This is a Council led event.

19/05/2025 - Hurstville Library.

Sydney Writers' Festival takes place all over the city and beyond. Join us to meet author Jumaana Abdu in conversation with Aylish Dowsett at Hurstville Library for the Sydney Writers Festival In Your Neighbourhood. Jumaana and Aylish will discuss writing and Jumaana’s latest book, Translations which has been longlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize. Light tea will be provided and the author's books will be available to purchase after the event courtesy of QBD The Bookshop, Hurstville.

About the Author:
Jumaana Abdu is a Dal Stivens Award winner and an alumnus of the Wheeler Centre Next Chapter program. Her work features in Thyme Travellers (Roseway Publishing), an international anthology of Palestinian speculative fiction. She has been published elsewhere in Kill Your Darlings, Westerly, Griffith Review, Meanjin, Liminal, Overland, Debris and New Australian Fiction 2024. During the day, she is a medical doctor.
About the Book:
 
Amid a series of personal disasters, Aliyah and her daughter, Sakina, retreat to rural New South Wales to make a new life. Aliyah manages to secure a run-down property and hires a farmhand, Shep, an extremely private Palestinian man and the region’s imām.
 
During a storm, she drives past the town’s river and happens upon a childhood friend, Hana, who has been living a life of desperation. Aliyah takes her in and tries to navigate the indefinable relationships between both Hana and her farmhand. Tensions rise as Aliyah’s growing bond with Shep strains her devotion to Hana.
Finally, all are thrown together for a reckoning alongside Hana’s brother, Hashim, and Aliyah’s confidante, Billie – a local Kamilaroi midwife she met working at the hospital – while bushfires rage around them.
 
For more information visit Jumaana Abdu - Penguin Books Australia.
 
About the moderator:
Aylish Dowsett is an award-winning writer, tutor, and copywriter. She teaches creative writing at The Writers’ Studio, The Writing Quarter, Creative Writing Ink, and St George and Sutherland Community College. Her work has been published in Mythrill Fiction, Collider, Honi Soit, Grapeshot, The Quarry, and many others.

About the Sydney Writers' Festival:
Sydney Writers’ Festival is an annual celebration and showcase of leading Australian and international writers and creative thinkers. At Sydney Writers’ Festival events, you will be invited into the writers’ process, be exposed to new ideas and lines of questioning, and discover exceptional authors and inspiring literature.

This event is suitable for ages 16 years and over.

 

Monday 19 May 2025

 

Address

Hurstville Library 
Corner Queens Road and Dora Street, Hurstville.
 

Times

6.00pm - 7.30pm.
 

Cost

$8.50.
 

Bookings:

Spaces are limited so bookings are essential. To reserve your place please click the Book Now button below. 

Book Now

 

More Information:

• No refunds for cancellations or missed bookings.
• Program swapping is not permitted.
• If you arrive more than 10 minutes after the advertised start time and there are people in the standby queue, your ticket may be allocated to the standby queue.
• This event will not be recorded and cannot be accessed after the scheduled time. If you are unable to attend, please cancel your registration at least 3 hours prior to the event. As Library Programs have limited spaces and repeated failure to notify staff of cancellations, bookings may be refused in the future.
• The library does not endorse or promote any products which may be used in the workshop.

Accessibility Information:
Georges River Libraries is committed to providing inclusive library services and programs. Please email library@georgesriver.nsw.gov.au or note down your requirements or support needs in your event registration.