Mel Hornyak is a New York-based bookwright, lyricist, and researcher. They write musicals with Elliot Valentine under the artist name Melliot, as well as plays, libretti, and short stories under their own name. Their work has been supported by organizations like Ring of Keys, Let’s Hear It For The Boys, and Musical Theater Factory, and has been performed at NYC venues like Joe’s Pub and The Green Room 42.
Awards: Top 4 Finalist Live & In Color 2025 Musical Theater Writing Development Lab (Ghost Story), Finalist New Roots Residency 2025 (Thy Sinful House), Finalist Berkeley Rep Ground Floor 2025 (Someone Like Me), Winner New Musicals Project 2025 (Kairos), Open AIR Artistic Residency Summer 2024 (Ghost Story), Semifinalist for Live & In Color 2024 (Ghost Story), Semifinalist for the 2023 O’Neill National Music Theater Conference (Adamandi), Francis LeMoyne Page Book Award 2023 (Adamandi), Joyce Carol Oates Creative Writing Prize 2023 (At Our Most Golden), Honorable Mention at the 2023 New York Screenplay Awards (Feel Better).
They graduated Summa Cum Laude from Princeton University with a degree in Psychology and certificates in Theater, Creative Writing, and Neuroscience. They are a member of Phi Beta Kappa and a recipient of the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence. They recently graduated from NYU’s Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program with an MFA in bookwriting and lyrics.
Mel Hornyak 