Benjamin Law (writer)
Benjamin Law is an Australian author and journalist. He is best known for his books The Family Law, a family memoir published in 2010, and Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East, a journalistic exploration of LGBT life in Asia.
Born in Nambour, Queensland to immigrant parents from Hong Kong and Malaysia, he is currently based in Sydney. He is openly gay.
Career
The Family Law was a shortlisted nominee for Book of the Year at the 2011 Australian Book Industry Awards, and was adapted by Matchbox Pictures into a six-part television series for the SBS network in 2016, which Law created and co-wrote with Marieke Hardy and Kirsty Fisher and Lawrence Leung. It won the Screen Producers Awards for Best Comedy and was nominated for two AACTA Awards.At the 2012 Sydney Writers' Festival, he presented on the topic of bullying, for a panel with Wendy Harmer and Paul Capsis.
In November 2015, he advocated for gay people in a public discussion hosted by Mildura Pride. The social inclusion initiative focused on making Mildura more welcoming for LGBTIQ communities.
In April 2018, Law became an ambassador for the National Library of Australia.
As a journalist, he has contributed to publications including Frankie, The Australian Financial Review, The Saturday Paper, The Monthly, The Courier-Mail and its Qweekend supplement, Griffith Review, New Matilda, Fairfax Media's Good Weekend magazine, The Big Issue and Crikey.
Controversy
On 12 September 2017, The Australian newspaper criticised Law's tweet of 30 August 2017, "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". The newspaper also highlighted Law's responding tweet to Rob Stott, "". The article highlighted that both tweets were posted during the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey. Law subsequently stated that Googling the term "hate-fucking" shows that it is "not a sexual assault", and that The Australian's report coincided with the release of Law's investigative Quarterly Essay which examined that newspaper's coverage of the Safe Schools program. Law later publicly thanked the newspaper for the free publicity.Books
- The Family Law
- Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East
Co-authored
- Sh*t Asian mothers say, Collingwood, Vic. : Black Inc.
- Law School : sex and relationship advice from Benjamin Law and his mum Jenny Phang, Melbourne, Vic. Brow Books
Contributed chapters
- "Tourism", pp. 147–152, and "Towards manhood", pp. 195–203, in: Growing up Asian in Australia, Melbourne, Black Inc.
- In: Voracious: best new Australian food writing, edited by Paul McNally, Prahran, Vic. : Hardie Grant Books
- In: I'm not racist but... forty years of the Racial Discrimination Act, by Tim Soutphommasane, Sydney, N.S.W. NewSouth Publishing
- In: The book that made me, edited by Judith Ridge, Newtown, NSW Walker Books Australia
- "Beijing", pp. -49, in: Best Australian comedy writing, edited by Luke Ryan, Affirm Press, South Melbourne, Victoria
Introductions
- In: Me and Mr Booker, by Cory Taylor, Melbourne, Victoria : The Text Publishing Company
Essays and reporting
- Law, Benjamin. . The Guardian
Interviews
- The women who shaped my life. Cleo, pp. 100–102.
- Morris, Linda. Benjamin Law. The Sydney Morning Herald, p. 6.
- Tabart, Sally. . The Design Files.
- Tabart, Sally. ''. The Design Files.
As editor
- Growing Up Queer in Australia
Filmography
As Writer
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2016-19 | The Family Law | Creator/script writer |
| 2017 | Sisters | Episode 3 |
As Actor
Other work
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2016 | Deep Water: The Real Story | Researcher/associate producer | Documentary film |
| 2018 | Filthy Rich and Homeless | Himself/participant | Docuseries |
| 2018–present | Co-Host | Web series | |
| 2019 | Waltzing the Dragon | Presenter | Two-part documentary |
Theatre
Radio
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2019–present | ' | Host | Podcast for ABC Radio National |
| 2019 | ' | Host | Podcast for TheGuardian.com |