Reine Arcache Melvin is a Filipina-American author whose works focus on the Philippines and the lives of Filipino both at home and abroad. Arcache Melvin's works include the short-story collection '' A Normal Life and Other Stories'' and novel '' The Betrayed''.

Early life

Melvin was born to a Filipino-American family in Manila. She spent her childhood in Santa Ana and attended the

Assumption College San Lorenzo Assumption College San Lorenzo (AC, Assumption SanLo, Assumption Makati) is a private, Roman Catholic basic and higher education institution exclusively for girls run by the Religious of the Assumption in San Lorenzo Village, Makati, Philippi ...

and Ateneo de Manila University in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

, before moving to the United States and graduating from

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Career

In 1999, Melvin published ''A Normal Life and Other Stories'' with

Ateneo de Manila University Press The Ateneo de Manila University Press is a university press and the official publishing house of Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archi ...

. That same year, her collection won a Philippine National Book Award for fiction and was translated into French in 2003. Her short stories have appeared in numerous literary reviews and anthologies in the United States, France and the Philippines. The short story ‘Stealing a Child’ won first prize for short fiction in the 2001 Philippine Graphic

Nick Joaquin Nicomedes "Nick" Marquez Joaquin (; May 4, 1917 – April 29, 2004) was a Filipino writer and journalist best known for his short story, short stories and novels in the English language. He also wrote using the pen name Quijano de Manila. Joaq ...

Awards. Her second book, the novel ''The Betrayed'', won the

Palanca Award The Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, popularly known as the Palanca Memorial Awards, are a set of literary awards for Philippine writers. Usually referred to as the "Pulitzer Prize of the Philippines," it is the country's highest ...

for Best Novel and the National Book Award in 2019. She worked many years for the

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. She has also worked as a translator and editor for various international publications and co-edited literary reviews in both

and Paris.

Works

*'' A Normal Life and Other Stories'', short story collection, released in March 1999. *'' The Betrayed'', novel, released in October 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arcache Melvin, Reine 1959 births Filipino emigrants to the United States Filipino women novelists Filipino novelists Filipino women short story writers 21st-century Filipino women writers Writers from Manila Living people Ateneo de Manila University alumni Bard College alumni