Michelle See-Tho

Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings Debut Spotlight feature. For August that debut is Jade and Emerald by Michelle See-Tho (Penguin Random House), a fierce and deeply felt novel about the joys and pains of growing up, of accepting who you are and where you come from.

Amid the clunky special features of the DVD era, the audio commentary track stood out as a unique and intimate glimpse behind the scenes. As physical media gives way to streaming services, are these real-time deep dives becoming a thing of the past?

‘Look around at where you are,’ the voice commands. So you do. Not necessarily because you want to but because he’s telling you to. He’s a policeman, after all, so you have no choice. He’s had you strip-searched and your clothes seized. He’s been telling you what to do for hours now and he isn’t going […]