Melanie Joosten is the author of two novels and a book of essays. Berlin Syndrome (2011), a psychological thriller, won the Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist prize, and the Kathleen Mitchell Award for the best writer in Australia under 30. Berlin Syndrome was made into an internationally released, AACTA-nominated film directed by Cate Shortland and starring Teresa Palmer. A Long Time Coming: Essays on Old Age was shortlisted for the Nib Waverley Prize (and won the People’s Prize). It was named the Australasian Journal of Ageing Book of the Year. A social worker by profession, she works as an adviser in justice reform.