Melissa Dorval has had her poems, short stories, and articles published in The Offering, The Lowell Connector, The Shirley Volunteer, and The Creative Zine. Her latest short-form essay, Gambling, was featured in the inaugural issue of The Sixpence Society Literary Journal, and her latest poem, Viento Silvestre, will be featured in the next Quabbin Quills anthology.

Dorval is one of three founding members of The New Dawn Writers Group in Ashburnham, Massachusetts.

Dorval's debut novel, WHEN YOU LOSE CONTROL, will be out December 2023 and published by Spinning Monkey Press.

In 2009, Dorval graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Massachusetts - Lowell, where best-selling author, Andre Dubus III, served as her mentor.

When she's not writing, Dorval enjoys reading, sewing, and visiting historic houses. She is a nanny to two children and a pet mom to eight rescue animals.