Michelle Scott Tucker
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mst-writes.bsky.social
Michelle Scott Tucker
@mst-writes.bsky.social
1.9K followers 2.2K following 430 posts
Australian biographer, writer, reader, gardener, muse, dirty lefty and terrible cook.
Working on Louisa Lawson biography.
SPIRIT OF THE CROCODILE (A&U, 2025), SO FAR, SO GOOD (Pantera 2022), ELIZABETH MACARTHUR (Text 2018).
www.MichelleScottTucker.com
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mst-writes.bsky.social
Michelle Scott Tucker @mst-writes.bsky.social · Sep 20
What an honour. Winners announced on Friday.
For more info about the book, and about the Torres Strait, and about our collaboration, try my website - deets in the bio.
@allenandunwin.bsky.social
#middlegrade #amreading #AaronFaAoso
Cover of a book called Spirit of the Crocodile, by Aaron Fa'Aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker with Lyn White. Children sitting on a jetty are silhouetted in the foreground, a tropical scene of sunset, water, moon and looming crocodile are behind them. Typically traditional Torres Strait patterning used throughout. Beside the book cover is a yellow promotional tile proclaiming it a finalist in the Queensland Literary Awards.
mst-writes.bsky.social
Visiting Sydney again, for a talk and more study. So, so beautiful. And warm!!
November 27, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Reposted by Michelle Scott Tucker
asauthors.bsky.social
We are pleased to announce that entries are now open for the 2026 ASA/HQ Fiction Prize, offering one winner a publishing contract with HQ and a $10,000 advance against royalties. Entries close on 30 January 2026!

Find out more: www.asauthors.org.au/news/2026-as...
2026 ASA/HQ Fiction Prize now open - Australian Society of Authors
The ASA and HQ, a publishing division of HarperCollins, are thrilled to announce that the 2026 ASA/HQ Fiction Prize is now open for submissions.
www.asauthors.org.au
November 26, 2025 at 4:46 AM
mst-writes.bsky.social
Finally found a use for the marble and pewter Selangor thingy for serving pate which we were given as a wedding present (so approx a thousand years ago).
Photo of a wooden bathroom bench. A hair straightener rests on a decorative marble disc.
November 26, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Reposted by Michelle Scott Tucker
pretensesoup.bsky.social
I think the thing about writing books that annoys me is that you have to keep relearning how to write them. Each book is different and asks different things of you. You have to keep growing and shit.
November 22, 2025 at 2:17 PM
mst-writes.bsky.social
Looks like rose season is beginning at my place
#WritersGarden
November 22, 2025 at 11:19 PM
mst-writes.bsky.social
Today’s desk posy
Gaudy purple and white blooms in a tiny green bottle/vase. Blooms are called columbines, also known as granny’s bonnet.
November 21, 2025 at 4:01 AM
mst-writes.bsky.social
Of course I love libraries - who doesn't - but I love them even more when they support our book. Thanks Port Stephens Libraries!
#SpiritoftheCrocodile #middlegradebooks
A copy of Spirit of the Crocodile on display at the library.
November 14, 2025 at 1:40 AM
mst-writes.bsky.social
This panel in Sydney is going to be a blast. Please come, and please tell your friends. Free event but bookings essential. Wed 26 Nov at 6pm
www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events/fello...
Fellows’ Forum: Telling histories already told
Hear from three of the Library’s Fellows about their approach to researching and telling histories that many people assume they’ve already heard.
www.sl.nsw.gov.au
November 13, 2025 at 12:07 AM
mst-writes.bsky.social
This piece by Tegan Bennett Daylight about NOT writing a biography is just brilliant.
#biography
sydneyreviewofbooks.com/essays/life-...
Life at Its Most Free | Sydney Review of Books
What happens when a project that could make one’s career doesn’t eventuate? In the wake of the biography of Ruth Park she never wrote, Tegan Bennett Daylight considers what it means to write for a liv...
sydneyreviewofbooks.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:03 PM
mst-writes.bsky.social
Meet Storm, the kitten we adopted last month. His mother (who we also adopted) is still pretty shy. But he’s an absolute charmer 🩶🐈‍⬛
A grey kitten, about 5-6 months old, sitting on a red Persian rug.
November 10, 2025 at 3:12 AM
mst-writes.bsky.social
A sneak peak into the heart of Spirit of the Crocodile #BookSky

youtu.be/Ozr21ALeyKA
Spirit of the Crocodile
YouTube video by Lonestar Entertainment Company
youtu.be
November 8, 2025 at 6:57 AM
mst-writes.bsky.social
Yes, this is my back garden. If I get the camera angle j-u-s-t right, and if you squint a little, you can’t see all the weeds 🤣🤣
November 7, 2025 at 3:35 AM
mst-writes.bsky.social
Blown away by this brilliant braiding together of biography, art history and feminist rage. Unputdownable.
Cover of a book called ‘A Wonan’s Eye, Her Art’ by Drusilla Modjeska.
November 5, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Reposted by Michelle Scott Tucker
joannechocolat.bsky.social
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 430: Read. Read widely. Read what you love, and what you don't. Read what you know, and what you don't yet know. The wider your reading, the better your chance of avoiding the limitations of being influenced by only one author, one genre, one culture, one time.
November 5, 2025 at 12:14 PM
mst-writes.bsky.social
This review by Grace Tame of Tony Abbott's latest book is brilliant. And hilarious.
"Abbott’s Australia – specifically, the one that exists only inside his head – is so white it has to be read in the dark."
www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/share/21955/...
Tony Abbott’s warped story of Australia
Tony Abbott’s history of Australia is a version that sanitises the worst effects of colonialism and immigration policy, and leans into the destructive doctrine of Trump.
www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au
October 31, 2025 at 11:20 PM
mst-writes.bsky.social
This a marvellous review of a book that I’d never heard of but am now keen to read - entirely because of this review.
hudsonreview.com/2025/10/the-...
The Gypsy Life of Robert Louis Stevenson | The Hudson Review
hudsonreview.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:26 AM
mst-writes.bsky.social
I love hearing from readers 💚🐊💚
srpassesiton.bsky.social SallyRCbra @srpassesiton.bsky.social · Oct 21
@mst-writes.bsky.social I have finally absolutely binged ‘Sprit of the Crocodile’ Michelle! Marvellous!! So engrossing, I was riveted & had trouble coming back to my own world afterwards.
V grateful for opportunity to learn about Torres Strait Islander life & culture through Ezra’s eyes & heart.
October 22, 2025 at 2:10 AM
mst-writes.bsky.social
TFW your book is reviewed on ABC Radio Australia 💚🐊💚
"This is technically a middle-grade novel but if you ask me I think 'Spirit of the Crocodile' is a book for everyone. Kids will love it because it’s funny, relatable and full of adventure. But ...
October 16, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Reposted by Michelle Scott Tucker
wheels002.bsky.social
#MelbourneWeather
MELBOURNE HAS 12 SEASONS Winter Fool's Spring Second Winter Spring of Deception The Swooping The Pollening Actual Spring Summer Hell False Autumn Second Summer Actual Autumn
October 13, 2025 at 6:01 AM
mst-writes.bsky.social
It’s adoption day at our place! So excited to collect this gorgeous pair from their foster carer this morning. The black one is the mother of the grey kitten. Still working on names - stay tuned. 🐈‍⬛ 🖤🩶
A black cat with smooth short hair and golden eyes sits neatly next to a fluffy grey kitten.
October 12, 2025 at 1:49 AM
mst-writes.bsky.social
Come & hear me talk! Discussing how historians deviate from well-trodden paths of the past. How do they reveal larger stories that've been ignored? And how do historians correct the record? State Library NSW, Wed 26 Nov, 6pm. Free event but bookings essential.
www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events/fello...
Fellows’ Forum: Telling histories already told
Hear from three of the Library’s Fellows about their approach to researching and telling histories that many people assume they’ve already heard.
www.sl.nsw.gov.au
October 8, 2025 at 4:49 AM
mst-writes.bsky.social
🙄
felicityhannah.bsky.social Felicity Hannah @felicityhannah.bsky.social · Oct 3
This article manages to name her husband before it names… her.
Article reads: Woman named as Archbishop of Canterbury in historic first The 63-year-old archbishop-designate is married to Eamonn Mullally, with whom she has two children. Originally from Woking in Surrey, she was the UK's chief nursing officer from 1999 to 2004.
October 3, 2025 at 12:30 PM
mst-writes.bsky.social
The other day I listened to this terrific - and terrifically interesting - interview with Australian biographer @nathanhobby.bsky.social

www.biographersinconversation.com/s03e05-natha...
Nathan Hobby - The Red Witch - Biographers in Conversation
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Nathan Hobby chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices while crafting The Red Witch: A Biography of Katharine Susannah Prichard, a tower...
www.biographersinconversation.com
October 2, 2025 at 11:55 PM
mst-writes.bsky.social
Today’s desk posy
Blue-flowering rosemary stems and pear blossom in a small blue ceramic vase.
October 1, 2025 at 12:48 AM
mst-writes.bsky.social
People, I’ve emerged from the archives angry & dismayed. Here’s some examples demonstrating the deliberate exclusion & suppression of Louisa Lawson (1848-1920), the subject of my next biography. And oh boy, there are so many more. michellescotttucker.com/angry-and-di...
#AustralianHistory #Biography
Angry and dismayed | Michelle Scott Tucker
Biographer Michelle Scott Tucker discusses how erasure and vilification shaped Louisa Lawson’s life and her subsequent legacy.
michellescotttucker.com
September 30, 2025 at 7:25 AM