Michelle Wright has studied at the Faber Writing Academy in Sydney. Her collection of short stories, Fine, was published in 2016 after being shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript. In 2017, Michelle was awarded a six-month Australia Council for the Arts residency at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris. Small Acts of Defiance published in 2021 is her first novel.

In her book chat, Michelle discusses Small Acts of Defiance, the story of a young woman who leaves Australia for France in 1940, immediately prior to the Occupation. Michelle explores why she was personally drawn to telling this story, and how themes of family and loyalty — on both a personal and larger level — formed the basis for the work.