Laila's Story Online Book Launch with Senator Barbara Pocock

About

Join us as Senator Barbara Pocock launches Laila's Story by Mij Tanith.

Laila’s Story is a blend of narrative and poetry that documents a year-long effort to support an Afghan single mother and her five daughters as they seek safety in Australia.

Beginning with a simple request for help, the book traces how a relationship develops across language, culture and distance, and what it takes to sustain that support over time. It offers an inside account of refugee sponsorship shaped by community action and women’s networks.

At its centre, Laila’s Story is about care, persistence and responsibility, and how these are carried in practice rather than theory. It provides a grounded perspective on refugee support, drawn from lived experience.

Praise for the book
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“At the heart of this moving story is the ever-deepening relationship… Tanith writes candidly in honed prose and poetry of the fears and frustrations both women experience as the tension builds.”
— Fiona Capp, The Age / Sydney Morning Herald, NON-FICTION PICK OF THE WEEK

“This is a true story of hope, hard work and human connection — peppered with poetry and prose.”
— The Australian Women’s Weekly

Order from your local bookshop or from the Spinifex Press website: https://www.spinifexpress.com.au/shop/p/9781922964328

About the author
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Mij Tanith is a playwright, teacher and writer whose work spans theatre, fiction, poetry and narrative prose. Her plays have been commissioned and staged in South Australia, beginning with Blind Circumstance (Griffin Theatre Company, 1985), and have addressed themes including literacy, environmental concerns and social issues.

Alongside her writing, she has taught creative writing in TAFE and community settings, working with women, immigrants, and lesbian and gay groups, and has written feature articles for Blaze, Adelaide’s gay and lesbian newspaper.

She is the author of Pastiche, Three Seasons and Stories From a Garden. In 2025, she was named City of Adelaide Citizen of the Year for her long-term advocacy and support for refugees. Laila’s Story draws on this work.

About Senator Barbara Pocock
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Senator Barbara Pocock grew up on a mallee farm in South Australia.
She is an economist and Emeritus Professor and was awarded an Order of Australia (AM) in 2010 for services to industrial relations research and advocacy of social justice.
Barbara became a South Australian Senator for the Greens in 2022 and is currently the Greens spokesperson for Housing, Workplace Relations, Employment, Finance and Public Sector portfolios. She is passionate about action on climate change, as well as social and economic justice for all vulnerable groups including our fist nations people and refugees.

She lives in Adelaide with her partner Ian.

This is a live online event scheduled in Australian time zones:
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Sydney / Melbourne / Brisbane: 6:00pm
Adelaide: 5:30pm
Perth: 4:00pm

If you are unsure of the time zone in your location, please check your local time using Google or
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

A recording will be made available on our YouTube channel after the event.

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Special Note: Your confirmation email from TryBooking includes a calendar link – use this to convert the event to your local time zone and set a reminder. The Zoom link will be included in your confirmation.