In conversation with Shankari Chandran

Shankari Chandran, Miles Franklin Award-winning author and lawyer, has written stories full of heart, compassion, and justice. From Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens, to Song of the Sun God, to Safe Haven, exploring the experiences of refugees and migrants in Australia.

Join us for an inspiring evening as Shankari talks about refugee justice, inclusion and diversity in Australia, her legal background, and, of course, her writing.

Hosted by RACS (Refugee Advice & Casework Service) in collaboration with Belvoir St Theatre, this event offers a chance to meet and hear from Shankari.

The conversation will be followed by a book signing and an opportunity to connect with Shankari and network with other attendees.

We’re also excited to welcome RoseyRavelston, who will be selling a range of books and generously donating 50% of profits to RACS.

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Everyone is welcome...come as you are!

Doors open at 5:30 

In Conv: 06:30-07:30 

About the presenters

Shankari Chandran

Shankari Chandran is an Australian Tamil lawyer and author of Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens, Song of the Sun God, The Barrier, Safe Haven and Unfinished Business. In 2023 she won the Miles Franklin Literary Award 2023 for Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens. Her fiction explores dispossession and the creation of community, and it’s informed by her work in the social justice sector. She lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband and children.

Sarah Dale

Sarah Dale is RACS’s Centre Director & Principal Solicitor. Sarah joined RACS in 2013, following several years helping refugees and people seeking asylum with visa cancellation and civil law issues. As RACS’s first Child Specialist Solicitor, she represented unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Australia, and children detained on Christmas Island and Nauru. 

Sarah has contributed her expertise to the UNHCR Expert Roundtable on family reunification in Brussels, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders at York University and UNHCR's Consultations on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways (CRCP). She has received various accolades for her refugee rights work, including the Law Society of NSW’s Community Service Award (2023) and Lawyers Weekly’s Migration Partner of the Year (2018).