AustLit logo
Michelle Law Michelle Law i(A118458 works by)
Born: Established: 1990 Sunshine Coast, South East Queensland, Queensland, ;
Gender: Female
Heritage: Chinese
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
1 3 form y separately published work icon Safe Home Anna Barnes , Michelle Law , Jean Tong , ( dir. Stevie Cruz-Martin ) Australia : Kindling Pictures SBS , 2023 23923086 2023 series - publisher film/TV

'Safe Home tells the story of Phoebe, a young woman working at a not-for-profit legal centre helping women escape domestic abuse, whose life gets turned upside down when she witnesses a murder on a suburban street.'

Source: Screen Australia (https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2022/02-21-new-australian-drama-series-safe-home). (Sighted: 03/03/2022)

1 1 Top Coat Michelle Law , 2022 single work drama

'What happens when a Chinese-Australian manicurist switches bodies with a white, latte sipping, TV executive? A chaotic and outrageous comedy awaits!

'From the hilarious and politically-charged wit of Michelle Law – one of our most exciting playwrights and the creator of Belvoir’s Single Asian Female and SBS’s Homecoming Queens – comes this irreverently funny new comedy that pulls no punches in exploring race, representation, privilege, and taking woke culture to task.

'Dreaming of one day owning her own salon, the headstrong and determined Winnie (played by Kimie Tsukakoshi) spends her days buffing the manicures of her demanding, oblivious and mostly-white clientele. One such client is Kate (Amber McMahon), a glamorous high-flyer who is very assured of her progressive credentials.

'When a mysterious electrical event at the nail salon means Kate and Winnie wake up in each other’s bodies, all hell breaks loose  and both women are forced to see the world, and their places in it, from entirely new angles.

'Directed by STC’s Directing Associate Courtney Stewart, Top Coat gives the issues of our time a much-needed makeover and mounts a hilarious satire of Australia’s media landscape.' (Production summary)

1 y separately published work icon Asian Girls Are Going Places : How to Navigate the World as an Asian Woman Today Michelle Law , Michelle Law (interviewer), Richmond : Hardie Grant Books , 2022 24692791 2022 single work prose interview

'Separated into chapters that deal with solo travel, family travel, the best places to celebrate Lunar New Year, where to find good Asian food around the globe, romance or relationships, safety and privilege, the sage and entertaining advice is all told through Michelle’s signature offbeat, comedic style, and accompanied by eye-popping illustrations and design. It’s a book that’s at once cool and collected, yet not afraid to take on the weird, funny and, at times, gross aspects of travel. But you don't need to have any concrete travel plans to get a lot out of this book.

'Each chapter includes anecdotes from Michelle, interviews with other experienced Asian female travellers, handy lists, stunning illustrations by Hong Kong artist Joey Leung Kay-yin, and comes with a page of beautiful stickers, making it either an impressive gift to be treasured at home or a luxurious ‘treat yourself’ item that can be read on the go.

'Asian Girls are Going Places is a handy, laugh-out-loud and deeply relatable travel companion for Asian women that will be at the top of their packing list.'  (Publication summary)

1 Michelle Law Michelle Law , 2021 single work correspondence
— Appears in: Dear Mum 2021;
1 Corrie Chen Michelle Law (interviewer), 2021 single work interview
— Appears in: Liminal , March 2021;
'Born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, Corrie Chen is a highly sought-after, award-winning writer and director whose work spans comedy and drama. She is currently directing New Gold Mountain, a bold new SBS miniseries set in the Australian gold rush from the Chinese-Australian perspective.' (Introduction)
1 Bu Liao Qing Michelle Law , 2020 single work short story
— Appears in: After Australia 2020; (p. 27-52)
1 y separately published work icon Miss Peony 牡丹小姐 Michelle Law , 2020 Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2023 17261732 2020 single work drama

'Lily’s grandmother was a beauty queen back in Hong Kong. She doesn’t care that times have changed and that Lily lives in a new country and a new century. She sees that Lily’s caught between worlds, and wants her to enter the Chinese community beauty pageant, the highly competitive Miss Peony. She won’t take no for an answer.

'And to makes matters worse, she’s a ghost.'

Source: Belvoir Street Theatre.

1 Michelle Law Michelle Law , 2019 single work correspondence
— Appears in: Dear Dad 2019;
1 Choosing Michelle Law , 2019 single work prose
— Appears in: Choice Words : A Collection of Writing about Abortion 2019;
1 TSSPBKTAWTYA!!! (Codename : Top-secret Superpowers Possessed by Kids That Adults WON'T Tell You about!!!) Michelle Law , 2019 single work short story
— Appears in: Funny Bones 2019;
1 The Wheel i "We're shown to a table inside,", Michelle Law , 2019 single work poetry
— Appears in: Solid Air : Australian and New Zealand Spoken Word 2019; (p. 113-114)
1 form y separately published work icon Laurinda Michelle Law , ( dir. Samantha Lang ) Australia : Handmaid Media , 2018 13008211 2018 single work film/TV

'Lucy Linh Lam lives in a dilapidated suburb among families like her own: poor, hardworking immigrants who dream of a better life for their children. When she wins a scholarship to a prestigious private school, Lucy struggles to form a new identity without compromising the values she holds closest to her heart.'

Source: Screen Australia funding approvals.

1 1 form y separately published work icon Homecoming Queens Michelle Law , Chloë Reeson , ( dir. Corrie Chen ) Australia : Generator Pictures SBS , 2018 11576166 2018 series - publisher film/TV

Comedy-drama about two twenty-something best friends who reinvent themselves after experiencing chronic illness.

1 Conversations with My Sister : Negotiating Art, Love and Labour Michelle Law , 2017 single work autobiography
— Appears in: Griffith Review , May no. 56 2017; (p. 91-103)
'On the way home from Brisbane airport, my older sister Tammy turns to me from the driver's seat and asks an unexpected question: 'So, are you going to marry him?' She says this in a silly voice while pulling a silly face - a mode of speaking we adopted as kids when we wanted to express something serious to each other, like affection or an apology, without having to show vulnerability.' (Publication abstract)
1 1 y separately published work icon Single Asian Female Michelle Law , 2017 Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2018 12927052 2017 single work drama humour

'Set on the Sunshine Coast this hilarious play answers what it means to be an Asian woman living in Australia.

'For Pearl, a Chinese migrant operating a restaurant, it means sacrifice and struggling to connect with her very westernised children.

'For Zoe, the eldest child, it means approaching a crossroads in her life where she’s forced to choose between a career and a family.

'For Mei, the youngest child, it means being bullied at school and grappling with the desire to assimilate versus cultivating a unique identity.

'Two sisters at odds with each other and a mother harboring a secret that threatens to tear her family apart, Australian domesticity like you’ve never seen it before.'

(Production summary)

1 Yellow Gold Michelle Law , 2015 single work prose
— Appears in: Peril : An Asian-Australian Journal , December no. 22 2015;
1 Pauline Hanson Eviction Speech Michelle Law , 2015 single work prose
— Appears in: Seizure [Online] , July 2015; Best Austrian Australian Comedy Writing 2016; (p. 243-248)
1 Good Things Come in Pairs : Stronger Every Day Michelle Law , 2015 single work autobiography
— Appears in: Griffith Review , no. 49 2015; (p. 180-190)
1 The Roaring Twenties Michelle Law , 2015 single work prose
— Appears in: The Lifted Brow , March no. 25 2015; (p. 25-28)
1 y separately published work icon Sh*t Asian Mothers Say Benjamin Law , Michelle Law , Melbourne : Black Inc. , 2014 7223785 2014 selected work prose

'Benjamin Law and Michelle Law, the long-suffering children of an Asian Mother, bring you the hilarious Sh*t Asian Mothers Say, featuring the wisdom of Asian Mothers the world over, from “Eat every grain of rice, otherwise that’s how many pimples your future spouse will have” to “She’s just jealous – and racist”. The book also includes quizzes (“Have You Failed Your Asian Mother?”), an interpretation guide to “What your Asian Mother is really saying”, Ten Asian Mother Commandments (Thou shalt not sleepover) and an Asian Mothers’ Guide to Beauty (bad perms, colour, eyelids). With illustrations by Oslo Davis that bring the disapproving Asian Mother to life, this is the perfect gift for the Asian Mother in your life – or perhaps her children.' (Publication summary)

X