69 ratings | 4 reviews | avg rating:4.86

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Melissa Pritchard

Goodreads Author

Born

San Mateo, California

Website

http://www.melissapritchard.com

Genre

Fiction, Nonfiction, Historical Fiction

Member Since

July 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/melissapritchard

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FLIGHT OF THE WILD SWAN, Bellevue Literary Press,
March 2024, RB Media audiobook

- Book Award Finalist: Last Syllable, Longform Literary Journal (winner announced 12/25)
- A Favorite Book of 2024: The Washington Independent Review of Books
- 2025 Georgia Author of the Year Finalist, Literary Fiction
-* Portland Book Review, "The writing is beautiful, stark and luxuriant by turns."
_ New York Times, "Best Historical Fiction"
_ New York Sun, "A standout."
- NPR/GPB's Peter Biello, All Things Considered: "...an amazing book. Just an incredible book."
- Denver Post, "An awe-inspiring story."
_ *Publishers Weekly, starred, Featured Fiction.
_ *Kirkus Review, starred.
_ *Foreword Reviews, starred, "An inspiring novel."
- Atlanta Journal Constitution, "An ad ...more

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Melissa Pritchard’s books

Average rating: 3.98 · 2,376 ratings · 245 reviews · 26 distinct works • Similar authors

	Flight of the Wild Swan 3.95 avg rating — 511 ratings — published 2024 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Solemn Pleasure: To Imagine, Witness, and Write by Melissa Pritchard (Goodreads Author), Bret Anthony Johnston (Foreword) 3.84 avg rating — 93 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Odditorium: Stories 3.64 avg rating — 89 ratings — published 2012 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Palmerino 3.53 avg rating — 85 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Disappearing Ingenue 3.15 avg rating — 55 ratings — published 2002 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Spirit Seizures 3.83 avg rating — 35 ratings — published 1987 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Late Bloomer 2.95 avg rating — 41 ratings — published 2004 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Selene of the Spirits 3.75 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 1998 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Instinct for Bliss 3.92 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 1995 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Phoenix 3.17 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1991 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Melissa Pritchard…

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Melissa’s Recent Updates

Melissa Pritchard and 1 other person liked Susan's review of Flight of the Wild Swan: "Sweeping biographical novel of Florence Nightingale. See my review at Reading World"
Jul 01, 2026 10:38AM · see review
Melissa Pritchard and 1 other person liked Linda's review of Flight of the Wild Swan: "It took awhile to get into this book but well worth it once past her young life and family struggles. However even that part was necessary. It made me appreciate all the more who she became."
Jul 01, 2026 10:37AM · see review
Melissa Pritchard and 1 other person liked Joy Hutchinson's review of Flight of the Wild Swan: "This book was on a display for Women’s month at my library. I’m so glad I picked it up. I’ve read nonfiction about her, but this imagining of her was enjoyable and thought provoking. "
Jul 01, 2026 10:37AM · see review
Melissa Pritchard is now following Amanda, Joy Hutchinson, and Susan
Jul 01, 2026 10:37AM
Melissa Pritchard rated a book it was amazing Where the Heart Meets the Sea by Kimbra Drake (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I didn't expect to be as entranced as I became, reading a book about Leif, a Norwegian boat builder and Ella, a young American woman afraid of the sea, and their growing romance as Ella searches for answers to her mother's mysterious death and learns ...more
Jul 01, 2026 10:27AM · like · see review
Melissa Pritchard rated a book it was amazing The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann by Virginia Pye (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Enter Victoria Swann, a literary heroine you will love spending time with! A delightful tour de force, brimming with sprightly wit and pace, while seriously questioning the value of commercial success in publishing versus writing authentic stories, s ...more
Jul 07, 2024 07:14AM · like · see review

More of Melissa's books…

Quotes by Melissa Pritchard (?)

“In death, as in sleep, I am all things.”
― Melissa Pritchard, The Odditorium: Stories

4 likes

“He understood the mind's pride, filleting, pinning down life. Understood taking apart, reassembling and labeling. To Understand was to control, to keep the terror of human insignificance at bay. It was routine to self-importance, this ability to kill and to rebuild, to catalog and stop any motion too directly pointing out human limitation and death.”
― Melissa Pritchard, The Odditorium: Stories

1 likes

“...I am discovering that it is truly a mistake--it may even be a moral wrong, in fact--to judge. Truth is too complex, too contradictory, too mercurial, to be one-sided, though it is human nature to prefer the reassurance and ease of firm judgement. Judgement helps us to justify our less savory actions.”
― Melissa Pritchard, The Odditorium: Stories

1 likes

See all Melissa Pritchard's quotes »

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