The Emerging Writers’ Festival work, learn and play largely on the land of the Kulin nation, and pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.

EWF celebrates the history and creativity of the world’s oldest living culture.

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Artist

Shokoofeh Azar

Shokoofeh Azar is an Iranian-Australian journalist and writer who sought asylum in Australia in 2010 after being imprisoned for her work in Iran. She writes acclaimed fiction in the magical realism genre, drawing on Iranian myth, legend, politics, and true stories. Her debut novel, The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, PEN, and Stella Prize, and translated into twelve languages. Her second novel, The Gowkaran Tree in the Middle of Our Kitchen, will be released in June 2025 by Europa Editions and Allen & Unwin across the US, UK, Australia, and more.

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