Introducing Our TDTF Writers’ Residency Lead Writer for 2026

Amani Haydar is an author, visual artist, and advocate for women’s health and safety based on Dharug land. Amani’s ground-breaking feminist memoir The Mother Wound (Pan Macmillan, 2021) explores the effects of domestic abuse and state-sanctioned violence on women and has received several awards including the 2022 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Non-fiction and the 2022 Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year. The Mother Wound has recently been translated into Arabic, allowing audiences worldwide to engage with the Arab-Australian experience. Amani’s writing has also been featured in anthologies including Admissions: Voices within Mental Health (Upswell), Another Australia (Affirm Press), Racism (Sweatshop) and Arab Australian Other (Pan Macmillan). As an active visual artist and former Archibald Prize finalist, Amani collaborates with communities and community organisations to deliver multidisciplinary storytelling workshops for people from migrant backgrounds. Amani’s illustration work has been featured in publications like The Very Best Doughnut by Randa Abdel-Fattah and Safar by Sarah Malik.