presenting at Anti-Racism Cross-disciplinary Conference 2025.

Had the joy of presenting my first paper at an in-person conference at the Anti-Racism Cross-disciplinary Conference 2025.

I learnt so much by listening to all the other papers and have developed ideas for my post-doctoral fellowship application that I want to submit next year.

Thank you to conveners Professor Nida Denson, Western Sydney University, Challenging Racism Project and Professor Karen Farquharson & Associate Professor Karen Block,University of Melbourne, Anti-Racism Hallmark Research Initiative. And for providing funding for me to attend this conference.

My paper Narrating Genocide: Using Fiction and Essay to Challenge
Dehumanisation and Preserve Memory.

This presentation explores how historical fiction and narrative non-fiction can function as tools of anti-racism by humanising marginalised identities and preserving the memory of atrocity. Drawing from my novel Time Kneels Between Mountains and my accompanying essay collection Fragments of History, I examine how the Bosnian Genocide is both a racialised and gendered event—shaped by Islamophobia, nationalism, and the dehumanisation of Bosniak identity.

By fictionalising historical events grounded in deep research, I argue that creative writing can contest dominant narratives, disrupt erasure, and serve as a counter-memory to historical denial. My work engages with how literature can illuminate the mechanisms of racial violence, particularly in contexts where state denial or revisionism is rampant.

This presentation will contribute to a broader discussion about how storytelling, particularly from impacted groups or diasporas, may promote empathy, and create avenues for justice and acknowledgement.

Amra Pajalić is an award-winning author, educator, and PhD researcher of Bosnian heritage exploring representations of the Bosnian genocide in fiction. Her work blends storytelling with historical analysis to confront dehumanisation and preserve cultural memory. Her novel Time Kneels Between Mountains and her accompanying essay collection explores the legacy of the Srebrenica genocide.