writer, professor, storyteller
A novelist between
classrooms, communities,
and the page.
Author of Glass Shatters, faculty in the USC Writing Program, and a freelance writer in Los Angeles. Currently at work on a second novel.
hover the fragments
the debut novel
Glass Shatters
a novel of memory and identity
An Editor's Pick in Literary Fiction by Foreword Reviews and a finalist in Literary Fiction at the USA Best Book Awards. Glass Shatters is a novel about memory, identity, and the people we lose ourselves trying to become.
Michelle is currently at work on a second novel and is represented by Catherine Cho at Paper Literary.
Publisher
She Writes
Published
2016
Format
Trade
Genre
Literary
ISBN 978-1-63152-018-1, She Writes Press
"It is the strangest thing, to watch a person you love become someone you cannot recognize, and to wonder whether the unrecognizable one is, in fact, the truest version of them."
, from Glass Shatters
selected publications
From the desk.
honors
- PEN Center Emerging Voices Fellow in Fiction, 2015
- Recognition from Glimmer Train, Wigleaf, and Ploughshares
- Editor's Pick, Foreword Reviews Literary Fiction
- Finalist, USA Best Book Awards Literary Fiction
forthcoming, spring 2027
"Reexamining the War Metaphor and Narratives of Individual Culpability: How Breast Cancer Shaped My Community Engagement Pedagogy"
In BC (Breast Cancer) in the Academy: Coalitional Survivorship for Health Advocacy, Rutgers University Press.
about the writer
A third generation
Angeleno, at the page.
I grew up in Los Angeles, attended a public magnet school, and studied Literary Arts and Writing for Performance at Brown. I later earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Alabama and returned home to L.A. in 2018.
I joined the Writing Program faculty at USC in spring 2019. My academic work focuses on service learning, community engagement, prison education, and the health humanities. Alongside teaching, I write fiction and creative nonfiction, develop educational content for middle and high school readers, and contribute features to USC's Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.
I'm a cancer survivor, diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer at 31, and now co lead the SoCal Young Survival Coalition. That experience has reshaped my pedagogy and my writing in ways I continue to explore on the page.
"The classroom is one of the few places where students get to practice paying attention to each other, and to the world right outside the door."
a brief intermission
Two Truths and a Lie.
Tap the one you think is the lie.
teaching
Writing as community practice.
- 01
USC Writing Program
Assistant Professor (Teaching), primarily teaching WRIT-150: Community Engagement. A freshman course pairing writing with service learning around incarceration, food insecurity, homelessness, and educational equity.
- 02
Prison Education Project
Community Engagement Coordinator for USC's Prison Education Project. Building service learning opportunities with the PEP Readers' Circle and the annual systems impacted writing contest.
- 03
Workshops and Coalitions
Co teaching writing workshops at the AYA@USC Annual Getaway Retreat with the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, and co leading the SoCal Young Survival Coalition.
freelance
Bring me onto the project.
I take on a small number of freelance projects each year, with a focus on educational content, feature writing, and creative collaborations. Selected clients have included StudySync, USC's Department of Otolaryngology, and Ellipsis.
01
Creative writing and ghostwriting
Fiction, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting. From short pieces to full length manuscripts, including ghostwritten projects.
02
Educational content
Reading guides, curriculum, and ELA content for middle and high school students. Past work includes StudySync and Ellipsis.
03
Feature writing
Long form features and profiles, including ongoing work for USC's Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.
Booking selectively for 2026.
stay in touch
Letters from
the writing desk.
Occasional notes on new writing, upcoming events, and reading recommendations. No noise, only when something is worth sending.
contact
Write to the writer.
Michelle Meyers
writer · educator
For freelance writing, educational content, speaking, or tutoring inquiries, the fastest way to reach me is by email.