INTRODUCTION
Arnold Zable is an acclaimed Melbourne-based writer, novelist, storyteller, human rights activist, and the recipient of the 2021 Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. His books include, Jewels and Ashes, Café Scheherazade, Scraps of Heaven, Sea of Many Returns, The Fig Tree, Violin Lessons, The Fighter and most recently, The Watermill. He has published numerous stories, features, essays, columns, and works for theatre, and has lectured widely on the art of story, both in Australia and internationally. He is an ambassador of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, patron of Sanctuary, and patron of PEN International Melbourne. For his many sins, Arnold’s awards include the 2013 Voltaire Prize for human rights advocacy and the 2017 Australia Council Fellowship for literature.