Anita Heiss AM is one of Australia’s most prolific and well-known authors publishing across genres including non-fiction, historical fiction, and children’s novels. She has won many awards in Australia and internationally, including VIC Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing 2012 for Am I Black Enough for You? As an advocate for Indigenous literacy, Anita has worked in remote communities as a role model and encouraging young Indigenous Australians to write their own stories. Anita is also a marathoner.

In this interview conducted by Emeritus Professor Pookong Kee, FASIC’s Second BHP Chair of Australian Studies at PKU, Anita discusses her diverse writing motivations, her role in promoting indigenous Australian experiences through literature, and her efforts to bridge cultural gaps with China.

FASIC acknowledges the support from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations for this interview as part of the ASCOR program.

ASCOR: Anita Heiss AM with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 1 of 2, click here.

ASCOR: Anita Heiss AM with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 2 of 2, click here.

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Michael Mohammed Ahmad is an Australian writer, editor, teacher and community arts worker. He is the founder and director of Sweatshop, a literacy movement in Western Sydney devoted to empowering culturally and linguistically diverse artists through creative writing.

He is the author of three award-winning novels: The Tribe (2014), The Lebs (2018) and The Other Half of You (2021). He is also the editor of several critically acclaimed anthologies, including After Australia (2020). Mohammed received his Doctorate of Creative Arts from Western Sydney University in 2017.

In this interview conducted by Professor Jing Han, the director of the Institution for Australian and Chinese Arts and Culture, Western Sydney University, Michael shares some of his experiences growing up in Western Sydney and as a young actor and how such experiences influenced him as a writer.

FASIC acknowledges the support from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations for this interview as part of the ASCOR program.

ASCOR: Dr. Michael Mohammed Ahmad with Professor Jing Han, Part 1 of 2, click here.

ASCOR: Dr. Michael Mohammed Ahmad with Professor Jing Han, Part 2 of 2, click here.

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Maxine Beneba Clarke is an Australian poet and writer, born and raised in the Sydney suburb of Kellyville. Her family has a complex migration history that spans four continents and many hundreds of years. Maxine is the inaugural Peter Steele Poet in Residence at the University of Melbourne. She is a multi-award-winning author of over fifteen published books for children and adults, including the poetry collection Carrying The World, which won the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Poetry. Her latest poetry collection How Decent Folk Behave was also shortlisted for the award in 2022.

In this interview conducted by Emeritus Professor KEE Pookong, FASIC’s third BHP Chair of Australian Studies at PKU, Maxine offers a unique perspective on the art of inclusiveness, and professional storytelling through poetry, diving into her impactful role in promoting a rich diversity of Australian literary voices. Poetry belongs to everyone, says Maxine.

FASIC acknowledges the support from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations for this interview as part of the ASCOR program.

ASCOR: Maxine Clark with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 1 of 2, click here.

ASCOR: Maxine Clark with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 2 of 2, click here.

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Tony Birch is an Australian novelist, poet and educator. Some of his best-known works include The White Girl (2019), Ghost River (2015), the 2016 winner of the Victorian Premier’s Award for Indigenous Writing, and Blood (2011), which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin award. He was awarded the 2017 Patrick White Literary Award for his contribution to contemporary Australian literature. Tony is the new Boisbouvier Chair of Australian Literature at the University of Melbourne. He holds a Master's degree in Creative Writing and a PhD from the University of Melbourne.

In this interview conducted by Professor Jing Han, the Director of the Institution for Australian and Chinese Arts and Culture at Western Sydney University, Tony shares the rich landscape of Aboriginal storytelling through a collection of his novels. He imparts his profound insights into Australia's multicultural history, suggesting that the term "multiculture" existed way before 1980s.

FASIC acknowledges the support from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations for this interview as part of the ASCOR program.

ASCOR: Tony Birch with Professor Jing Han, Part 1 of 2, click here.

ASCOR: Tony Birch with Professor Jing Han, Part 2 of 2, click here.

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Linda Jaivin is an Australian author, translator, essayist, novelist and specialist writer on China. She is the author of twelve books (seven novels and five works of non-fiction including Found in Translation: In Praise of a Plural World for the Quarterly Essay. Her newest book is The Shortest History of China, out in May 2021. She travelled to the Far East, living and working in Taiwan (1977-1979), Hong Kong (1979-1985), and Beijing (1985-1986). Linda Jaivin received a degree in Asian Studies and Political Science from Brown University.

In this interview conducted by Professor Jing Han, the Director of the Institution for Australian and Chinese Arts and Culture, Western Sydney University, Linda discusses her fascination with China and her passionate quest to write about Chinese female pioneers.

FASIC acknowledges the support from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations for this interview as part of the ASCOR program.

ASCOR: Linda Jaivin with Professor Jing Han, Part 1 of 2, click here.

ASCOR: Linda Jaivin with Professor Jing Han, Part 2 of 2, click here.

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Nicholas Jose is a novelist, essayist and playwright. He has published eight novels, three collections of short fiction and a memoir, as well as a wide range of essays, including Avenue of Eternal Peace (shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award), and The Custodians (shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize). He has lived in many parts of the world and taught at many universities in Australia, China, and other parts of the world. Nicholas Jose was the Cultural Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Beijing from 1987 to 1990. He was general editor of the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature.

In this interview conducted by Emeritus Professor KEE Pookong, FASIC’s third BHP Chair of Australian Studies at PKU, Nicholas shared his personal insights about Australia's connection to China, embodying the concept of being a "global citizen". “You can’t call yourself a citizen of the world, unless you can speak Chinese”, says Nicholas.

FASIC acknowledges the support from the Australian Embassy in China for this interview as part of the ASCOR program.

ASCOR: Nicholas Jose with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 1 of 2, click here.

ASCOR: Nicholas Jose with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 2 of 2, click here.

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Alice Pung OAM is an Australian writer, editor and lawyer. Alice is an award-winning author, the writer-in-residence at Janet Clarke Hall, the University of Melbourne, and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University. Her Father's Daughter won the Western Australia Premiers' Award. Laurinda won the Ethel Turner Prize at the 2016 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Her novel One Hundred Days, was shortlisted for the 2022 Miles Franklin Award. Alice has taught and mentored students in Australia and around the world, and given guest lectures at Brown University, Vassar College, the University of Milan and Peking University.

In this interview conducted by Emeritus Professor KEE Pookong, FASIC’s third BHP Chair of Australian Studies at PKU, Alice shares her distinctive upbringing experiences in an immigrant household in Australia, along with her personal insights into Chinese literacy and Western literacy, all through a cross-cultural communication lens.

FASIC acknowledges the support from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations for this interview as part of the ASCOR program.

ASCOR: Alice Pung with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 1 of 2, click here.

ASCOR: Alice Pung with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 2 of 2, click here.

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Thomas Keneally AO is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor. He has been short-listed for the Booker Prize on 3 occasions: in 1972 for The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Gossip from the Forest in 1975, and Confederates in 1979, before winning the prize in 1982 with Schindler's Ark. In 1993, Steven Spielberg's cinematic adaptation of Thomas' book was released as Schindler's List, which won several Academy Awards. On the Australian front, he has won the Miles Franklin Award twice with Bring Larks and Heroes and Three Cheers for the Paraclete.

In this interview conducted by Emeritus Professor KEE Pookong, FASIC’s third BHP Chair of Australian Studies at PKU, Thomas shares his life and strong connections with China, “I wish we were clearer about who we are committed to Asia, and in Asia,” says Thomas.

FASIC acknowledges the support from the Australian Embassy in China for this interview as part of the ASCOR program.

ASCOR: Thomas Keneally with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 1 of 3, click here.

ASCOR: Thomas Keneally with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 2 of 3, click here.

ASCOR: Thomas Keneally with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 3 of 3, click here.

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Mirandi Riwoe is an Australian author based in Brisbane. Her Stone Sky Gold Mountain that won the 2020 Queensland Literary Award Fiction Book Award and the inaugural ARA Historical Novel Prize. Her short story collection, The Burnished Sun, includes the novella, The Fish Girl, which won Seizure Viva la Novella and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize. Her work has appeared in Best Australian Stories, Meanjin, Review of Australian Fiction, Griffith Review and Best Summer Stories. Mirandi has a PhD in Creative Writing and Literary Studies.

In this interview conducted by Emeritus Professor KEE Pookong, FASIC’s third BHP Chair of Australian Studies at PKU, Mirandi shares her insights about the rise of Australian literature. She thinks that individuals' cultural sense of belonging will become more complicated, particularly in a multicultural society like Australia, where people are still expected to “assimilate” oneself for the society.

FASIC acknowledges the support from the Australian Embassy in China for this interview as part of the ASCOR program.

ASCOR: Mirandi Riwoe with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 1 of 2, click here.

ASCOR: Mirandi Riwoe with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 2 of 2, click here.

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Brian Castro is an Australian novelist and essayist. He is the author of the Australian classic Shanghai Dancing, and recipient of the 2014 Patrick White Literary Award. His novels include The Garden Book and The Bath Fugues, both shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award. His recent work, a verse novel titled Blindness and Rage , won the 2018 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Poetry and the Mascara Avant-garde Award for Fiction. Brian was educated at the University of Sydney and has worked in Australian, French and Hong Kong universities as a teacher and writer.

In this interview conducted by Emeritus Professor KEE Pookong, FASIC’s third BHP Chair of Australian Studies at PKU, Brian reflects on his early life as an international student, encouraging Chinese students studying abroad to be “inside other people’s lives” and avoid sticking to their “own system.”

FASIC acknowledges the support from the Australian Embassy in China for this interview as part of the ASCOR program.

ASCOR: Brian Castro with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 1 of 2, click here.

ASCOR: Brian Castro with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 2 of 2, click here.

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Di Morrissey AM is an Australian author and journalist. In 1989, she wrote her first novel, Heart of the Dreaming, which was published in 1991 and became a best-seller. In 2011, she travelled to Myanmar and published her book The Golden Land in 2012. She subsequently established the Golden Land Education Foundation to raise funds for the school she established outside Mandalay, Myanmar. In 2017, Morrissey was inducted into the Australian Book Industry Awards Hall of Fame.

In this interview conducted by Emeritus Professor KEE Pookong, FASIC’s third BHP Chair of Australian Studies at PKU, Morrissey shares her strong interest in history and culture as well as the ambiance of every location around the world. "Initially my books were all about Australians living in Australia, but I realised that Australians had made their mark in other parts of the world," says Morrissey.

FASIC acknowledges the support from the Australian Embassy in China for this interview as part of the ASCOR program.

ASCOR: Di Morrissey with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 1 of 2, click here.

ASCOR: Di Morrissey with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 2 of 2, click here.

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Carrie Tiffany is an Australian fiction writer. Her first novel, Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living (2005), won the Dobbie Award and the WA Premier’s Award for Fiction. Her second novel, Mateship with Birds (2011), won the inaugural Stella Prize and the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Carrie’s latest novel, Exploded View (2019), won the University of Queensland Fiction Book Award in the Queensland Literary Awards. Carrie is a former Creative Director of Faber Academy and has taught at RMIT, Writers Victoria, the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University and the Banff Centre for Creative Arts in Canada.

In this interview conducted by Emeritus Professor KEE Pookong, FASIC’s third BHP Chair of Australian Studies at PKU, Carrie shares her unique insight into Australian mythology. She thinks that while most Australians live in urban environments, Australian myths and word-of-mouth stories yearn for the "bush" and natural environment.

FASIC acknowledges the support from the Australian Embassy in China for this interview as part of the ASCOR program.

ASCOR: Carrie Tiffany with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 1 of 2, click here.

ASCOR: Carrie Tiffany with Professor Pookong Kee, Part 2 of 2, click here.

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