Michelle Stephens is a Melbourne/Naarm crime writer and architect living on the lands of the Wurrundjeri Woi-wurrung people. She ran her own inner-city residential architecture practice for two decades, before making the switch to building fictional worlds with her twisty suspense mysteries and thrillers.

Her debut manuscript, THE CRACK, was Highly Commended in the 2024 Copyright Agency/Australian Society of Authors Mentorship Program and awarded a fellowship at Katherine Susannah Pritchard Writers’ Centre. Her short story, THE WEDNESDAY WIDOW, was shortlisted in the 2024 Sisters in Crime Scarlet Stiletto Awards and her second novel received a fellowship at Varuna, the National Writers House.

Michelle is a member of the Australian Society of Authors, Writers Victoria, Australian Crime Writers Association and Sisters in Crime Australia, and when she is not working, can be found on court (chasing fluffy yellow balls) or at the beach (chasing the perfect summer spritz).

She now splits her time between the city and the Victorian Surf Coast and loves nothing more than sharing her latest book recommendations on Instagram, so if you’re looking for your next five-star read, you just might find it there.