OzAsia Festival’s Weekend of Words
OzAsia Festival’s writing and ideas program returns for another year of conversations between poets, novelists, journalists, playwrights, performers, and creatives from around the world.
1 date
Dates
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Times
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Saturday5:00 pm — 6:00 pm
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Accessibility
Prices
Admission
Who gets to tell your story and how do you claim it without compromise?
Navigating representation, reclaiming erased histories or simply making space for nuance, these voices show that identity is a source of power, poetry and precision.
Navigate the weekend with an interactive planner and venue maps
- Accessibility
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This venue is wheelchair accessible.
For more information regarding venue accessibility, please visit https://www.adelaidecc.com.au/attending/accessibility-facilities
- Age Suitability
- All ages
- Runtime
- 1 hour
Part of
A vibrant celebration of Asian and Asian Australian literature, writing, and ideas. Discover, engage, inspire. 7-9 November '25.
Discover OzAsia Festival's Weekend of Words
Speakers
Olivia De Zilva
Speaker
Tarntanya (Adelaide), Australia
Olivia De Zilva’s work has been published in The Guardian, SBS and Australian Poetry Journal, among others. Olivia graduated with a Master of Philosophy from the University of Queensland and is the author of Plastic Budgie (Pink Shorts Press) and Eggshell (Spineless Wonders).
Appearing in: Owning the Page: Identity and Writing Your Truth
Quah Ee Ling
Speaker
Eora Nations (Sydney), Australia
Dr Quah Ee Ling is an associate professor researching, writing and teaching about migration, race, gender, sexuality and feminism. She is Singaporean of Chinese-Hokkien and Indonesian Peranakan heritage based in unceded Eora Nations (Sydney). Her most recent work is Fire Dragon Feminism: Asian migrant women’s tales of migration, coloniality and racial capitalism (Bloomsbury 2025).
Appearing in: What Will People Say? and Owning the Page: Identity and Writing Your Truth
Prasanthi Ram
Speaker
Singapore
Prasanthi Ram (she/her) is a Singaporean Tamil author. Her bestselling debut short story cycle, Nine Yard Sarees, was awarded the 2024 Singapore Literature Prize in English fiction. Currently, she is working on her sophomore novel on ageing and care.
Appearing in: Owning the Page: Identity and Writing Your Truth
Dr Samah Sabawi
Speaker
Naarm (Melbourne), Australia
Dr Samah Sabawi is an award-winning author, playwright and poet. Her latest memoir has been shortlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize, The Age Book of the Year award and the NSW Literary Awards’ Douglas Stewart Prize. In 2020, Samah’s independent theatre work won the Green Room Award for Best Writing.
Appearing in: Opening Night Gala and Owning the Page: Identity and Writing Your Truth
Hasib Hourani
Moderator
Eora Nations (Sydney)
Hasib Hourani is a Lebanese-Palestinian writer, editor, arts worker, and educator living on unceded Gadigal Country. His debut book, rock flight, was released with Giramondo (AU) and Prototype (UK) in 2024, and New Directions (US) in 2025.
Appearing in: Opening Night Gala, Owning the Page: Identity and Writing Your Truth and Not Just Pretty Rhymes
Performance Location: Gilbert Suite, Adelaide Convention Centre
View venue maps for directions to the Gilbert Suite
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11 Sept 2025
Plan Your Literary Weekend
Plan your literary weekend at OzAsia Festival's Weekend of Words with our interactive planner and venue maps.
1 min read -
29 Oct 2024
What We're Reading
In the lead up to OzAsia Festival’s Weekend of Words, we asked Adelaide Festival Centre staff what their favourite genres were to read.
5 min read -
28 Oct 2024
Books and Nooks with OzAsia Festival's Weekend of Words Speakers
Ever wondered how writers organize their bookshelves or choose their next reads? We asked some of the speakers at OzAsia Festival's Weekend of Words to share their secrets.
6 min read
11 Sept 2025
Plan Your Literary Weekend
Plan your literary weekend at OzAsia Festival's Weekend of Words with our interactive planner and venue maps.
1 min read
29 Oct 2024
What We're Reading
In the lead up to OzAsia Festival’s Weekend of Words, we asked Adelaide Festival Centre staff what their favourite genres were to read.
5 min read
28 Oct 2024
Books and Nooks with OzAsia Festival's Weekend of Words Speakers
Ever wondered how writers organize their bookshelves or choose their next reads? We asked some of the speakers at OzAsia Festival's Weekend of Words to share their secrets.
6 min read
2 min read