A packed audience experienced Writers Across Borders, an annual WrICE event as part of Melbourne Writers Festival, held at RMIT’s Kaleide Theatre.

Writers Across Borders 2019 featured Melissa Lucashenko, Bernice Chauly, Ali Cobby-Eckermann, Joshua Ip, Michele Lee, Fiona Murphy, Alvin Pang, Norman Erikson Pasaribu, Rajith Savanadasa, Christos Tsiolkas and Lavanya Shanbhogue Arvind. Interwoven with powerful readings, amongst many topics the panel discussed borders, language, the power of writing, empathy, the healing qualities of books and communicating with consideration and understanding. The writers each responded to borders in their own way; but Christos offered a tentative way forward, saying that “borders don’t go away, but good faith enables you to speak through them.”