Polite Society

Melanie Sumner (born 1963) is an American author and college professor known for her novels and short stories drawing from her Peace Corps experience in Senegal and Southern life. Her debut work Polite Society (1995) won the Whiting Writers' Award and Maria Thomas Award, establishing her as one of Granta's Best Young American Novelists; subsequent novels include The School of Beauty and Charm (2002), The Ghost of Milagro Creek (2010, New Mexico Best Novel), and How to Write a Novel (2015). She holds an MFA from Boston University and teaches at Kennesaw State University.