BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute - ECPv6.16.3//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Australia/Melbourne BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20240406T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20241005T160000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20250405T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20251004T160000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1100 TZOFFSETTO:+1000 TZNAME:AEST DTSTART:20260404T160000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1000 TZOFFSETTO:+1100 TZNAME:AEDT DTSTART:20261003T160000 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251031T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251031T200000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182105 CREATED:20250923T045951Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250923T051016Z UID:67550-1761937200-1761940800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Minerva's Secrets | Night Tour DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/minervas-secrets-night-tours-31-oct-25/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Important Dates,Night Tours,Tours,Victorian Seniors Festival ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/received_908662326866361-e1708918930337.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251031T210000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251031T220000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182105 CREATED:20250923T044958Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250923T051126Z UID:67531-1761944400-1761948000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Minerva's Secrets | Night Tour DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/minervas-secrets-night-tours-31-oct-25-2/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Fundraiser,Important Dates,Night Tours,Tours,Victorian Seniors Festival ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/received_265285705882698-e1708919200874.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251105T173000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251105T183000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182105 CREATED:20250728T053444Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251110T033437Z UID:66400-1762363800-1762367400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Twilight Talks 2025\, Season 4\, Remembrance Day | Recent War Memorabilia - from WW2 to Afghanistan\, Presented by David Wright. DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/twilight-talks-war-memorabilia/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Fundraiser,Important Dates,Members,Talk,Twilight Talks,Victorian Seniors Festival ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/square-promo-medals-v36.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251105T180000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251105T184500 DTSTAMP:20260616T182105 CREATED:20250812T005546Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251021T040122Z UID:66788-1762365600-1762368300@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Katia Ariel 'The Swift Dark Tide' in conversation with Kelly Gardiner DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/stella-day-out-katia-ariel/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Important Dates,Library,Stella Day Out ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/square-promo-katia.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251105T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251105T200000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182105 CREATED:20250813T050815Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250813T050909Z UID:66971-1762369200-1762372800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | How to solve our human problems DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-5-november-25/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/square-promo-human-poblems.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251105T191500 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251105T200000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182105 CREATED:20250812T054350Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251021T035952Z UID:66822-1762370100-1762372800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi 'Cactus Pear For My Beloved' in conversation with Fatima Measham DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/stella-day-out-samah-sabawi/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Important Dates,Library,Stella Day Out ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/square-promo-samah.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251106T183000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251106T200000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182105 CREATED:20250711T034827Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250813T003339Z UID:66176-1762453800-1762459200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:In Conversation with Rachael Johns DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/rachael-johns/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Fundraiser,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/sq-promo-rachael-johns.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251112T170000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251112T193000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182105 CREATED:20251017T014102Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251017T032148Z UID:68029-1762966800-1762975800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Crafting Conversation: The Artists Edition DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/crafting-conversation-artists/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Art programs ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/square-promo-mgth.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Make Good Things Happen":MAILTO:angela@daltonbaker.com.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251112T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251112T200000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182105 CREATED:20250813T050947Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250813T051100Z UID:66973-1762974000-1762977600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | How to solve our human problems DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-12-november-25/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/square-promo-human-poblems.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251113T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251113T210000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182105 CREATED:20250212T031341Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250321T110605Z UID:61989-1763062200-1763067600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Ballarat Film Society | ​Hammarskjöld: The Fight for Peace DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/bfs-hammarskjold/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Ballarat Film Society,Externally Produced Event,Film ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sqaure-promo-bfs3.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251115T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251115T200000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182105 CREATED:20250923T040314Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250923T052823Z UID:67502-1763233200-1763236800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Minerva's Secrets | Night Tour DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/minervas-secrets-night-tours-15-nov-25/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Fundraiser,Important Dates,Night Tours,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/received_908662326866361-e1708918930337.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251115T210000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251115T220000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182105 CREATED:20250923T051356Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250923T052637Z UID:67555-1763240400-1763244000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Minerva's Secrets | Night Tour DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/minervas-secrets-night-tours-15-nov-25-2/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Fundraiser,Important Dates,Night Tours,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/received_265285705882698-e1708919200874.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251118T180000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251118T193000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182105 CREATED:20250917T050616Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250930T062718Z UID:67363-1763488800-1763494200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:In Conversation with Margaret Hickey DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/margaret-hickey-25/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Fundraiser,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/margaret-hickey-sq-promo.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251119T173000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251119T183000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20250728T054722Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251110T232935Z UID:66407-1763573400-1763577000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Twilight Talks 2025\, Season 5\, Recent Years | Ballarat's Her Majesty's Reinvention\, Presented by Richard Nicholson DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/her-majestys-reinvention/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Fundraiser,Important Dates,Members,Talk,Twilight Talks ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/square-promo-2025-her-majestys-final.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251119T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251119T200000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20250917T030336Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250917T031134Z UID:67346-1763578800-1763582400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | Meditations on the Mind: How to Create Mental Space DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-19-nov-2025/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Med_on_mind_Sq.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251120T183000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251120T200000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20251110T031233Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251110T031636Z UID:68444-1763663400-1763668800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:An Evening with Peter FitzSimons AM DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/an-evening-with-peter-fitzsimons-am/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/cover-peter-fitzsimonos-book-e1762145093105.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251121T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251121T210000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20250917T004106Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251110T233455Z UID:67335-1763753400-1763758800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Ben Knight: The Parent Teacher Interview | Show now SOLD OUT DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/ben-knight-parent-teacher/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Comedy ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ben-knight-sq-promo.webp ORGANIZER;CN="KEG Touring":MAILTO:Contact@kegtouring.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251122T100000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251123T160000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20240822T062240Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251120T012503Z UID:58498-1763805600-1763913600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Open Garden & Devonshire Tea - BMI Fundraiser | Errard Hall DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/open-garden-fundraiser-2025/ LOCATION:Errard Hall\, Errard Street North\, Ballarat Central\, City of Ballarat\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Fundraiser,Important Dates,Members,Urban Agriculture Month ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/square-promo-errard-hall.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251122T184500 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251122T223000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20251017T035401Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251110T042444Z UID:68049-1763837100-1763850600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Small Things DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/small-things/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Live Music ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/sq-promo.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251126T173000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251126T183000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20250728T055539Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251110T233614Z UID:66413-1764178200-1764181800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Twilight Talks 2025\, Season 5\, Recent Years | Ballarat Arts Foundation: 25 Years Old\, Presented by Paula Nicholson DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/ballarat-arts-foundation/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Fundraiser,Important Dates,Members,Talk,Twilight Talks ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/square-promo-2025-ballarat-arts-foundation.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251126T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251126T200000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20250917T031231Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250917T031337Z UID:67356-1764183600-1764187200@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | Meditations on the Mind: How to Create Mental Space DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-26-nov-2025/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Med_on_mind_Sq.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251128T200000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251128T213000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20250408T004608Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250813T031528Z UID:64310-1764360000-1764365400@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Akmal | Live Comedy at the BMI DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/akmal/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Comedy ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/promo-square-akmal.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251129T200000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251129T213000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20250714T024250Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250813T025904Z UID:66208-1764446400-1764451800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Daniel Muggleton: You Might Be White\, I May Be Crazy DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/daniel-muggleton/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Comedy ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/square-promo-daniel-muggleton.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251202T180000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251202T193000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20251113T001614Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251113T003410Z UID:68682-1764698400-1764703800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:In Conversation with William McInnes DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/william-mcinnes/ LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Library ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/william-sq-promo.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251203T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251203T200000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20250917T031355Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250917T031513Z UID:67359-1764788400-1764792000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | Meditations on the Mind: How to Create Mental Space DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-3-dec-2025/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Med_on_mind_Sq.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251206T100000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251206T140000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20251110T024632Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251128T005707Z UID:68436-1765015200-1765029600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:BMI Christmas Book Sale DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/bmi-christmas-book-sale/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Fundraiser,Important Dates,Library,Market ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/book-sale-square-promo-christmas-1.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251207T090000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251207T140000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20251110T010546Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251203T043313Z UID:68424-1765098000-1765116000@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:BMI Christmas Market DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/bmi-christmas-market/ LOCATION:BMI – Minerva Space\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350 CATEGORIES:Art programs,Christmas,Fundraiser,Important Dates,Market ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/square-promo-christmas-market-calling-for-stallholders-v5-final-1.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251210T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251210T200000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20250917T031528Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250917T031619Z UID:67361-1765393200-1765396800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Kadampa Meditation Series | Meditations on the Mind: How to Create Mental Space DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/kadampa-meditation-series-10-dec-2025/ LOCATION:Lending Library\, Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:kadampa ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Med_on_mind_Sq.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Kadampa Meditation":MAILTO:info@kadampa.org.au END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251211T193000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251211T210000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20250212T034546Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250321T110602Z UID:62004-1765481400-1765486800@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Ballarat Film Society | ​Little Richard: I am Everything DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/bfs-little-richard/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Ballarat Film Society,Externally Produced Event,Film ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sqaure-promo-bfs5.webp END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251212T190000 DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251212T200000 DTSTAMP:20260616T182106 CREATED:20250923T045702Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250923T051149Z UID:67545-1765566000-1765569600@ballaratmi.org.au SUMMARY:Minerva's Secrets | Night Tour DESCRIPTION:Stella Day Out Ballarat | Samah Sabawi ‘Cactus Pear For My Beloved’ in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n November 5\n\n \n\n @ \n\n\n7:15 pm\n\n \n\n\n\n \n - \n\n8:00 pm\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nFree \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Minerva Space \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stella Day Out is a free one-day literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza by Samah Sabawi \n \n In conversation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2025 Stella shortlisted author Samah Sabawi is joined by Fatima Measham to discuss art\, activism\, and storytelling that crosses borders – of place\, politics\, and the heart. \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved: A Family Story From Gaza \n \n The story of a family over the past 100 years\, starting in Palestine under British rule and ending in Redland Bay in Queensland. Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands. Filled with love for land\, history\, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six)\, born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother\, a believer in peaceful resistance\, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine\, before being forced\, with his own young family in tow\, to flee and start a new life in Australia. One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi’s Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cactus Pear for my Beloved | Samah Sabawi\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Samah Sabawi\, Author | Photo: Andrew Campbell\n \n \n \n Author Dr. Samah Sabawi \n \n Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning Palestinian playwright\, poet\, scholar\, and political commentator whose work weaves art and resistance into powerful expressions of identity\, memory\, and hope. Sabawi’s most recent book Cactus Pear for My Beloved: A Gaza family story (Penguin 2024)\, is a searing memoire exploring love\, exile\, and the enduring scars of dispossession. The book chronicles her family’s journey across a century—from British Mandate Palestine through the Nakba and exile to Queensland. The book has earned critical acclaim\, was shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize\, The Age Book of the Year\, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize for Non fiction; it was also highly commended by the Victoria Premier’s Literary Awards and long listed for the Palestine Book Awards. Sabawi’s plays Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mamma 2014 – Currency Press 2016) and Them (La Mamma 2019 – Currency Press 2020) both won multiple awards\, were staged to critical acclaim in theatres across Australia\, Canada\, and the Middle East\, and continue to be widely studied and celebrated for their lyrical storytelling and uncompromising political depth. In 2016\, Sabawi co-edited with Stephen Orlov the anthology Double Exposure: Plays of the Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas (Playwrights Canada Press 2016). This groundbreaking anthology is the first English-language collection bringing together plays by Jewish and Palestinian writers\, accompanied by interviews offering insight into the challenges of writing and staging stories centred on justice for Palestine. the book received the Biennial Patrick O’Neill Award. In the realm of poetry\, Sabawi co-authored I Remember My Name – Poetry by Samah Sabawi\, Ramzy Baroud and Jehan Bseiso (Novum Publishing 2016). This powerful trio of Palestinian poets––inspired by exile and resistance––offers deeply personal and politically charged reflections on identity\, displacement\, and hope. Sabawi’s poems employ sharp satire and emotional resonance—calling out injustice and giving voice to resilience. The anthology received the 2016 Palestine Book Award for its lyrical\, urgent storytelling Beyond the page and stage\, Sabawi is a respected media commentator and public speaker and a passionate advocate for justice and human rights. She is co-founder and Board Director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA)\, supporting Palestinians\, especially Gaza genocide survivors in Australia. Dr Sabawi received a Master of Communications from Griffith University and a PhD from Victoria University. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Samah will be in conversation with Fatima Measham \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Fatima Measham\, Author\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Author Fatima Measham \n \n Fatima Measham is a nature writer with a visual practice focused on environmental justice. Her essays and images deal with the incompatibilities and dualities inherent in our relationship with history. Her perspective is drawn from Catholic liberation theory\, Filipino revolutionary history\, and the settler-migrant experience. She is a co-founder of Wyndham for Palestine\, and was part of the organising alliance behind We Vote For Palestine and Solidarity Cup for Palestine.  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n We are proud to be hosting this series at the BMI. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Follow Stella \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Cost Free – Tickets can also be reserved at the Library Box Office. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Get Tickets\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land. URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/minervas-secrets-night-tours-12-dec-25/ LOCATION:The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia CATEGORIES:Important Dates,Night Tours,Tours ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/received_908662326866361-e1708918930337.jpeg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR