Celebrate and be part of Sydney Writers' Festival as City of Ryde Libraries host noted Australian historical and literary fiction author Mirandi Riwoe. Join us at Ryde Library as she chats about her latest book Sunbirds with Macquarie University academic Michelle Hamadache. Sunbirds depicts the intricate web of identities and loyalties created by war and imperialism, and the heartbreaking compromises that so often ensue.
Attendees on the night have a chance to win a signed copy. There will be on onsite bookseller for purchase of the book and Mirandi will be available for signing and questions.
Please note: This event has a 6.30pm arrival time for a 6.45pm event start time.
In association with University of Queensland Press (UQP).
About the book
1941, West Java. Love and revolution are in the air. And war is on its way.
Shortly before the Japanese invade, the van Hoorn family throws their famous Sinterklaas party at their tea plantation. One of their guests, Mattijs, a Dutch pilot, hopes to forge a future in the Dutch East Indies, possibly with the family's daughter, Anna, but she is torn between her dreams of Holland and her desire to belong.
Meanwhile the housekeeper, Diah, keenly observes the goings-on around the plantation, wondering how much to tell her freedom-fighter brother. When the Japanese forces finally arrive on Java's doorstep, they all have to make decisions that will affect the rest of their lives, especially those who must evacuate to Australia.
About the Author
Mirandi Riwoe is the author of Stone Sky Gold Mountain, which won the 2020 Queensland Literary Award – Fiction Book Award and the inaugural ARA Historical Novel Prize, and was shortlisted for the 2021 Stella Prize and longlisted for the 2021 Miles Franklin Literary Award. Her short story collection, The Burnished Sun, includes the novella, The Fish Girl, which won Seizure Viva la Novella and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize. Her work has appeared in Best Australian Stories, Meanjin, Review of Australian Fiction, Griffith Review and Best Summer Stories. Mirandi has a PhD in Creative Writing and Literary Studies and lives in Brisbane.
About the Interviewer
Michelle Hamadache is Course Director of the undergraduate and Master of Creative Writing programs at Macquarie University. She's worked as editor of Southerly, Australia's longest running journal, and of Mascara Literary Review. She has published short stories, essays and poems in US, UK and Australian journals. She was long listed for the 2018 Elizabeth Jolley short story prize and the 2021 Overland Sidney Neilma Short Story prize.