Melissa A. Watkins is a writer, a teacher, and a lifelong fan of fantasy, sci-fi and speculative fiction. She's surprised every time Luke Skywalker finds out who his real father is, fights the air whenever Rue dies in The Hunger Games, and wonders out loud why Frodo never met a Black elf. Appreciation for Black women in speculative fiction takes up a lot of her free time and she's looking forward to sharing it with everyone through this course.

Melissa studied at Western Colorado University (B.A. Communications and Theatre) and the University of Manchester, UK (M.A. Theology). She’s a Kimbilio Fellow, a Volcanista, and participated in Roots. Wounds. Words. Writer’s Retreat, and the Prague Summer Writer’s Program. Her short fiction has been published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, khōréō, Fantasy Magazine, Lightspeed, Nightmare, and of course midnight and indigo.