A Binghamton University alumna and the current associate director of first-year writing, Aggeliki Pelekidis MA ‘08, Ph.D ‘12, is debuting her new book “Unlucky Mel,” which centers themes of both feminism and revenge in academia.

“Unlucky Mel” follows Melody Hollings, a doctoral candidate at the fictional Vestal University, during her last year in the creative writing program. The novel features locales that should be familiar to every BU student, like the Glenn G. Bartle Library tower, Vestal Parkway and Lot M. A deep exploration of feminism and revenge, Pelekidis takes readers through Mel’s personal struggles with finding her own voice and learning to prioritize herself amid difficult circumstances using humorous tones and voices throughout.

“I like to write funny,” Pelekidis said. “So if I can make my characters a little bit outrageous and tease out the strangeness in them, then I am going to do that. And that comes from just playing around, just using your imagination and being creative. The more you use that muscle of creativity, the stronger it becomes, so that you can imagine these things and create these characters and make them unique individuals.”

Taking inspiration for her novel from Kingsley Amis’ Lucky Jim — an academic satire she credits as one of the funniest books she has ever read — Pelekidis strived to create a story featuring a funny female protagonist. She added that her time as a Shakespeare teaching assistant, specifically reading Hamlet, sparked an interest in exploring the idea of wanting to seek revenge without knowing if the cause is just, another driving force behind her novel.

Born in Brooklyn, Pelekidis said her parents were nomadic, leading her to adopt many influences. She earned her undergraduate degree at Auburn University and chose to pursue a master’s degree in English literature with an emphasis in creative writing, which she completed in 2008 before earning her Ph.D. in the same area of study.

“I just loved what I was doing,” Pelekidis said. “I enjoyed taking literature classes. Binghamton has a great program, so I just wanted to keep learning and growing my abilities as a writer and a reader.”

While the inspiration for many of the book’s central locations is rooted in Binghamton, Pelekidis emphasized that much of the book is fiction and separate from her own experience as a student, which she said gave her many amazing peers and professors.

The outlining process was essential to her success in creating the narrative and eventually completing the novel. She had to learn about planning and brainstorming, as well as how to develop and learn about the characters well enough to thoughtfully predict their behaviors.

Once Cornell University Press expressed interest in publishing her book, it went through two rounds of revisions before a peer-reviewing process, where outside readers suggested additional changes. The process took between two and three years to be published.

Jennifer Savran Kelly, a senior production editor at Cornell University Press, said when she first read Pelekidis’ manuscript, she knew it was something special.

“Angie’s ability to make the reader laugh on one page and cry on the next kept me emotionally invested in her awkward, lovable, and infinitely relatable Melody Hollings,” Kelly wrote. “Also, throughout the editorial process, Angie’s passion was clear. In draft after draft, she kept coming up with new ideas and never shied away from the hard work of revising. I couldn’t be prouder of the result and can’t wait to share it with readers in September!”

As “Unlucky Mel” focuses largely on themes of feminism, Pelekidis highlighted Mel’s journey in discovering the importance of putting her own needs before the needs of others — in particular, men. She said female creatives can struggle with domestic conflicts, like Mel’s somewhat strained relationship with her father, that often interfere with their broader life aspirations.

Pelekidis said she liked the idea of creating a character learning that she needs to prioritize her own ambitions.

“We are socialized to think that we need to do all of this stuff like clean our house, look pretty, take care of everybody, fulfill all their needs, when then we end up resenting them or we end up stunting ourselves in terms of our own growth, whether it’s career wise or creatively,” Pelekidis said. “So yeah, this is really close to my heart.”

“Unlucky Mel” is available for preorder and is out Sept. 15, published by Three Hills, an imprint of Cornell University Press.