September 18th, Readings, Hawthorn. We gathered to send Hasina out into the literary world. What a warm and lovely evening!
For me, most special of all was when Tara Begum, a Rohingya refugee, supporter of the book and my friend, spoke about what drew her to Australia. She came for an education for her children. Both Tara Begum and her mother were denied schooling in Myanmar and Malaysia. I cannot think of a more appropriate frame to launch this book.
Shout outs to the Ibhrahim family including Shakilah Nur who read the book for cultural accuracy and spelling in Rohingya, and Nurankis, our cover model (who tells me she loves soccer, just like Hasina). Big thanks to Sophie Splatt, our cool-as and patient editor and Eva Mills, our publisher. Finally, congratulations to Lyn White for devising the series and planning such a brilliant launch.
Here are few images from a warm, wonderful event, including a video of Tara Begum’s address to the room.
