AustLit

'The autobiographical debut Me, Her, Us by Yen-Rong Wong – winner of the Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer in 2022, and a theatre reviewer for this paper – lays bare the most intimate aspects of her journey to self-discovery. Through a collection of carefully curated essays, she comes to terms with her relationship with sex as well as her identity as a “Chinese-presenting woman”.' (Introduction)   

'The Days Toppled Over is about isolation and bonds forged through non-familial companionship. Vidya Madabushi’s protagonist, Malli, is reticent, as if she were conceived during the restrictions of the pandemic. Her world is confined to the Vanavas Retirement Village in Bangalore, India, where she lives nearby her mother’s friend, Mrs Munshi. She is unable to speak outside her home; only her brother Surya and deceased parents have heard her utter a word. When Surya – who’s studying in Sydney – misses their regular call, Malli gets worried. Fearing the worst, she fights the reclusiveness that has governed her life and heads to Australia in search of him.' (Introduction)   

'While The Matchmaker’s title suggests the lead character is a stately woman in her 50s from Mumbai, Saman Shad’s debut novel gives us quite a different picture. Saima is in her 30s and runs a modern matchmaking service for the Pakistani community in Sydney that offers a six-month courtship period to ensure the couple’s compatibility. Her contemporary approach doesn’t appeal to the whole community, which has led to a decline in business and financial precarity. However, her fortunes turn when she meets Khalid.' (Introduction)   

'Sri Lanka’s complex story has been told by people as various as rapper and singer M. I. A., playwright S. Shakthidharan and authors Niromi de Soyza, Anuk Arudpragasam and Shehan Karunatilaka. All extrapolate personal and political histories to portray an island nation marred by greed and the struggle for political power – and a population that has dispersed globally as a result.' (Introduction)