An author and journalist at Deepwater, on Ngarrabul Country in the New England region of NSW, Michael's gothic thriller set on Australia's colonial frontier - The Watchnight - is published by Histria Books. His debut rural noir novel, Tank Water, and its sequel, Dirt Trap, are released by MidnightSun Publishing.

Michael has written for the Guardian, Fairfax Media, and the Journal of Australian Studies, and is a board member of BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival. His great-grandparents were English, Scottish and Irish migrants, and Māori, and he enjoys researching and writing about diversity in the colonial era.

If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to cook dinner for Anne Hathaway and listen while she dished on all the Stratford-upon-Avon tales that ended up in her husband's play. I imagine it would be fun to bust all the myths about her and the little farming town that birthed the 'upstart crow' he became in the Elizabethan and Jacobean London playhouse scene, but I'd love to hear it from Anne's perspective.