Melanie King-Smith is a Filipino-American author based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Raised in California with deep roots in the Philippines, her writing explores what it means to carry two cultures in one heart — the longing, the pride, and the joy of belonging to more than one place.

Trained in the culinary arts, her love of Filipino food weaves through her stories. For Melanie, food is more than flavour — it is memory, family, and the taste of home, no matter how far from home you are.

Gihigugma, Ace of Hearts won the Gold Medal at the 2025 Global Book Awards for Teen and Young Adult Literature and was featured in the Philippine Pavilion at the 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair, where the Philippines was Guest of Honour.

Through her stories, she hopes to give young Filipinos — wherever they are in the world — pride in who they are and where they come from.

You can sign up to get updates about her writing here.