Michelle Law

Author, Inspirational Speaker, Storyteller/Performer

Michelle Law is an award-winning writer and screenwriter whose previous speaking engagements include TEDx events, Woodford Folk Festival, writer’s festivals, ABC radio and The Project. Her stories and essays have been widely anthologized and her films have screened nationally at festivals and on the ABC.

Where were you born?

I was born in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. I was delivered at 3AM by my mum’s gynaecologist, a man ironically named Dr. Dick, and grew up in Kawana before moving to Brisbane to study creative writing.

What other jobs have you had?

In my university days, I worked at Cotton On, offering different sized singlets and up-selling thongs to backpackers with stinky feet. I lasted six months before I decided the loud music was rendering me prematurely deaf.

What themes are recurring in your work?

My stories and films tend to centre on themes like identity, gender and race.

What have been the highlights of your career?

Having the documentary I wrote, Suicide and Me, screen on ABC2 and helping create a national conversation was really rewarding. And coming runner-up in the 2013 Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards for writing was a big one.

Where have your works been published?

You can find my stories and essays in the anthologies Growing up Asian in Australia, Destroying the Joint, Women of Letters, and in magazines and literary journals like Good Weekend, Daily Life, The Drum, Griffith REVIEW and Meanjin.

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