Tara Moss

Tara Moss is a dual Canadian-Australian author, documentary host, journalist, and human rights advocate whose work spans crime fiction, nonfiction, and television. Moss has written 15 bestselling books published in 19 countries and 13 languages, including the advocacy handbook for women and girls "Speaking Out," the nonfiction memoir "The Fictional Woman," and the postwar historical crime novels "The War Widow" and "The Ghosts of Paris," featuring PI Billie Walker. Her body of work also includes a series of six crime novels featuring feminist heroine Makedde Vanderwall: "Fetish," "Split," "Covet," "Hit," "Siren," and "Assassin." Her fifteenth book, "The Italian Secret," expanded her repertoire in crime and historical fiction.

Moss is recognized for the depth of research she brings to her fiction. Her novel research has included touring the FBI Academy at Quantico, spending time in squad cars, morgues, prisons, the Hare Psychopathy Lab, the Supreme Court, and criminology conferences, taking polygraph tests, firearms training, surveillance, and earning her private investigator credentials (Cert III) from the Australian Security Academy. Moss has also pursued a doctorate at the University of Sydney, contributing to her credibility in crime writing and investigative journalism.

In addition to her writing, Moss has developed a career as a television presenter and documentary maker. She has hosted the true crime documentary series "Tough Nuts – Australia's Hardest Criminals" on Crime & Investigation Network and Amazon Prime, "Tara Moss Investigates" on National Geographic Channel, and the author interview show "Tara in Conversation" on 13th Street Universal. Moss also served as host, co-executive producer, and co-writer of "Cyberhate with Tara Moss" on ABC, examining online abuse, and delivered the address "Cyberhate and Beyond" at the National Press Club, highlighting issues of online harassment.

Moss is an advocate for human rights, focusing on the rights of women, children, and people with disabilities. She has served as a UNICEF Australia Goodwill Ambassador and as UNICEF Australia's National Ambassador for Child Survival, visiting hospitals, maternity wards, refuges, schools, and refugee camps. In her memoir "The Fictional Woman," Moss critiques the limiting labels imposed on women, drawing from personal experiences, including undergoing a polygraph test to prove authorship of her novels.

Moss has received recognition for her advocacy and public impact, including the Edna Ryan Award for her contribution to feminist debate, and was named among the Global Top 50 Diversity Figures in Public Life. She was also recognized as a Global Change Maker by Conscious Being Magazine for her chronic pain activism and received the Honorary Citizen Award for the City of Victoria for her work on accessibility rights. Moss has spoken at numerous schools and festivals and has interviewed figures such as Gloria Steinem, Naomi Klein, and Alison Bechdel.