Who is MST?

Michelle Scott Tucker is the author of Elizabeth Macarthur: A Life at the Edge of the World  – a biography of the woman who established the Australian wool industry (Text Publishing 2018). Michelle is also the co-writer, with Torres Strait Islander actor and film producer Aaron Fa’Aoso, of Aaron’s memoir So Far, So Good (Pantera Publishing 2022).

Elizabeth Macarthur was shortlisted for the 2019 NSW State Library Ashurst Business Literature Prize and the 2019 CHASS Australia Book Prize. Michelle has twice been shortlisted for the Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship (2021 and 2012). She has also been a recipient of the Neilma Sydney Literary Travel Fund (2021) and a Varuna Writing Retreat Fellowship (2013). In 2015 she was selected for the ACT Writers Centre’s ‘Hardcopy’ Professional Development program.

Michelle is a professional writer and senior consultant, having had a successful career in government, business and the arts – including a stint as Executive Director of the Stella Prize, Australia’s pre-eminent literary prize for women writers. She has previously served as Vice Chair of the Writers Victoria board as well as on the board of the Mountain Writers Festival.

Passionate about Australian literature, history and storytelling, Michelle lives in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria, with her family and too many horses.

A Note from MST

Writing the books, finding publishers and launching them into the world has been a wonderful adventure.

I’ve met some wonderful people, learned interesting things and travelled to some amazing places. This website – and in particular my blog –  is my attempt to share the wonder, interest and amazement.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me (scroll down to the contact form below) – all comments gratefully received, as are invitations to speak on radio, at events or on podcasts.

MST’s so-called literary career

In addition to delivering LOTS of talks and interviews, so far the highlights (and adventures) include:

2024  Visiting Scholar, State Library of New South Wales

2024  Shortlisted for the Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship, for a Louisa Lawson biography

2023  Publication deal with Text Publishing for a new biography of Louisa Lawson. More details here.

2023  Publication deal with Allen & Unwin (more details to be provided soon!)

2022  So Far, So Good, co written with Aaron Fa’Aoso, published in September 2022.

2021  Recipient of the Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund

2021  Awarded a Regional Arts Fund Quick Response Grant

2021  Publication deal with Pantera Press (more details here)

2021  Shortlisted for the Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship (for the work-in-progress Aaron Fa’Aoso memoir)

2020  Selected to become a member of the City Of Melbourne’s arts grants assessor panel 2021-2024.

2020 Writers Residencies – Pros and Cons‘ published by Meanjin.

2019  Appointed to the board of the Mountain Writers Festival (2019 – 2022)

2019   Elizabeth Macarthur shortlisted for the CHASS Australia Prize for a book (Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences)

2019   Elizabeth Macarthur shortlisted for the State Library NSW Ashurst Business Literature Prize. More details here.

2018   Executive Director of The Stella Prize, August 2018-July 2019.

2018 Invisible Women‘, an article published by Inside Story Magazine, about the gaps in the story of colonial Australia.

2018  For all my author talks and events, please refer to News & Events. Past activities are listed at the bottom of the News & Events page.

2018  Elizabeth Macarthur: A life at the edge of the world was published in April 2018. Huzzah!

2017  Was one of the judges for the Grace Marion Wilson Emerging Writers Competition. I wrote about my experience here.

2017  Elected to the Writers Victoria Committee of Management.

2016  Publication deal with Text Publishing. More details here.

2016  Signed with a literary agent, Jacinta di Mase Management.

2015  Selected for the non-fiction HARDCOPY Professional Development Program (a program hosted by the ACT Writers Centre and assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council). You can find a compilation of all my posts about HARDCOPY here.

2014  Recorded a short piece for ABC Radio National’s 360 Documentary program called Bedside Manners.

2012  Shortlisted: Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship (for work-in-progress biography of Elizabeth Macarthur)

2012  Varuna Fellowship for Writing Retreats.

What else?

I’m available for speaking engagements, writing workshops, book signings, interviews, and festivals of all kinds. Please contact me via the form below or by email: Contact[at]MichelleScottTucker.com

All images and text used in this blog are my own unless otherwise stated. Please don’t use any of my photos or text without crediting me and linking back to this site.

Contact Me

If you’d like to contact me directly (for example to tell me about dead links or to suggest more effective hair styling techniques) then please use this contact form. If it’s urgent, I’ll definitely reply promptly.