Melanie Benjamin (born November 24, 1962) – is the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of American writer Melanie Hauser (née Miller).

Personal life

Born November 24, 1962, in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Melanie is one of three children. Melanie attended Indiana University--Purdue University at Indianapolis then married Dennis Hauser in 1988; they presently reside in the

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

area with their two sons. Melanie is a member of the Random House Speakers Bureau.

Publishing history

As Melanie Hauser, she published short stories in th
In Posse Review
an
The Adirondack Review
Her short story "Prodigy on Ice" won the 2001 "Now Hear This" short story competition that was part of a WBEZ (Chicago Public Radio) – program called Stories on Stage, where short stories were performed and broadcast. When Melanie sold her first of two contemporary novels, she had to add Lynne to her name (Melanie Lynne Hauser) – to distinguish her from the published sports journalist Melanie Hauser. The first of Melanie's contemporary novels, ''Confessions of Super Mom'' was published with Dutton in 2005; the sequel ''Super Mom Saves the World'' was published by

New American Library The New American Library (also known as NAL) is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948. Its initial focus was affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works as well as popular and pulp fiction, but it now publi ...

in 2007. In addition to her two contemporary novels, Melanie also contributed an essay to the antholog
IT'S A BOY
and maintained a popular mom blog called ''The Refrigerator Door''. Under the pen name Melanie Benjamin (a combination of her first name and her son's first name), she shifted genres to

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

. Her third novel, ''Alice I Have Been'', was inspired by

Alice Liddell Alice Pleasance Hargreaves (''née'' Liddell, ; 4 May 1852 – 16 November 1934) was an English woman who, in her childhood, was an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boating trip becam ...

's life. Published in 2010 by

Delacorte Press Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...

, ''Alice I Have Been'' was a national bestseller and reached the extended list of ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. In 2011, Benjamin fictionalized another historical female. Her novel ''The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb'' focuses on the life of Lavinia Warren, a proportionate dwarf featured in P. T. Barnum's shows. Meredith Eaton optioned the film rights for ''The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb'' in December 2011. Melanine Benjamin published a third historical fiction novel in 2013. ''The Aviator's Wife'' revolves around the historic personage of

Anne Morrow Lindbergh Anne Spencer Morrow Lindbergh (June 22, 1906 – February 7, 2001) was an American writer and aviator. She was the wife of decorated pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh, with whom she made many exploratory flights. Raised in Englewood, New Jerse ...

. It was a ''New York Times'' bestseller in both hardcover and paperback. In addition it was a ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' bestseller as well as an Indie Next List choice in both hardcover and paperback. ''The Aviator's Wife'' has been optioned for film by Vandalia Films, Jennifer Garner's production company. In 2021 Melanie Benjamin published ''The Children's Blizzard'', which won the 2022

WILLA Literary Award WILLA Literary Award honors outstanding literature featuring women's stories, set in the Western United States, published each year. Women Writing the West (WWW), a non-profit association of writers and other professionals writing and promoting th ...

in Historical Fiction.

Bibliography

As Melanie Hauser: * ''Confessions of Super Mom'' (2005) – * ''Super Mom Saves the World'' (2007) – As Melanie Benjamin: * ''Alice I Have Been'' (2010) – * ''The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb'' (2011) – * ''The Aviator's Wife'' (2013) – * ''The Swans of Fifth Avenue'' (2016) – * ''Girls in the Picture'' (2018) – * ''Mistress of the Ritz'' (2019) – * ''The Children's Blizzard'' (2021) –

References

External links

Interviews

The Diane Rehm Show

Friends & Fiction Podcast

Book Trailers

The Dutch Book Trailer for ''Alice I Have Been''

Book Trailer for ''Mrs. Tom Thumb''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Melanie 1962 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers American fiction writers American women novelists Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis alumni