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  • Shankari Chandran hold her chin in her hand as she looks at the camera

    Shankari Chandran at Sydney Writers Festival

    Carriageworks 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh, NSW, Australia

    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.

  • Cheng Lei on China and Freedom

    Gleebooks 49 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe, NSW, Australia

    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.

  • How Free is Free Speech

    State Library of NSW 1 Shakespeare Pl, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    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?