Where the Soil Remembers Launch

Join us for the launch of Where the Soil Remembers, the powerful and deeply moving new novel by Vahida Berberovic. This launch event is a chance to hear from an extraordinary new voice, discover the story behind the story, and celebrate the publication of a novel that speaks powerfully to memory, resilience, loss and hope.

Set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War, Where the Soil Remembers follows Selma, a survivor rebuilding her life in Australia while carrying the weight of unimaginable loss. When a war crimes trial forces her to confront the past she has tried to bury, Selma embarks on a journey back to Bosnia to seek truth, grief, forgiveness and healing.

In conversation with Alexandria Burnham, Vahida will discuss the personal histories, extensive research and lived experiences that informed the novel. The discussion will also offer a behind-the-scenes look at Vahida's drafting process, the evolution of the manuscript, and the challenges and rewards of bringing such an important story to life.

Vahida Berberovic is a refugee from Bosnia, and her writing explores displacement, the patriarchy and the quiet resilience of survivors shaped by war. Her fiction and poetry have been published in a range of literary magazines and anthologies. Vahida is the inaugural winner of the 2024 WestWords Prize and is a teacher of English and Communications. Where the Soil Remembers is her debut novel. 

Alexandria Burnham is an AWGIE award-winning screenwriter, novelist and writer of comics, known for her feature film Unsound, a romantic-drama that won best Australian feature at the 2020 Melbourne Queer Film Festival and best fiction feature film at the 2020 ATOM Awards. Swallow, her historical-fiction novel based on the true Australian story of escapee convict William Swallow, was published 2025. 

Drinks and nibblies provided.