Bendigo Writers Festival

Anti-immigration rhetoric claims Africa-diaspora Australians are a recent phenomenon, but that ignores early settlers such as the 11 black convicts on the First Fleet. It ignores myriad stories from the past and present. At the height of the “African gang” furore, a group of writers decided it was high time to do a book: Growing Up African in Australia is about the ordinary, extraordinary, joyous and devastating – the diverse lives of those whose roots are in the African diaspora. Rachel Le Rossignol hosts three of the contributors to find out how this important anthology came about and to share their own stories.