Books at the Brewery - Antoun Issa
WEDNESDAY MAY 27
Lebanese-Australian journalist and co-founder of Deepcut News, Antoun Issa, joins us at
The Taproom to chat with Mel Fulton about his deeply personal book, Rebirth - the book that captures his mother's true experiences of love, heartbreak and new hope during the violence of a civil war.
Credit: Joao Sousa
Date:
Wednesday May 27 2026
Time:
6 00pm for a 6 30pm start, 8 00pm finish
Venue:
The Taproom, Shedshaker Brewery, 9 Walker Street, Castlemaine, 3450
Cost:
$15
About the Book:
Beirut, 1974. Laila Khalil has just come of age for marriage. The eldest of five in a poor Catholic family, Laila knows that she must fulfil her family's expectations. But her heart is drawn to the handsome Nicolas, a coiffeur at a local hair salon. Dodging the watchful eyes in their patriarchal society, particularly those of Laila's domineering father, the two young lovers begin a tender romance. Soon, they make plans for marriage.
But Laila's dreams are dashed when the Lebanese Civil War breaks out.
Shells whir overhead as Laila's family are caught in heavy clashes between the Phalangists and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. When tragedy strikes, Laila watches all her hopes wither to ash. But just as life seems its darkest, a lifeline presents itself: the prospect of migration to a faraway land called Australia.
Rebirth brings to light a young woman's extraordinary journey through war, tragedy, migration and renewal.
About the Author:
Antoun Issa is a Lebanese-Australian journalist and co-founder of Deepcut News. After completing his Master of International Relations at the Australian National University, he moved to Lebanon in 2011 where he worked as news editor for Al-Monitor during the heights of the Arab Spring.
Issa relocated to Washington DC in 2015 where he spent two years at the Middle East Institute, a US thinktank, before joining The Atlantic as an editorial strategist. He returned to Australia in 2020 and worked for the Guardian Australia until his departure in 2024.