One afternoon in Jordan, Sameer Dakhil answered the phone and the first word he heard was “congratulations”. At first he thought it was a prank, but then the voice continued: “This is the Australian Government. You have been granted a visa.”

Iraqi refugee artist Sameer Dakhil draws inspiration from new home in Australia
ABC RN Books and Arts

Randa Abdel-Fattah was researching Islamophobia from the point of view of perpetrators when she wrote her 11th book. By day, she’d interview people with Islamophobic views for her PhD. At night she’d imagine what would happen if two teenagers from opposite sides of an anti-refugee rally met and fell in love.

Randa Abdel-Fattah spins Islamophobia into Aussie teen romance
ABC RN Books and Arts

Amidst the celebrations of Christmas and the new year, it can be a challenging time for many people.
Anxiety around social and family expectations, feelings of grief and self-doubt can be heightened by the pressure to be joyful and jolly because “’tis the season”.

Words that bring people comfort, especially during the holidays
ABC Life

At 23, Disapol Savetsila is the youngest playwright to ever have his work performed at Sydney Theatre Company. His debut play, Australian Graffiti, currently sits alongside two productions written overseas long before he was born: an adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984, and Caryl Churchill’s Cloud Nine. “Sometimes I still catch myself sort of thinking: ‘Oh my god, we’re standing at STC talking about characters that I’ve written.'”

Australian Graffiti: Disapol Savetsila’s debut play finds magic in a country town
ABC RN Books and Arts

More than a million Australians celebrate Lunar New Year, mostly from Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese backgrounds. As we make our way into the Year of the Dog, six families reflect on what it means to them.

What Lunar New Year means to six Australian families
ABC News