Tuesday, the 10th of February, from 7 pm to 8:30 pm

This Queer Arab Family celebrates the beauty of chosen kin and the everyday acts of care and survival that bind Queer Arabs to each other. Ten LGBTQ+ writers from across the Arab world and diaspora redefine what family looks like, from raising children with mum and mum, to becoming an OnlyFans star and building a non-binary belly dancing robot. These writers illuminate, through their own lived experiences, how queer joy and community can be found in the most unexpected places.

This Queer Arab Family honours the spirit of those who, despite challenges, build community and family on their own terms.

Elias Jahshan is a Palestinian-Lebanese journalist and writer, and editor of This Arab is Queer: An Anthology by LGBTQ+ Arab Writers (Saqi Books; 2022) - which was a finalist in the 2023 Lambda Literary Awards in the USA and shortlisted for the 2023 Bread & Roses Award in the UK.

His short memoir Coming Out Palestinian was anthologised in Arab, Australian, Other: Stories on Race and Identity (ed. Randa Abdel-Fattah & Sara Saleh; Picador, 2019), while Bittersweet Memories of a Palestinian Knight was anthologised in Ask the Night for a Dream: Palestinian Writing From the Diaspora (ed. Susan Muaddi Darraj; Palestine Writes Press, 2024). Elias is also a former editor of Star Observer, Australia’s longest-running LGBTQ+ media outlet, and has been published in The Guardian, Gay Times, The New Arab, Raseef22, Shado Mag, My Kali.

Born and raised in Sydney, he now lives in London.

Go to Eventbrite for more information and to book a place. Admission is free (and booking is optional, but helps with planning.)

If you can't attend in person, this event will be live-streamed from the Carnegie Library Facebook page and this will be available for viewing for a limited time thereafter.

Organised by the Friends, in co-operation with the Lambeth Library Service.