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Honouring and Escaping our Ancestors
Sun
26
Sun 26 Oct 11:30 AM
Liangis Theatre | National Portrait Gallery
Wheelchair
General Admission
60 Mins
October
Can women fit within family, honour their home, but still forge their own lives? Join two of the most exciting new voices in Australian literature as they explore belonging, separation and self. Natasha Rai, in An Onslaught of Light, beautifully illustrates the pull a young woman feels back to her Indian family, while determined to discover her own queer identity. In international hit When Sleeping Women Wake, by Canberra's own Emma Pei Yin, physical separation in war-torn Hong Kong cannot break the lifelong spiritual connection between three women. In conversation with journalist and writer Aarti Betigeri, join Natasha and Emma they discuss both the strength families give us, and the constraints they can impose on our lives.
Emma Pei Yin is an Australian Chinese writer and editor. She is the author of When Sleeping Women Wake, a historical novel set during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, exploring resilience, complicity and the cost of survival. She is also the founder of yinfluence editorial, an agency that works with PoC, queer and neurodivergent writers, connecting them with editors and mentors who understand the stakes of telling stories from the margins. She has been featured in The Canberra Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Mekong Review and The Hong Kong Review.
Natasha Rai is a writer and somatic counsellor. She is also the co-host of the Book Deal podcast, exploring writers' publication journeys. Her debut novel, AN ONSLAUGHT OF LIGHT, published by Pantera Press, was longlisted for the 2017 Richell Prize, 2018 KYD Unpublished Manuscript award, and highly commended for the 2022 Ultimo Press/Westwords Prize. Natasha’s nonfiction appears in anthologies on gender violence. Her short fiction appears in Mascara Literary Review, Overland, Verity La, and StylusLit.
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Concession Tickets apply for children under the age of 16, full-time students, Commonwealth Health Care Card holders, Commonwealth Seniors Card Holders and Commonwealth Pensioner Concession Card holders. Please have your eligible card with you at the venue.
Emma Pei Yin is an Australian Chinese writer and editor. She is the author of When Sleeping Women Wake, a historical novel set during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, exploring resilience, complicity and the cost of survival. She is also the founder of yinfluence editorial, an agency that works with PoC, queer and neurodivergent writers, connecting them with editors and mentors who understand the stakes of telling stories from the margins. She has been featured in The Canberra Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Mekong Review and The Hong Kong Review.
Natasha Rai is a writer and somatic counsellor. She is also the co-host of the Book Deal podcast, exploring writers' publication journeys. Her debut novel, AN ONSLAUGHT OF LIGHT, published by Pantera Press, was longlisted for the 2017 Richell Prize, 2018 KYD Unpublished Manuscript award, and highly commended for the 2022 Ultimo Press/Westwords Prize. Natasha’s nonfiction appears in anthologies on gender violence. Her short fiction appears in Mascara Literary Review, Overland, Verity La, and StylusLit.
_______________________________________________________________
Concession Tickets apply for children under the age of 16, full-time students, Commonwealth Health Care Card holders, Commonwealth Seniors Card Holders and Commonwealth Pensioner Concession Card holders. Please have your eligible card with you at the venue.