Melanie Hoffert is the author of Prairie Silence, which won the 2014 Minnesota Book Award in Memoir and Creative Nonfiction. She has been published in several literary journals. The Baltimore Review and the New Millennium Writings each selected her work for a Creative Nonfiction Writing Award. She has taught several writing classes, including at the Loft Literary Center and for Senior Speaks, which she designed a writing workshop for North Dakota senior citizens. She has also spoken to college classes across both Minnesota and North Dakota.