MELBOURNE, 23 August 2022: Pankaj Mishra, Mohsin Hamid, and Abbas Nazari, writers of Indian, Pakistani & Afghan origin will grace the Melbourne Writers Festival 2022, 8-11 September 2022. Fresh with their new literary output, these South Asian origin writers based in France, Britain, and Australia will be before audiences live or online.
Pankaj Mishra: Run and Hide
MWF Digital: One of India’s most important thinkers, Pankaj Mishra (Age of Anger, From the Ruins of Empire) makes his triumphant return to fiction with Run and Hide. Taking on caste, class, and the toll of ruthless ambition, it follows three friends bound by a desire for self-reinvention, roaming from the foothills of the Himalayas to the penthouses of London in a ‘spectacular, illuminating work of fiction (Jennifer Egan). Tasneem Chopra finds out what drew Mishra back to fiction after a two-decade hiatus. Online/ Available on demand from 8 September/Duration one hour.
Mohsin Hamid: The Last White Man
Fri 9 Sep, 6.30 pm. Duration one hour.
The bestselling novels of British Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid have captured some of the greatest upheavals of our times to critical acclaim. The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a singularly vivid exploration of post–September 11 politics and patriotism while Exit West remarkably renders the successive fallout of conflict and the refugee crisis – both novels were shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Hamid’s forthcoming release, The Last White Man, follows suit, examining race, prejudice, and nationalism in a world where the skin colour of white people everywhere begins to turn dark. Appearing live in person, Hamid shares insight into a lyrical, urgent and hopeful story that asks important questions of racial and social justice, in conversation with award-winning journalist and Culture News Editor of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Osman Faruqi. Proudly supported by ARA Group
Abbas Nazari: After the Tampa
Sun 11 Sep, 4.30 pm. Duration one hour.
Last year marked 20 years since the Tampa boat was infamously turned away from our shores, a pivotal moment that has informed Australia’s hardline offshore policy for asylum seekers.
One of the survivors of the incident, Abbas Nazari, recounts his remarkable journey in After the Tampa – from fleeing the Taliban and spending a month at sea, to resettling in New Zealand and becoming a Fulbright scholar and leading refugee advocate.
Nazari speaks with David Marr about his inspiring story that highlights the plight and possibilities for refugees everywhere and Tampa’s role in shaping a policy upheld by Coalition and Labor governments to this day.
For venues and bookings go to: https://mwf.com.au
Source- Melbourne Writers Festival 2022.
