Writer

Innovative Storytelling in Sustainability, Design, and Futures Thinking

From in-depth reports to speculative fiction, Dr. Sterry’s works inspire action and curiosity about sustainable and equitable futures.

Dr. Melissa Sterry’s body of written works span over 60 invited, sponsored, and guest contributions, including articles, reports, essays, chapters, papers, and opinion pieces. Her expertise bridges multiple writing styles—technical and creative—and formats, including print, digital, audio, film, and mixed media. Her experience enables her to craft compelling narratives tailored to diverse audiences, including academics, industry professionals, and the general public. Her writing explores ecological design, urban resilience, sustainable innovation, and more, blending rigorous research with visionary thinking. 

Bridging Technical Rigour and Creative Expression Across Media Formats

Dr. Sterry has authored several high-profile cover stories and engaged readers with in-depth analyses, thought-provoking provocations, and speculative visions of near, medium, and far futures.  She has contributed to numerous white papers, trend reports, technical publications, and media commentaries for organisations spanning corporate, government, and non-profit sectors, as well as scripted short educational films and other visual and audio media. Independently, she has published numerous open-access science, sustainability, and foresight and futures communications resources, including epamphlets, interviews and more.

Her creative works include short science fictions and film script concepts, which have earned recognition as a finalist in competitions including the New Scientist / Sci-Fi London Film Concept Competition (2016) and the New Scientist / Arc Sci-Fi Film Science Competition (2014), and an honourable mention in the 47th Millennium Writing Awards (2019).

Sterry's contributions extend beyond writing; she has served as editor, guest editor, and editorial board member for several books and magazines on sustainability, design, and lifestyle. Among other responsibilities, she has served as the editor of a guidebook and magazine on event production, co-editor of the magazine of a private members club, guest editor of fashion editorials, and served as an editorial board member on architecture, urban design, lifestyle and culture magazines.

Since 2015 she has served as a contributing Travel, Arts and Culture editor to Unity magazine, most recently curating the series ‘Unity of Nature’, which features interviews with some of the most exciting talents working at the interface of art, design, and nature. Up coming contributions include hosting a further series on artificial intelligence and art and culture.

In addition to her editorial experience in the consumer and trade sector, Dr. Sterry has also served on peer review boards and scientific committees for scientific publications and conferences held in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States and spanning fields including bionics, bioengineering, biodesign, and bioinnovation.

Recent works also include concept and script advisory for both short and feature length fictional films and factual documentaries on topics including sustainability and sustainable innovation, building on earlier experience, including having coscripted several short films on sustainability during and after her time serving as Director of Technology with a film and media production company that specialised in content on sustainable innovation.

A Visionary Writer Shaping Discourses on Ecological Design and Resilience

Whether crafting a futures report, penning a philosophical essay, or envisioning the role of design in addressing ecological crises, Dr. Sterry’s writing resonates with curiosity, depth, and a commitment to exploring solutions for a sustainable and equitable future.  This diverse experience establishes her as a go-to authority for creative and technical writing across consumer, trade, and academic platforms.

Her most recently completed written works include:

• Contributing writer to The Meaning of Life: Letters from Extraordinary People and their Answer to Life's Biggest Question, published by Hachette, First Edition in print 2025, which edited by James Bailey brings together works by contributors including Professor Lord Robert Winston, Dame Jane Goodall, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, and more.

• Author of ‘Panarchistic Architecture: A paradigm in wildfire resilience’ in The Routledge Companion to Smart Design Thinking in Architecture and Urbanism for a Sustainable Living Planet, published by Routledge in 2024.

• Contributor to ‘2070: The Future of Travel Report’ commissioned by easyJet and published in 2023.

• Contributor on the future of pandemics and cities in ‘Future 2043’ published by Springwise in 2023.

• Contributor on nomadic working in ‘Don’t Get a Job… Make a Job’ Second Edition, published by Quercus in 2023.

• Author of ‘Design for Wildfire: Architecture as Catalyst for Virtuous not Vicious Wildfire Activity’ in The Routledge Companion to Ecological Design Thinking, published by Routledge in 2022.

• Coauthor of the ‘Insight Report 2030: Invisible Ocean Pollutants from our Roads' futures insight report, commissioned by SUEZ and published in 2021.

• Lead contributor to ‘Tech to the Future: From the Millinnium to 2020 and Beyond’ report commissioned by CW Jobs and published in 2019.

Melissa Sterry’s ability to navigate and interweave complex subjects with a transdisciplinary lens makes her an unparalleled voice in technical, creative, and academic writing. Her work resonates with curiosity, innovation, and a commitment to imagining and shaping a sustainable future.

Specialisms

Primary fields of expertise are planetary and biofutures including biodesign, bioscience, bioengineering, biotechnology, and biourbansim; emerging material, information, and production systems and their applications in science, commerce, industry, and wider society; ecological design and urban and peri-urban resilience to hazards including wildfires, floods, storm systems and other natural, human, and hybrid events; transdisciplinary, complexity, and systems theory and practice; sustainable innovation and enterprise in fields including design, technology, manufacturing, utilities, and the built environment; and corporate social responsibility, environmental social governance, and business ethics. Wider interests in fields as diverse as natural history and ancient civilisations to psychology and cognition to belief systems and mythology.

Skills

• Writing across formats including articles, reports, papers, essays, chapters, opinion pieces, short film, radio, podcast, live events, mixed and hybrid formats in styles technical, creative, and experimental.

• Editing, critiquing, and supervising both academic and commercial works, including thesis, books, magazines, and film scripts.

• Commentary, interviews, and other contributions to works including news broadcasts, documentaries, and discussions.

Find a select list of her published works here.