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Benjamin Law (writer)

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Benjamin Law
Born1982 (age 35)
Nambour, Queensland, Australia
OccupationAuthor, journalist
NationalityAustralian
Period2000s–present
Notable worksThe Family Law, Gaysia
Website
benjamin-law.com

Benjamin Law is an Australian author and journalist. He is best known for his books The Family Law, a family memoir published in 2010,[1] and Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East, a journalistic exploration of LGBT life in Asia.[2]

Born in Nambour, Queensland[3] to immigrant parents from Hong Kong, he is currently based in Brisbane.[1] He is openly gay.[4][5]

Career

The Family Law was a shortlisted nominee for Book of the Year at the 2011 Australian Book Industry Awards,[1] and was adapted by Matchbox Pictures into a six-part television series for the SBS network in 2016.[6]

As a journalist, he has contributed to publications including Frankie, The Australian Financial Review, The Saturday Paper,[7] The Monthly, The Courier-Mail and its Qweekend supplement, Griffith Review, Fairfax Media's Good Weekend magazine, The Big Issue and Crikey.[1]

Controversy

On 12 September 2017, the Australian newspaper criticised Law for tweeting: "Sometimes find myself wondering if I’d hate-fuck all the anti-gay MPs in parliament if it meant they got the homophobia out of their system". It was later revealed that the tweet was over a week old, and that the Australian's report coincided with the release of Law's 25,000 word investigate Quarterly Essay which examined that newspaper's flawed coverage of the Safe Schools program. Law later publicly thanked the newspaper for the free publicity.[8] George Christensen MP said, "It’s ironic that most supporters of Safe Schools say they support it because it’s anti-bullying and yet they engage in some of the worst online bullying you’d ever encounter."[9][10]

Law's Quarterly Essay subsequently became the #2 top-selling book in Australia's independent bookshops.[11]

Bibliography

Books

  • The Family Law (2010, ISBN 9781863954785)
  • Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East (2012, ISBN 9781863955768)

Essays and reporting

  • Law, Benjamin (September 2014). "10 things I believe [interview with Gary Shteyngart]". Smith Journal. 12: 22–24. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |authormask= (help)
  • Law, Benjamin (2017). Moral Panic 101 - Equality, Acceptance and the Safe Schools Scandal. Quarterly Essay. Vol. 67. Black Inc. ISBN 9781863959513.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Law unto himself: The Family Law author Benjamin Law". Meld, 27 March 2012.
  2. ^ Robert Dessaix, "Queer and Loathing". The Monthly, September 2012.
  3. ^ Benjamin Law. "Benjamin Law". Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Over the rainbow". The Hindu, 20 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Gay, lesbian or queer writing". The Book Show, 7 February 2011.
  6. ^ "Benjamin Law Comedy in Production at Matchbox Pictures". Pedestrian Daily, 16 October 2013.
  7. ^ "Benjamin Law" The Saturday Paper, 20 December 2014
  8. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/sep/15/benjamin-law-thanks-news-corps-unholy-alliance-for-free-publicity
  9. ^ "Gay rights activist slammed for lewd tweets". Sky News. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Coalition MPs lash out at 'vile' tweet by same-sex marriage advocate". News Ltd. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  11. ^ https://www.facebook.com/AusIndieBooks/posts/1385774108208373