Melissa Ren
I'm a Chinese-Canadian writer...
and sometimes, lost soul
of speculative and literary fiction
About
Melissa writes fantasy and science fiction, often drawing upon her cultural heritage for inspiration. Her narratives tend to explore the intersection between belonging and becoming. She is a prize recipient of Room Magazine’s fiction contest judged by Heather O’Neill, a Tin House alum, and the winner of the WriteHive Sponsored Writer Award for her novel-in-progress. She is an editor at Augur Magazine and Tales & Feathers, an audio producer at khōréō magazine, and a fiction editor at jmww.Melissa would like to thank the Canada Council for the Arts, the Access Copyright Foundation, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Government of Ontario for their generous support.
Forthcoming
FOR YOU, I WOULD
Storiaverse
ForthcomingTHE NUMBER DEATH
SUSPECT, Singapore Unbound
ForthcomingUNTITLED
An Honour and a Privilege
a collaborative fiction / nonfiction anthology
Stanchion
Forthcoming, 2025MOON & STARS
50 Give Or Take, Vine Leaves Press
2024 Anthology
Forthcoming
Short Fiction
WE PLAY IN MEADOWS, WE HOP OVER DREAMS
DreamForge Magazine
Issue 17, September 6, 2024BURN, BOW, BREATHE
Qwerty Magazine
Issue 48, September 2024A HÚLÍJĪNG ALWAYS KEEPS ONE TAIL HIDDEN
Triangulation: Hospitium Anthology 2024, Parsec Ink
July 27, 2024SEASONS CHANGE
Short Story Substack
July 15, 2024THE LOOK OF SECONDS
Wyldblood Magazine
July 12, 2024THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN
Big Wing Review
May 2024 IssueWHITE FLOWERS
The Sunlight Press
April 9, 2024THE MIDNIGHT DIYU
Factor Four Magazine
Issue 34: April 2024UNTRADITIONAL
Wizards in Space Literary Magazine
Issue 09: Chapters, April 2024MOON & STARS
50 Give Or Take, Vine Leaves Press
March 25, 2024OF INTERSTICE
JOURN-E: The Journal of Imaginative Literature
Issue 3.1, March 19, 2024THE MEMORY SHOP
Fusion Fragment
FF#20, February 29, 2024Reviewed in Haven Spec Issue 14, March 2024Reviewed in Amazing Stories, March 4, 2024MÍZHÙ
Twenty-two Twenty-eight
November 24, 2023Reprint in Peach Fuzz Magazine
Issue 29ALWAYS GRACEFUL, ALWAYS DELICATE
Resurrection Magazine
Inaugural Issue: Illumination, November 2, 2023EQ
Martian Magazine
October 9, 2023Reprint in Programmed Hearts, Shacklebound Books
April 12, 2024HER RIGHTFUL PLACE
Solarpunk Magazine
September 30, 2023THROUGH THE TUNNEL
Olit Magazine
Volume 3: Issue 5 • Summer 2023, September 27, 2023WAITING ROOM
Microfiction Monday Magazine
September 25, 2023BE LIKE WATER
Door is a Jar Literary Magazine
Issue 28 Fall 2023MANY FACES
Where the Meadows Reside
Issue 1.1, August 31, 2023UNTRADITIONAL
The Heduan Review
August 15, 2023SEASONS CHANGE
Room Magazine
Prize Recipient of the 2023 Fiction Contest
judged by Heather O'Neill
August 14, 2023BELOVED
50-Word Stories
July 19, 2023WHEN IT RAINS
Scribes MICRO Fiction, Fairfield Scribes
Issue 31, July 18, 2023BE BREATHING
Deadly Drabble Tuesdays, Hungry Shadow Press
July 11, 2023Reprint in MetaStellar
November 15, 2023IRREGARDLESS
Friday Flash Fiction
July 7, 2023BESOTTED
50-Word Stories
June 6, 2023CREATURES AMONG US
Trembling With Fear, Horror Tree
June 4, 2023Reprint in The Book of Drabbles, Shacklebound Books
July 1, 2023Reprint in Martian Magazine
December 1, 2023LOST IN TOKYO
Friday Flash Fiction
May 19, 2023PENDULUM
Roi Fainéant Press
Power Issue: An Ode to BIPOC Excellence
May 13, 2023Reprint in MetaStellar
July 31, 2023DEAR POH POH
Factor Four Magazine
Issue 23: May 2023NEVER BEEN
The Nassau Review
Annual 2023 Issue, May 2023TURNING BACK
Metonym Literary Journal
Volume XI, Spring 2023MA KNOWS BEST
Visual Verse
Volume 10 • Chapter 6, April 2023IF ONLY WE COULD
Unstamatic
October 23, 2022
Poetry
HER HAND IN MINE, ALWAYS
The Christian Science Monitor
April 1, 2024COME WITH ME
The Christian Science Monitor
January 15, 2024
Nonfiction
5 UPCOMING FANTASY BOOKS INSPIRED BY
WUXIA, XIANXIA, AND EAST ASIAN MYTHOLOGIES
MetaStellar
May 12, 2023
Voice Narration
COME IN, CHILDREN
Written by Ai Jiang | Narrated by Melissa Ren
Cast of Wonders
July 21, 2024
Audio Production
TAKE UP THY MOTHER’S SONG
Written by Natasha King | Narrated by Danielle Baylor
Produced by Melissa Ren
khōréō magazine
June 27, 2024THE ANCESTORS TELL YOU WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR TEENAGE DAUGHTER IS GIVEN A CURSED WOLF SKIN FROM GOD AND BECOMES A MARDAGAYL
Written by Jolie Toomajan | Narrated by Eva Roslin
Produced by Melissa Ren
khōréō magazine
April 18, 2024PINK BIRD, WAR SUN
Written by Tania Chen | Narrated by Michelle Kelly
Produced by Melissa Ren
khōréō magazine
March 21, 2024HOMELAND IN VERSE
Written by Naomi Day | Narrated by R. P. Sand
Produced by Melissa Ren
khōréō magazine
February 29, 2024
Contact
I'd love to hear from you. And I genuinely mean it! Hit me up about writing life, your favourite xiao long bao spots, book recos, or our shared love for Fonda Lee.