Previous engagements

Presenting engagements as a speaker, moderator and interviewer include: the Perth Writers’ Festival (Western Australia); the Oxford International Film Festival (Mississippi, US); the IF magazine awards (Brisbane); Popcorn Taxi film events (Sydney); the Sydney Festival, the Sydney MED Festival, the History Illuminated Festival (Lake Macquarie).

Presentations available include

Australia’s Titanic Hero

Join Michael Adams as he looks at the world’s most famous disaster story through an entirely new and very personal lens, telling the tale of the ship’s boatswain, forgotten hero Albert “Big Neck” Nichols, who was born and raised on Australia’s tiny Lord Howe Island. This is a story with a surprise happy ending you won’t see coming.

The Aussie Who Saved JFK

It’s one of history’s ultimate ‘sliding doors’ moments. What would have happened if US Navy Lieutenant John F. Kennedy hadn’t been rescued after PT-109 sank in the Pacific in August 1943? We dig into the amazing story of the brave and humble Australian coast watcher who saved JFK, only to be forgotten for decades in official accounts. In 2020, Michael was the first to fully investigate this story, resulting in a two-part Forgotten Australia podcast episode that was commended by US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy, who also sought Michael’s assistance in tracing surviving coast watchers.

A Startling Detective Adventure

In 1930, an American-criminal-turned-Australian war hero committed a murder in Seattle and triggered a massive police manhunt from Vancouver to Los Angeles. He’d elude capture until a reader of pulp magazine Startling Detective Adventures decided to play amateur sleuth. Nearly a century later, Michael Adams has made further discoveries that have gotten the serious attention of a major American Cold Case murder unit. As of November 2024, this story continues to unfold…

The World’s First Celebrity Serial Killer

In 1896-97, the world held its breath as a ruthless English murderer, who’d adopted a new identity in Western Australia, escaped from Sydney on a sailing ship bound for San Francisco. Would American and Australian police be able to catch and convict him? Or would he go free to kill again and cash in on his worldwide celebrity?

Blue Murder in the Golden State

One hundred years ago, two Western Australian murder cases shocked the country. The victims were a young man shot dead on a dance floor and two veteran police detectives who were killed in the outback. What the cases had in common was one attorney, who’d try to work miracles to free the cold-blooded killers. But his efforts would ripple through history… to the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, and the Equal Rights Amendments.

Hanging Ned Kelly

The outlaw Ned Kelly is Australia’s most famous figure, known for his iconic iron armour and for waging war on the police. But unlike the coward Robert Ford, infamous for shooting Jesse James, virtually nothing was known about the man who ended this rebel’s life – until Michael Adams wrote the book about the wild life and times of Elijah Upjohn, whose job was Hanging Ned Kelly.

They’ll Never Hold Me

This is the rip-roaring true crime story of Kevin John Simmonds, who in 1959 became Australia’s most famous prison escapee. The young man with the matinee idol looks and clear code of honour ran rings around the cops during a massive mountains manhunt, turning him into both Public Enemy No.1 and an Australian folk hero. As always, the tale does more twists than Chubby Checker. Based on Michael’s book, They’ll Never Hold Me.

He’s Coming South!

In the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, northern Australia was open to attack and possible invasion, with Darwin and other towns bombed repeatedly, causing devastating Australian and American losses. Michael Adams examines surprising personal histories from this critical moment in WWII and world history.

Hollywood’s Forgotten Sweetheart

Mary Maguire was a teenage Australian girl who set out to conquer Hollywood during its Golden Age of the 1930s. But while she found fame and fortune in a fantasy land populated by the likes of Jimmy Cagney, Ronald Reagan, Bette Davis, Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst, she’d also become tangled up in studio intrigue and be ensnared by a British Nazi during World War II. Based on Michael’s book Australia’s Sweetheart.

The Zaandam Miracle

The rescue of JFK wasn’t the only maritime miracle to come out of WWII. In 1942, after HAL’s merchant ship SS Zaandam was torpedoed by a German U-boat, American sailor Basil D. Izzi became world famous after he survived 83 days adrift on a raft. His plight sheds lights on the forgotten sacrifices of the US merchant marine, whose missions were among the most dangerous of the war.

White Death

While author Zane Grey invented the Western genre and changed the way America saw itself and the world saw America, his true passion was trying to catch and kill the world’s biggest sharks. He was so obsessed that in 1936 he travelled to Australia to hook the 80-foot monsters he was sure lurked in our waters. While Zane was here, he wrote and starred in a movie called White Death, which was released 40 years before Jaws! We’ll hear his story and see clips from this incredibly “fishy” forgotten film.

Better Living Through Bad Movies

If you thought Zane Grey’s White Death was bad, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Join Michael Adams as he explores the world’s worst movies – and reveals the surprising fun and insights to be found in terrible films made by A-listers and Z-graders alike.

What Katie Did Down Under

In 1955 Katharine Hepburn spent six months living and working all over Australia. Join Michael Adams as we explore this charming and unknown slice of celebrity history and learn how it dramatically changed the life of a beloved Hollywood legend.

For enquiries:

michaeladamswrites@gmail.com