Telling the story of three generations of displacement, Fire in Every Direction recounts Baconi’s grandmother’s flight from Palestine as a child, his family’s escape from Lebanon in the midst of civil war, and his own awakening as a queer man within a culture of silence in Jordan.

Balancing humour and loss, nostalgia and hope, this extraordinary book explores how queerness, shame, dispossession and desire intersect in one life – and how we can reclaim ourselves when the world teaches us to hide. 

In a world currently shaped by unease, fracture and division, PEN Melbourne looks to writers whose writing expands our horizons and speaks across borders.

In partnership with PEN Melbourne.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival 2026.