About
Photo by Chere Coen
Patrice Melnick is a writer, arts administrator and community activist.
She is the founder of the Festival of Words, a rural, literary arts organization in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. Melnick taught English and creative writing at Xavier University in New Orleans for 13 years before moving to Grand Coteau. Patrice Melnick holds a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Austin, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
She has published a memoir, Po-boy Contraband: from Diagnosis Back to Life (Catalyst Press) and a poetry chapbook, City of Hey Baby (Finishing Line Press.) She was named 2019 Louisianian of the Year by Louisiana Life Magazine. Patrice Melnick lives in Grand Coteau where she lives with her loving and very patient husband, Olan Thibodeaux.
Patrice Melnick 