Sarah Malik is a Walkley Award-winning journalist and writer. She has written for The New York Times, Guardian Australia, and The Sydney Morning Herald. She has also presented and produced programs for SBS and ABC Radio National.
She is available for freelance writing, presenting and keynotes. She is also available to speak on or host events relating to cultural diversity, representation, inclusion, journalism, storytelling, arts and media.
Watch Sarah's SBS Documentaries in 'Links'
Sarah's Books:
Desi Girl: On feminism, race, faith and belonging
(UQP - 30 August , 2022)
Sarah's debut collection of fascinating memoir-style essays about coming of age and finding your feet as a second-generation Australian Muslim.
Safar: Stories of travel and transformation for Muslim women and girls
(Hardie Grant Publishing - 3 November, 2022)
Through a series of interviews with Muslim women from diverse backgrounds, Sarah's second book considers personal growth and self-knowledge in the context of travel.
- Safar
Access Sarah's full bio and social media pages in Links
Workshop Examples:
Shaping Your Memoir
You want to write your story, but what’s the best way to tell it? In this practical workshop, Walkley Award-winning investigative reporter and TV presenter Sarah Malik shares valuable insight from penning her own memoir, Desi Girl, with tips on using pictures, diaries and other materials to ‘excavate’ yourself and transform real-life memories and experiences into great prose. She explores matters of voice, how to cast yourself as a main character and examine your motivations, fears, ambitions, anddesires, and how to hone a draft into a publishable work of memoir for a wider audience.
Presented as a 2.5 hour session with Melbourne Writers Festival - 2022
Memoirs - putting your heart on paper
Writing your life into a memoir is putting your heart out there for everyone to share. How you decide what you are going to share, what to keep private, and still write a captivating book.
Presented as a 2 hour virtual workshop with CYA Conference - 2022
Testimonials
Sarah was insightful and inclusive with participants and created a safe atmosphere for people to be revealing about their memoirs.
I would have loved this workshop to go for two days or at least one!
It gave me ideas and I loved the chance to do some writing.
It was interesting to hear the memoir ideas from other people and to connect with them, even if very briefly.
2022 Melbourne Writers' Festival - Memoir WorkshopI enjoyed the memoir writing workshop opportunity. It made me think very differently about why and what I'm writing. In addition to what I learned, I now have a clear path on next steps. Sarah taught me a lot about being more creative. Her session truly opened my mind. She's clear in message, and compassionate in approach.
CYA Conference - 2022
Desi Girl
New South Wales
Speaker type
- Author
- Media personality
- Non-fiction
- Journalist / Feature writer
- Memoir Writing
Audience
- Year 10-12
- Tertiary
- Adult
Links
Featured Speakers
Stop Press
Learn the secrets of writing great stories from an award-winning author.
Write Like an Author is a school holiday program for young writers.
Held in a fun and supportive setting at Brisbane Boys College, this camp will see children develop and write stories with help from award-winning author Brian Falkner, author of 21 books including Northwood, Shooting Stars and the Katipo Joe series.
The camp will be held during the school holidays, 20-22 January. Three-day camp ages 9-14, plus a one-day workshop ages 7-10.
Young writers will learn:
- How to come up with story ideas
- How to plan and outline a story
- How to develop interesting characters
- The writing process
Plus they will make new friends and have lots of fun!
Young writers (or their parents) can register here:
Register herePlaces are strictly limited, so register early.
New Releases See all books
Touring Speakers See all tour dates
| Speaker | Location | Tour dates | Book now |
|---|---|---|---|
Brisbane | 04 Mar - 06 Mar 2026 | ||
Cairns | 09 Mar - 12 Mar 2026 | ||
Brisbane / Sunshine Coast | 09 Mar - 09 Mar 2026 | ||
Brisbane | 27 Apr - 29 Apr 2026 | ||
Brisbane | 27 Apr - 27 Apr 2026 |
What people are saying
Brett kept the boys engaged for the entire hour with lots of positive comments and thank yous from them. The parent presentation was also well received.
As part of our Literacy Day celebrations, we had a very special visit from author and illustrator duo, Haydn and Damien Crespan. The Crespan brothers shared their writing process, the detail behind each illustration and how they’ve overcome challenges such as a colourblind illustrator! We were truly captivated by their debut children’s book, ‘The Adventures of Triz’. Not to mention, their dinosaur display and the REAL fossils they brought for us to explore.
The students and teacher absolutely loved Louise Park. They were thrilled to hear about her secret identities, how she writes her books and giving the students to create their own Zac Power adventure was amazing!
Charlotte visited our school and spoke with three large groups of Preps, Yr 1 and Yr 2. She was very engaging, easy to listen to, interesting and interactive. She shared some of her childhood stories and also explained how she comes up with writing ideas. Each session was tailored well to each age group, sharing her range of different books each time. Charlotte also responded well to the Yr 6 Podcast questions about the reflective and collaborative aspects of being an author. I can very highly [...]
Zachary Ashford tailored his presentation to a diverse and large cohort of students. His sessions were interactive, engaging and entertaining. Zach sought feedback constantly and communicated effectively throughout our visit. Would definately recommend!
Our students enjoyed Sheryl's Author-in-Residence with us. She did a great job appealing to such a range of ages and I appreciate the preparation she put in ahead of time. Her sessions also inspired the older grades who have not yet read Secrets of Eromanga to continue and use the text in their lessons. The students have even done some follow up research about the Elliot dinosaur.
Taryn engaged with the students and provided valuable strategies on how to improve dialogue in stories.
Darren’s writing and presence resonated very well with teens…His talk was quick-moving, incorporated subject matter geared to the age group, and got them participating, laughing and having fun. I felt that he had a big impact on the students and I can’t recommend him highly enough.
The delightful Jackie French visited us this morning. Jackie is a captivating speaker and her work is always well received. Is there is any chance that we can procure another booking for Jackie in 2013? We would love to have her visit us again!!!
Thank you for recommending Kyle for this year’s Literature Festival Day. It was a huge success and we have had wonderful feedback from students and teachers.
I was so incredibly thrilled to have you there! A little secret – you were an absolute favourite, both with me and the kids!! Thank you so much! I was doing some work with them after the sessions, and they were using your techniques! Amazing! If I can keep it going for a few years, I will definitely have you back!