Festival Vice President Melinda Louise Hutchings is a media commentator, writer, speaker and mentor dedicated to helping people overcome adversity.
Having lost her teenage years to anorexia, Melinda is passionate about promoting positive body image and empowering people to trust the voice that speaks from their heart to create a happy, fulfilling future.
She has written three books about eating disorders, including Why Can’t I Look the Way I Want? Overcoming Eating Issues (Allen & Unwin 2009), which have helped thousands of people understand the dynamics of eating disorders from early warning signs through to the recovery process.
Her fourth book It Will Get Better; Finding Your Way Through Teen Issues (Allen & Unwin 2010) was written to help young people deal with the myriad of issues facing them today and help them heal and move forward.
In 2022, Melinda updated and re-released her first book Surviving Anorexia through Amazon under pseudonym Mimi Louise to continue to help people understand the erratic thoughts, feelings and destructive behaviours of someone suffering from anorexia.
Melinda lives in the Whitsundays with her partner and is writing her fifth non-fiction book to help people overcome adversity, break the cycle of trauma and develop strategies for personal change and growth.