Dr. Monika Schott is an Australian based writer and researcher. Life’s intricacies and curiosities inspire her to write and give voice to stories that haven’t been heard. She’s particularly interested in lost industrial Communities and communities that have been isolated or segregated, and interpreting these stories of past communities before they’re lost forever. She once practiced as a metal artist and painter and as such, writes like an artist creating texture on metal or canvas. She wrote the social history of Melbourne’s first sewerage farm community as part of her PhD research into sewerage ghost towns and how these communities flourish in their abject margins. Her novel, ‘The Faraway Land of the House and Two Cows’, and song, ‘A Land Faraway’, were released in July 2022.

Her latest book, ‘My Dad Built me the best and wackiest cubby ever’ is a timely and compassionate story about a child and father navigating the dad’s mental health struggles, and is inspired by Monika’s own lived experience. The heart-warming chapter book is a gentle interpretation of what Monika observed within her own family, and is ideal for children aged 5-12 years. Credit: Dr. Monika Schott.