Amra Pajalic Press Kit

Amra Pajalic

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Images to use for publicity

Featured in the media

02/12/25 Talking about Time Kneels Between Mountains on The Yellow Shelf Podcast

02/12/25 Talking about Time Kneels Between Mountains on Balkan Forum podcast

23/11/25 Talking about TIme Kneels Between Mountains on Your Planet Needs You on 94.1FM, 3WBC

12/11/25 Interviewed by SBS Bosanski Radio about Vrijeme Kleči Između Planina

06/11/25 Interviewed by Good Reading Magazine Podcast about Time Kneels Between Mountains 

24.01.25 Featured in article What changes do Australian authors want in the Australian books industry? written by Thuy on and published in Arts Hub

25.11.24 Interviewed by Jessica Mudditt on Hembury Books Podcast  Advice on grants for authors plus a how-to on anthologies

09.07.24 Featured in the article How did winning literary awards affect your life? written by Thuy On and published in Arts Hub

26/10/24 Featured by Creative Brimbank for their Studio Artist Profile Video Series

06.07.24 Interviewed by Stella Glorie for her Thirty Books YouTube Channel, 

30.04.24 Interviewed on SBS Bosnian Radio 

Appeared in the Star Weekly newspaper promoting  my events at the Brimbank Writers Festival. 13.02.24

18.09.23 Radio appearance on Life Matters on ABC Radio National talking about using art and narrative therapy to find your story and voice. Listen here.
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Writer's Workshop where authors Amra Pajalic, Angela Savage, Gabrielle Wang and Tony Wilson discuss the writing process to their novels available on ABC Free view.  There are four episodes in total each one exploring a different aspect of writing such as Theme, Genre, Character Analysis and Writing Process. 
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14.08.23 Blog post on Shepards about my favourite own voices YA fiction, 

02.08.23 Radio appearance on ABC Evenings with Raf Epstein to promote Teacher, Teacher anthology piece 'Nothing is Unfixable' published by Affirm Press, 

12.07.23 Instagram live interview with Mirela Cufurovic

02.05.23 Featured in Writer's Digest for their IndieLab Author spotlight feature talking about self publishing and establishing my small press, Pishukin Press. Read online here.

03.06.23 Featured in an Arts Hub article by Thuy On 

05.06.23 Appeared on ABC Radio Sydney Evenings with Indira Naidoo talking friendships based on my SBS Article Can you come back from a friendship fall-out?, SBS Voices, .  Listen here.

​03.06.22​ Radio interview with 3CR, "Establishing an identity and fathoming the challenges of different cultures as a young girl lie at the heart of ‘The Cuckoo’s Song’ by Amra Pajalic."

25.05.22  Amra Pajalić featured in Star Weekly in article Learn to write from award  winning author Amra Pajalic 

​08.03.22 Amra Pajalić featured as one of 8 Incredible Melbourne-Based Writers To Read On International Women’s Day by Secret Melbourne

​10.07.19 On RRR 102.7 Backstory talking to Melissa Cranenburgh about her memoir and the catharsis and trauma of writing it. Listen here.

04.06.24 Amra Pajalic featured in 'Mum locked us in a room - then the police took her: Our frightening family secret, news.com.au

23.05.19 On Life Matters talking to Hilary Harper about her memoir and the seminal moment when a teacher helped Amra discover what my mother’s mental illness is called. 

​15.05.19 Interviewed on 3CR Community Radio Published or Not segment by David McClean who introduced Amra Pajalić's book as: “dislocation, dysfunction and depression--these are terms we don’t usually like to associate with a child’s upbringing but Amra Pajalić fathoms the forces that shaped her life in her autobiography Things Nobody Knows But Me.” You can listen online on this link from 11.55 minutes to hear the interview. 

04.09.2018 On Pushing the Edge podcast, In Episode 48, we explore teaching in a western suburbs school, where students often face bigotry, and negative stereotyping based on their race, their religious beliefs, and the suburbs they live in. We examine how their teacher who grew up in the same suburb, supports them to talk through and write about their lives; as well as teaching them about the complexities of being Muslim. Listen here.

Public Events and Podcasts 

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Talking Time Kneels Between Mountains on the Yellow Shelf podcast

Balkan Forum Podcast interview

Radio Interview on Your Planet Needs You Show 94.1

Hembury Books Podcast  Advice on grants for authors plus a how-to on anthologies

Creative Brimbank Studio Artist Profile

Interview with Stella Glorie on the Thirty Books Channel

​2020 Brimbank Writers and Readers Festival

2020 Express Media Toolkits-Writing Family, Writing Illness

Growing up Muslim in Australia Launch at Wheeler Centre

Sample Interview Questions / Topics

About Time Kneels Between Mountains
What inspired you to set a murder mystery within the siege of Srebrenica?
How did you balance the emotional truth of lived experience with the demands of fiction?
The novel interweaves love, survival, and justice. How did you maintain hope amid such devastation?
What research did you conduct to authentically depict daily life under siege?
You include scenes where outsiders—journalists, aid workers—mediate the story. Why was that lens important?
The title itself is striking. What does “Time Kneels Between Mountains” mean to you?
How did you approach writing scenes of violence or trauma without sensationalising them?
What role does corruption play in the novel’s moral universe?

About Fragments of History: The Essays Behind the Stories
Why did you create a companion essay collection to your novel instead of traditional author’s notes?
How do the essays in Fragments of History expand on the historical and ethical questions raised in your fiction?
Can you talk about your process of translating academic research into accessible essays?
Which essay was the hardest to write — emotionally or intellectually — and why?
How does Fragments of History engage with survivor testimony and historical sources?
Do you see the essays as an act of witness, education, or resistance — or all three?
How do you hope teachers and students will use this collection?

On Srebrenica, Memory, and Representation
Srebrenica has become both a real and symbolic site of memory — what does that duality mean to you?
How do you navigate writing about genocide as both an insider and an author addressing global readers?
What ethical challenges arise when fictionalising real historical atrocities?
How do you respond to ongoing genocide denial and revisionism through your creative work?
Many of your sources — such as Hasanović, Fink, Leydesdorff, and Sudetić — are deeply personal accounts. How did they shape your storytelling?
What does cultural memory look like for the Bosnian diaspora today?
Do you believe fiction can achieve something history books cannot?
How do you hope readers will remember Srebrenica after reading your work?

On Writing, Research, and Responsibility
How do you sustain your creative energy when working with traumatic material?
As both a teacher and writer, how do you introduce students to complex topics like genocide and nationalism?
What advice do you have for authors tackling politically charged or historically sensitive subjects?
How has your PhD research shaped your creative voice and sense of literary purpose?

Self Publishing
What are some resources that have been helpful to you in becoming self published?
What do you recommend other writers do?
How has being traditionally published supported you in self publishing?
Do you think writers need to be traditionally published to go onto self publishing?

Own Voices
What does Own Voices mean?
How are you a Own Voices author?
How do you think Own Voices publishing is changing the self publishing industry?
How do you think Own Voices publishing impacts on readers?

Short stories
How do you think writing short stories has helped you develop your voice?
How do short stories help you find an audience?
How difficult is it to use a novel extract as a short story?

Teaching
How has being a teacher influenced your writing?
How does being a teacher help you with writing young adults?

Young Adult
Why do you write young adult books?
How do you become a young adult author?
What should be included or not included in young adult books?

Writing a Young Adult Own Voices Series
How did your personal experiences shape the themes and characters in your young adult series?
Why do you think it’s important to amplify diverse voices in young adult literature?
What challenges have you faced in authentically representing your cultural identity?
How do you balance humor, drama, and realism in your young adult stories?
What has been the most rewarding feedback you’ve received from readers of your YA series?

Anthology
What inspired you to curate the anthology Growing up Muslim in Australia, and what themes does it explore?
How did you go about selecting contributors or getting your story included in the anthology?
What are the challenges of publishing an anthology compared to a novel or standalone work?
What advice would you give to someone interested in putting together their own anthology?
How has being part of an anthology influenced your writing or expanded your audience?

Being a Mentor
What is the most common piece of advice you give to emerging writers?
How has mentoring others impacted your own writing journey?
What qualities do you think are essential in a good mentor?
Can you share a memorable success story from someone you’ve mentored?

Writing Grant Applications
What tips do you have for writers looking to successfully secure grants?
How do you balance being both creative and strategic when crafting a grant application?
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from the grant application process?
Can you share a grant-writing success story and how it impacted your career?
What resources or tools do you recommend for writers navigating grant applications?

Having an Anthology Published
What inspired you to curate or contribute to an anthology, and what themes does it explore?
How did you go about selecting contributors or getting your story included in the anthology?
What are the challenges of publishing an anthology compared to a novel or standalone work?
What advice would you give to someone interested in putting together their own anthology?
How has being part of an anthology influenced your writing or expanded your audience?

Writing a Young Adult Own Voices Series
How did your personal experiences shape the themes and characters in your young adult series?
Why do you think it’s important to amplify diverse voices in young adult literature?
What challenges have you faced in authentically representing your cultural identity?
How do you balance humor, drama, and realism in your young adult stories?
What has been the most rewarding feedback you’ve received from readers of your YA series?

Being a Mentor
What inspired you to take on the role of a mentor in the writing community?
What is the most common piece of advice you give to emerging writers?
How has mentoring others impacted your own writing journey?
What qualities do you think are essential in a good mentor?
Can you share a memorable success story from someone you’ve mentored?

Writing Grant Applications
What tips do you have for writers looking to successfully secure grants?
How do you balance being both creative and strategic when crafting a grant application?
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from the grant application process?
Can you share a grant-writing success story and how it impacted your career?
What resources or tools do you recommend for writers navigating grant applications?

My Traditional Publishing Journey
Can you share your path to finding a publisher for your first book?
What are the biggest lessons you learned about the publishing industry through your journey?
How has traditional publishing shaped your writing career and goals?
What advice would you give to authors trying to break into traditional publishing today?
How do you handle setbacks or rejections in the publishing process?

Writing Romance as Mae Archer
What inspired you to write under the pen name Mae Archer, and how does this identity differ from your other writing?
What drew you to the romance genre, and how do you make your stories stand out?
What’s your process for creating romantic chemistry between your characters?
How do you approach writing love scenes that feel authentic and engaging?

Copyright Amra Pajalic 2025