Benjamin Law (writer)

Benjamin Law
Born	Nambour, Queensland, Australia
Occupation	Author, screenwriter, journalist
Nationality	Australian
Period	2000s–present
Notable works	The Family Law, Gaysia
Relatives	Michelle Law (sister)
Website
benjamin-law.com

Benjamin Law (born c.1982) is an Australian author, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his books The Family Law, a family memoir published in 2010, and the TV series of the same name. He hosts the radio programme and podcast Stop Everything! for ABC Radio National.

Born in around 1982^[1] Nambour, Queensland,^[2] to immigrant parents from Hong Kong and Malaysia,^[3] He was educated at Immanuel Lutheran College on the Sunshine Coast. He has a PhD in creative writing and cultural studies from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

He is openly gay.^{[4][5][better source needed]}

The Family Law is a family memoir published in 2010. It 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, which Law created and co-wrote with Marieke Hardy (Series 1) and Kirsty Fisher and Lawrence Leung (Series 2).^[6] It won the Screen Producers Awards for Best Comedy (2016)^[7] and was nominated for two AACTA Awards.^[8] In 2012 Law published Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East, a journalistic exploration of LGBT life in Asia.^[9] At the 2012 Sydney Writers' Festival,^[10] 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 (a Mildura Rural City Council Initiative). The social inclusion initiative focused on making Mildura more welcoming for LGBTIQ communities.^[11]

In April 2018, Law became an ambassador for the National Library of Australia.^[12]

As a journalist, he has contributed to publications including Frankie, The Australian Financial Review, The Saturday Paper,^[13] The Monthly (including a 2014 supplement on the Museum of Old and New Art), The Courier-Mail and its Qweekend supplement, Griffith Review, New Matilda,^[14] Fairfax Media's Good Weekend magazine, The Big Issue and Crikey.^[1]

Law is founder member of the Australian Writers' Guild's Diversity and Inclusion Action Committee, along with Kodie Bedford and others.^[15]

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

• Sh*t Asian mothers say, Collingwood, Vic. : Black Inc. (2014, ISBN 9781863956635) – with sister Michelle Law^[16]
• Law School : sex and relationship advice from Benjamin Law and his mum Jenny Phang, Melbourne, Vic. Brow Books (2017, ISBN 9780994606853)

• "Tourism", pp. 147–152, and "Towards manhood", pp. 195–203, in: Growing up Asian in Australia, Melbourne, Black Inc. (2008, ISBN 9781863951913)
• In: Voracious: best new Australian food writing, edited by Paul McNally, Prahran, Vic. : Hardie Grant Books (2011, ISBN 9781742701202)
• In: I'm not racist but ... forty years of the Racial Discrimination Act, by Tim Soutphommasane, Sydney, N.S.W. NewSouth Publishing (2015, ISBN 9781742242057)
• In: The book that made me, edited by Judith Ridge, Newtown, NSW Walker Books Australia (2016, ISBN 9781922244888)
• "Beijing", pp. [43]-49, in: Best Australian comedy writing, edited by Luke Ryan, Affirm Press, South Melbourne, Victoria (2016, ISBN 9781925475265)

• In: Me and Mr Booker, by Cory Taylor, Melbourne, Victoria : The Text Publishing Company (2017, ISBN 9781925498271)

• "Moral Panic 101 - Equality, Acceptance and the Safe Schools Scandal". Quarterly Essay. 67. Black Inc. 2017. ISBN 9781863959513.
• "Chinese-Australian history predates the first fleet – and my family helped me find out how". The Guardian, 24 July 2019.

• The women who shaped my life (August 2010). Cleo, pp. 100–102.
• Morris, Linda (21 December 2012). "Benjamin Law". The Sydney Morning Herald, p. 6.
• Tabart, Sally (July 2019). "A Day In The Life Of Benjamin Law, Writer". The Design Files.
• Tabart, Sally (April 2020). "Times Like These... With Writer Ben Law". The Design Files.

• Growing Up Queer in Australia (2019, ISBN 9781760640866)

Law's work includes:^[17]

Year	Title	Notes
2016-19	The Family Law	Creator/script writer (based on his memoir)
2017	Sisters	Episode 3
2021	New Gold Mountain
2023	Wellmania

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2018	Freudian Slip	Jacob's Id	Web Series[18]

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	That Startup Show[19]	Co-Host	Web series
2019	Waltzing the Dragon	Presenter	Two-part documentary
2023	Australian Survivor	Contestant	11 episodes; 14th place

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2018	Nassim	Performer (24 Jan performance	[20]
2020	Double Delicious	Performer	For Sydney Festival[21]
2020	Torch the Place	Writer	For Melbourne Theatre Company[22]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2019–present	Stop Everything![23]	Host	Podcast for ABC Radio National
2019	Look at me[24]	Host	Podcast for The Guardian

• Official website
• Benjamin Law at IMDb
• Benjamin Law on Austlit
• Interview for No Filter
• The Kids are Alright Archived 2 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine speech for Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission
• Work for The Sydney Morning Herald
• Work for The Age