New to the Table
Event description
Emerging writers from Sydney Aishah Ali, Lina Ali, Zohra Aly and fifteen-year-old Anhaar Kareem discuss their writing journey so far and share their hopes for their careers. Learn from them about the wonderful opportunities that come with being new to the table.
ABOUT THE PANELLISTS
Aishah Ali
Aishah Ali is a 23 year old financial services lawyer, writer and spoken word poet.
Her poetry has been published in a number of books, magazines and online forums including the Bankstown Poetry Slam Anthology 'The Resurrection', The Dirty Thirty Anthology as well as Vertigo, Mantra, The Muslim Voice (Canada) and Whynot? and has had her showcased by ABC News and the Daily Telegraph.
Her first student film 'The Immigrant Citizen' won the UTS Law Brennan Justice Film Festival Redmond Award and got her nominated for the UTS Human Rights Award. Aishah has worked closely for a number of governmental organisations such as Vivid NSW, Department of Communities and Justice and NGOs such as Batyr, Youth Action, Reconciliation NSW and directed her second short film with Amnesty International while collaborating with the Sydney Jewish Museum.
She was the recipient of the coveted Westwords Writing Fellowship in 2020 and is currently working on her first poetry collection.
Lina Ali
Lina Ali is a Muslim Indian-Australian emerging writer from Parramatta, NSW. She is currently majoring in English Literature and Politics, alongside completing a Bachelor of Islamic Studies part-time. Lina was a Highly Commended recipient of the 2022 All About Women of Colour Mentorship Program. She received editorial guidance and mentorship from Randa Abdel-Fattah and Sweatshop's Winnie Dunn. Her short story 'Shaking Hands Suffocate' was published on the Sydney Opera House Website.
Lina also received an internship to work as an SBS Diversity and Inclusion Research Assistant and as a Voices writer through the 2022 Createability Internship program, which is a partnership between Create NSW and Accessible Arts and a range of NSW-based arts, screen and cultural organisations, to develop strong career pathways for people with disability.
Lina has also written for ABC, SBS Voices and Meanjin Quarterly.
Zohra Aly
Zohra Aly lives in Sydney and worked as a hospital pharmacist for many years. More recently, she wrote features as a freelancer for Sydney Morning Herald and magazines like Mindfood and Sunday Life.
She has an MA in Creative Writing from UTS and her essays have been published in Meanjin and Sydney Review of Books, as well as the anthology Second City (Giramondo, 2021). Zohra's short fiction appeared in the UTS Writer's Anthology Empty Sky (Brio Books 2020). In 2021, she was an emerging curator for Writing NSW's Boundless Festival. Her essay 'Feel the Quiet' was recently chosen for publication in Island Online's Australian Nature Writing Project.
Anhaar Kareem
Anhaar Kareem is an award-winning writer, debater, public speaker, media personality and advocate for social justice issues. She is a 15 year old, Australian Muslim woman of Egyptian heritage, currently in high school. Anhaar has taken her advocacy far, to media outlets ABC’s Q&A, the Guardian, The Conversation and AMUST News. She has received awards and a national commendation from United Nations Youth Australia. She has been recognised for her passion for community work, from the Centre of Volunteering, 7 News Young Achievers and Zest Awards. She has also been awarded for her writing, from prestigious organisations such as The Whitlam Institute, Story Factory and West Words.