A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper

A Brief History of Montmaray was published in North America by Alfred A. The novel was awarded the Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature and was shortlisted for the Golden Inky, Australia's teenage choice book award. Michelle's second novel, A Brief History of Montmaray, was published by Random House Australia in June, 2008, with an audiobook version, narrated by Melissa Chambers, released in November, 2008, by Louis Braille Audio. The Rage of Sheep was published by Random House Australia in August, 2007.

This meant she was lucky enough to work on the manuscript with Young Adult author Alyssa Brugman. An early draft of the novel won a mentorship with the Children's Book Council of Australia. She got to watch students improve their literacy skills and become happier, more confident learners - also, she got to work in an office covered in Harry Potter posters and give herself smiley stamps when she did a good job. She worked as a speech and language pathologist for fifteen years, helping students with learning problems. Then she decided she should get a proper job, so she enrolled in a degree in Speech Pathology. She dropped out of her course in her final year and did a variety of jobs, including stuffing envelopes, selling ladies' shoes and working in a blood bank.

She started a Pharmacy degree, but didn't like it very much. She attended a succession of schools in Fiji and country New South Wales, then went to university in Sydney. Michelle Cooper was born in Sydney, Australia in 1969.

A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper