Desi Girl with Sarah Malik - Pop up reading group

Join us for a special pop-up reading group with Sarah Malik, award-winning journalist and critically acclaimed author of Desi Girl: On Feminism, Race, Faith and Belonging. 

Whether it’s exploring joy and mental health, charting a life outside the boxes others set for us, navigating life as a minority in the workplace, or reflecting on intersectional feminism as a lived reality—you’re invited to share your thoughts on the book and your own experiences and stories in a relaxed, casual space. 

The essays in Desi Girl are interconnected yet stand alone, so don’t be stressed if you don’t read the whole thing—feel free to read one or more essays and think of it as a free therapy session. Chatham House Rule applies: what’s shared in the room stays in the room. 

About the Book

Desi Girl is part memoir, part cultural critique—an intimate and thought-provoking series of essays exploring identity, migration and belonging in contemporary Australia. As Alice Pung describes it as “A triumph! Sarah’s candour, generosity, warmth and insight are a joy and comfort to read. The book I wish I’d had as a young writer.” 

About the Author

Sarah Malik is a Walkley-award winning Australian investigative journalist, author and television presenter. Her work focuses on asylum, surveillance, technology and its intersection with gender and race—most notably examining domestic violence, gender inequality and migration. Her debut collection of memoir stories, Desi Girl: On Feminism, Race, Faith and Belonging, was published by the University of Queensland Press in 2022. Her second book, Safar: Muslim Women’s Stories of Travel and Transformation, was published by Hardie Grant. 

Event Details

• Rules: Chatham House Rule—what’s shared in the room stays in the room. 
• Bring your lunch (snacks and drinks provided). Extra cheese for anyone who posts a Goodreads review here or an Amazon review here
• Buy the book: Discounted copies available for $25. Collect your copy under an honour system from a box under the lobby entrance counter at 231 Robert Webster Building – just past the glass doors near the 2nd floor landing.