About Mélissa Godin

Mélissa is an award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker, telling character-driven stories at the intersection of human rights, culture and environment. She has previously reported for Time Magazine, the Guardian, National Geographic, Vogue and the New York Times. She is currently working on her first book, Take the Waters, which will be published by Henry Holt & Company.

Melissa is drawn to stories that unveil how social, political and ecological changes shape the most intimate aspects of people’s lives, from the food they eat to the people they choose to love. Mélissa’s work has taken her around the globe to report on the forgotten books of the Amazon, the disappearing seagrass of the Mediterranean, the uncertain future of Sami reindeer herders in the Arctic, and more.

In 2021, Mélissa was named an Emerging Journalist of the Year finalist by the Columbia Journalism review for her “refreshingly original topics, assiduous reporting and lively characters, resulting in journalism that teaches but also delights”. Her documentary, Daughters of Drought, won for Best Short Documentary at the Toronto International Women Film Festival. Previously, Mélissa has received awards and grants from the United Nations Foundation, the Society of Environmental Journalists, One World Media, the Earth Journalism Network, among others. In 2018, she was named a National Geographic Storytelling Explorer.

Alongside journalism, Mélissa works as a lecturer at Sciences Po. She holds degrees in politics, human rights and philosophy from New York University, Sciences Po Paris, and the University of Oxford where she attended as a Rhodes Scholar.

She is represented by Elias Altman from the Massie & McQuilkin Literary Agency.