18/05/2026
We're heading to Sydney tomorrow, and we'd love you to join us πβ¨
Following the success of our inaugural cohort in 2023β2024, we've spent the last two years working alongside Think+DO Tank Foundation on the second iteration of MIRROR Mentorship β a program supporting emerging bilingual writers and illustrators in children's literature.
We'll be at the State Library of NSW to celebrate the artworks of our 2025β2026 mentees and to hear from these bilingual artists and their mentors.
Details:
Dixson Room, State Library of NSW
Tuesday 19 May, from 3.30pm
The three new leporelli (beautifully printed and prepared by the wonder that is Ashley Ronning at Helio Press):
Lima Maula (Bahasa Indonesia), mentored by Sher Rill Ng β WHEN THE ADZAN CALLS, a close-up interpretation of congregation at the mosque during prayer times.
Leila Frijat (Arabic), mentored by Freda Chiu β YALLAH KAZDURA, a bilingual Arabic-English work that can be read in either direction, disrupting the dominance of English left-to-right reading and using the leporello format to stretch out small moments of pause.
Huaning Wu (Mandarin), mentored by Zeno Sworder β HEIBAO, her first published work in Australia as a diasporic writer, and the first time she has both written and illustrated a project of her own.
A little about MIRROR: it's a year-long program offering 1:1 mentoring with established industry figures, masterclasses, professional networking, and a $4,000 stipend to emerging artists from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In a country where more than 20% of households speak languages other than English at home, children's literature still skews overwhelmingly monolingual. MIRROR is one small step toward changing that β and we're so grateful to share what this cohort has made.
Registration link in our profile.
With thanks to our partners at Think+DO Tank Foundation, the State Library of NSW, and Creative Australia.
