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Listen to our Sydney Writers' Festival panel, 'What If My Mum Reads This?'

Check out the latest episode of The New Writer's Room featuring an exclusive stream of our Sydney Writers' Festival memoir panel available now for those who missed out.

A panel of speakers at the Sydney Writers' Festival

(L–R) Cat Yen, Jackie Bailey, Sarah Malik, Benjamin Law and Alana Hicks at the 2022 Sydney Writers' Festival Source: Tyler Aves

In May 2022, SBS Voices teamed up with the Sydney Writers' Festival to present a panel event on memoir storytelling, with special guest, writer and broadcaster, Benjamin Law.

The panel event, called '?', was a lively discussion on the perils and pitfalls of using your life as a literary canvas, especially for writers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. And now we have it on podcast form to stream on The New Writer's Room for those who missed out.
A young Asian woman reads on stage
Cat Yen, Jackie Bailey and Sarah Malik. (Image: Tyler Aves) Source: Supplied
Accompanying Law at the panel event, were SBS Emerging Writers' Competition alumni  and . Yen and Hicks are the 2021 and 2020 competition winners, respectively, while Bailey's shortlisted entry was developed into her debut novel .

SBS Voices senior writer and presenter Sarah Malik moderated the event.

Tune in to this passionate discussion as our writers discuss how to broach sensitive topics such as sex, politics and family secrets, and the transformative power of writing your own story as well as the challenges. 

Listen to SBS Voices' new podcast, , in the , or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

The SBS Emerging Writers' Competition is open for entries on August 16. Write a non-fiction memoir story on the theme of 'Emergence' for your chance to be awarded the $5000 first place prize, $3000 second place prize or two runners-up prizes of $1000. The top entries will also be published in an anthology by Hardie Grant. Go to  to register and find out more

The anthology from the 2021 competition  published by Hardie Grant is out now. 

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2 min read
Published 17 August 2022 3:48pm
Updated 3 March 2023 10:35am
Source: SBS

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