Sean Turnell and Ma Thida both survived incarceration in Myanmar's notorious Insein prison. What hope do these important players in Myanmar’s government and politics hold for the return of democracy three years after the military seized power in a coup? In conversation with Catherine Renshaw.
How safe is it to blow the whistle in Australia? Recent high-profile prosecutions of whistleblowers - Witness K, David McBride, Richard Boyle have shown that blowing the whistle can land you in jail. And journalists who protect their whistleblowing sources risk gaining a criminal record. What is the cost to our democracy? Keeping the bastards honest has never been more dangerous for whistleblowers and the journalists who bring their stories to light.
Former Senator Rex Patrick – Advocate for whistleblowers
Anneliese Cooper - Lawyer with the Whistleblower Project
Moderator - Journalist Michael West
With more speakers to be announced
We live in an era of unprecedented access to information, yet power and authority often present fiction as fact.
As a writer and lawyer, Shankari Chandran recognises fiction’s limitations in delivering justice. But her interviews with survivors of Sri Lankan genocide inform her novels, which provide a powerful opportunity to explore and reveal stories, history, war and injustice. Fiction is a crucial space for truth-telling, especially when official channels are blocked.
In this lecture, hear the Miles Franklin Literary Award winner speak to her use of fiction as a living, communal archive.
PEN Sydney in collaboration with Gleebooks will host an event marking the Day of the Imprisoned Writer.
Journalist Cheng Lei and writer Benjamin Law will discuss Lei’s three years and two months spent in a Beijing prison where she was falsely accused of espionage.
Her book, “A Memoir of Freedom”, is harrowing, fierce and darkly humorous. It is about the power of the human spirit; bravery in the face of cruelty and pettiness; the consolations of letters, music and books; and how unexpected friendships and the love of family can unlock the courage we all have within us to prevail.
Freedom of expression is front and centre in Australian public conversation.
Yet how free are journalists to express themselves, particularly if their ideas are considered contentious or satirical? How do we responsibly maintain the rights of journalists to report the truth, whilst also fostering mutual understanding and empathy between communities?
As commentary becomes more tribal and viewpoints more siloed, how free are journalists and writers to express unorthodox, controversial or nuanced positions?
Dr Anne Summers will discuss her new book, Witness, an illuminating first-ever collection of her reportage, essays, interviews and articles.
She revisits the vindictive politics of the Julia Gillard era, the unexpected legacy of Malcolm Fraser and the way John Howard upended the agenda for women’s equality. She explores the Mexican patron saint of drug runners, the terrorist bombing of an Ariana Grande concert and the women who marched against rape in war on ANZAC Day. And she reflects on the death of her mother, finally providing a headstone for a violent grandfather, sharing her name with a chain of sex shops and why she couldn’t throw out her swinging '60s wedding dress.