Cirrus@Austlit

Michael Hyde holds a Master of Arts (Writing) from Victoria University and a Diploma of Education. He has been a hospital cleaner, truck driver, senior policy analyst and a teacher. He has written plays, radio scripts, short stories and social commentary, and in addition to his literature for children and young adults, has written and edited a number of educational texts including the Cambridge University Press Englishworks series. He has also published a guide to writing, Diary of My Secret Life (1990). He has contributed to literary journals and short story anthologies, has edited a number of anthologies of student writing, given numerous workshops to students and teachers, and spoken at seminars and writing festivals. He has lectured in several subjects at Victoria University, including Professional Writing, Sports Writing, and Children's Texts.

The Oxford Companion to Australian Children's Literature asserts that Hyde's work 'reflects his sympathy for young people who are struggling to survive in a world which is not affluent or always caring'.