Michael Shmith (born 7 July 1949) is an Australian journalist and writer.
Shmith is the son of Athol Shmith and his wife Patricia "Bambi" née Tuckwell (they later divorced).1
Journalist, publicist
Shmith worked at The Age newspaper in Melbourne from 1981 as a senior writer for The Age2 and its arts editor from 1985 to 1993. In 1995, he became communications director for the Australian Ballet.3 From 2010 to 2017 he was the paper's opera critic. He resigned from that position in August 2017 over a disagreement with The Age's arts editor Hannah Francis about the paper's dwindling coverage of the arts.4 Since then, he writes reviews for the Australian Book Review.5
Author
Shmith edited the 1999 Ebury Publishing edition of The New Pocket Kobbé's Opera Book with his stepfather George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood.6 Shmith's 2019 book, Cranlana: The First 100 Years, described the garden and house of Sidney Myer and Merlyn Myer in Toorak, Melbourne.7 His biography of Merlyn Myer, Merlyn, was published in 2021.8
References
References
- Michael Shmith (2012). "Louis Athol Shmith (1914–1990)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 18. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
- Christopher Pearson (30 April 2011). "Wedding ban attracts immature reaction". The Australian. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- "Authors 2009 – Michael Shmith". 2009 Festival Archive. Melbourne Writers Festival. August 2009. Archived from the original on 16 March 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
- "Why I quit as opera critic of The Age" by Michael Shmith, Australian Book Review, 14 August 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2025. (subscription required)
- "Michael Shmith", Australian Book Review Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- "The New Pocket Kobbé's Opera Book / edited by the Earl of Harwood with Michael Shmith" (catalogue entry at National Library of Australia). Retrieved 19 June 2013.
- Michael Shmith (2019). Cranlana: The First 100 Years. Hardie Grant Media. ISBN 9781743795859.
- Michael Shmith (2021). Merlyn. Hardie Grant Media. ISBN 9781743798096.