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​Born and raised in Iowa with current roots in St. Louis, Melissa will always call the Midwest her home. She considers herself an artist in all senses of the word, working as a painter, poet, writer, theater maker, and more. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Concordia University, St. Paul, along with an M.A. in Theater Studies from Fontbonne University in St. Louis, and a B.A. in English and Theater Arts, with a certification in Fundraising and Philanthropy, from the University of Iowa, respectively. In her career at Washington University, she is also pursuing a business writing certification to support her communications work. Interestingly, Melissa has had three last names to date: her birth name, her adopted name, and her married name. She prefers to go by Melissa or Melissa Jean. She speaks French and English, has a fluffy white cat named Zima, and travels as often as she can. 

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Career

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Since 2019, Denzer has explored numerous artistic and professional opportunities, from writing and editing for The Theatre Times magazine to poetry readings at open mics to teaching playwrighting, acting, and children's theater with various arts programs to participating in acting training festivals. She's co-created and run her alumni writers' group, assisted with research for new plays in development in theater spaces, interviewed artists from across the globe, and worked to write for future publication opportunities over the last several years.  When Melissa is not writing or focusing on other artistic endeavors, she works at Washington University for University Advancement, applying her nonprofit background to the Fundraising and Scholarship sectors. This year, she aims to find a home for her debut novel as it reaches its final stages of revision. ​Denzer's primary focus and passion in her career is to create a community impact through creative and academic outlets. In order to explore this aspiration, she has adapted her experience to include a diverse set of employment and skill sets for this pursuit, whether that be in marketing and fundraising at a university or as a dramaturg for a small theater for new plays. Melissa works to explore opportunities to pursue her strengths and passions. She looks forward to future projects and endeavors.

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Debut Novel

Her pending debut novel, Validity (title-in-progress), is the story of Natalie Forte, a teen whose twin sister, Nora, dies suddenly and brutally in their small Iowa town. When her sister’s case is closed a bit too quickly after it opens, Natalie feels as if she is living on the edge of danger, sensing threats all around, without any validity to prove their reality. However, when a new development reopens the case a year later, Natalie must either face the killer or accept the same fate. Will Natalie be able to solve her sister’s murder before she mirrors her twin? Or will death decide for her before she gets the chance? The novel aims to provide answers and questions about life, truth, the reclamation of identity, human nature, and what it means to truly live. As a twin herself, Melissa embedded her own experiences into this fiction, which was inspired by similar style works such as Lovely Bones, What Lies in the Woods, The Virgin Suicides, Speak, and The Room, among others. She is currently in the beta reading phase of revisions, aiming to query in the summer of 2026. 

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