Francesca Melandri (born Rome, 1964) is an Italian novelist, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker. She was the recipient of the Rapallo Carige Prize for Più alto del mare in 2012. She started writing very young, working first as a screenwriter, and has worked on films and television series, as well as a number of prize winning documentaries. Melandri's second novel, Più alto del mare was published in 2012 and it has also won several literary prizes.