notes with Piano Man'), crafts worthy subplots and delivers strong characterizations of even second-banana players (a painfully self-conscious new teacher; a friend obsessed with trees). It's a testament to Jackson's command of her material that her main currency, her wit ... is not incongruous with the books' dark side." Horn Book.