Arts & Cultural Exchange - ACE - Parramatta Literary Salon #3

Arts & Cultural Exchange’s Parramatta Literary Salon returns in 2026, showcasing the body of work of a new writer each month.

This February, we welcome award-winning author Randa Abdel-Fattah for an in-depth conversation with Dr Sherene Idriss, followed by a Q&A with our audience.

This project has been supported through a City of Parramatta Council Community Grant.

Event Details

When: 6:30PM-8:30PM Wednesday 11 February, 2026
Where: Arts & Cultural Exchange, Parramatta
Tickets: $10 per person on Eventbrite.
Booking essential. Secure your tickets via the link below.

Free for First Nations or people experiencing financial hardship. For further information email: [email protected]

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About Randa Abdel-Fattah

Randa Abdel-Fattah is an ARC Future Fellow at Macquarie University. Her research areas cover Islamophobia, race, Palestine, the war on terror, youth identities and social movement activism.

Dr Abdel-Fattah is also a former lawyer and the award-winning author of twelve books for children and young adults, which have been translated into over thirteen languages. She has won and been shortlisted for awards including the Australian Book Industry Award, the Australian Book of The Year Award, the Victorian and NSW Premiers’ Literary awards, the Stella Prize, the Children’s Book Council Award, Middle East Outreach Council USA and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Her bilingual English and Arabic picture story book 11 Words for Love, illustrated by Maxine Beneba Clarke, was shortlisted for the 2023 Prime Minister’s Literary Award.

Her latest book Discipline is out now through UQP.

About Dr Sherene Idriss

Idriss is a lecturer in Social and Cultural Analysis at Western Sydney University and the author of Young Migrant Identities: Creativity and Masculinity (Routledge, 2018), which examines the lives of Arab Australian young men in Western Sydney.

Her research focuses on youth cultures, racism, social class and how racial inequality and financial hardship shape the aspirations and wellbeing of young migrants.

Event Details

About Randa Abdel-Fattah

Randa Abdel-Fattah is an ARC Future Fellow at Macquarie University. Her research areas cover Islamophobia, race, Palestine, the war on terror, youth identities and social movement activism.

Her latest book Discipline is out now through UQP.

About Dr Sherene Idriss

Idriss is a lecturer in Social and Cultural Analysis at Western Sydney University and the author of Young Migrant Identities: Creativity and Masculinity (Routledge, 2018), which examines the lives of Arab Australian young men in Western Sydney.

Her research focuses on youth cultures, racism, social class and how racial inequality and financial hardship shape the aspirations and wellbeing of young migrants.

About Parramatta Literary Salon:

This event is curated by acclaimed writer Yumna Kassab in collaboration with Arts & Cultural Exchange.

Our local bookstore Dymocks Parramatta has books for sale on the night at Arts & Cultural Exchange.

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