Meet our Authors
Hana Assafiri is a Melbourne-based social activist, feminist, andowner of the popular Moroccan Soup Bar restaurant. Through the Moroccan Soup Bar, Hana provides employment for marginalisedwomen in her community and hosts important initiatives like Speed Date a Muslim and Conversation Salons. She has been recognised on many occasions for her entrepreneurial ingenuity, innovation and voracious spirit for social justice. In 2015, Hana received TimeOut’s Legend Award, and inthe same year, renowned artist Ai Weiwei included her in his collection of local social activists in the NGV. She was inducted to the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2017 for being a leading agent of social change and women’s empowerment, and in 2019 was awarded an Order of Australia Medal OAM. Hana’s activism forefronts women’s issues, racism, and the need for pluralism and intersectionality for society to progress.She is a mentor and role model for women everywhere, particularly those from marginalised backgrounds
Hana is the author of HANA: The Audacity to be Free
Alan Attwood has worked as an abalone packer, dishwasher and mail sorter, but mainly as a journalist. He has written for publications ranging from The Sunday Times, London, to Time magazine and covered events as diverse as the first free elections in South Africa, soccer in Northern Greece, political intrigue in Morocco and four Olympic Games. Between 1995–98 he was the New York-based correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers. From 2006–16 he was editor of The Big Issue magazine in Australia. His previous novels include Sinking into Winter, shortlisted for The Australian/Vogel Literary Award in 1990, Breathing Underwater (1997) and Burke’s Soldier, shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in 2004.
Alan is the author of Houdini Unbound: Mystery, Music and Flying Machines
