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 'What If My Mum Reads This?', 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.
Accompanying Law at the panel event, were SBS Emerging Writers' Competition alumni Cat Yen, Alana Hicks and Jackie Bailey. Yen and Hicks are the 2021 and 2020 competition winners, respectively, while Bailey's shortlisted entry was developed into her debut novel The Eulogy.
Cat Yen, Jackie Bailey and Sarah Malik. (Image: Tyler Aves) Source: Supplied
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, The New Writer's Room, in the SBS Radio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, 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 sbs.com.au/writers to register and find out more.
