Media Release
POWERHOUSE LAUNCHES S. SHAKTHIDHARAN’S DEBUT MEMOIR
Powerhouse today celebrates the release of its first major literary publication, Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath, the stunning debut memoir from award-winning writer, director and producer S. Shakthidharan, a Western Sydney storyteller with Sri Lankan heritage and Tamil ancestry.
Available in bookstores from today, 9 September, the memoir marks the official launch of Powerhouse’s new literary publishing program — a bold new initiative to commission and champion original voices, histories and stories from across Western Sydney.
Best known for his critically acclaimed play Counting and Cracking — hailed as one of the greatest Australian plays of the 21st century and a New York Times Critic’s Pick — Shakthidharan now turns to memoir in an intimate and powerful exploration of family, migration, identity and resilience.
At its heart is a house in Colombo, Sri Lanka, built by the author’s great-grandparents and later transported across oceans to Western Sydney. This ancestral home becomes both a literal and symbolic anchor in a powerful intergenerational story of memory, belonging and love.
Part of a year-long creative project commissioned for the opening program of Powerhouse Parramatta in 2026, the memoir will be accompanied by performances, community projects and public readings curated by Shakthidharan — reinforcing Powerhouse’s role as a cultural archive for all Australians.
Author S. Shakthidharan said ‘Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath is the story of my life and the people I most love. It’s an intimate, epic, journey across continents and generations — from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Homebush, Western Sydney. There are stories within stories and some real-life miracles along the way...One day my uncle says to me, ‘you need to stop running away’ and it all started there.’
Powerhouse Head of Writing Jemma Birrell said ‘Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath is a revelation — a door into Shakthi’s life that is compelling, intimate and heartwarming. It’s a thrill to publish this memoir as our first literary release.’
Powerhouse Chief Executive Lisa Havilah said, ‘We are immensely proud to launch Shakthidharan’s extraordinary memoir. It is a beautifully told story that happened in Western Sydney and the accompanying program presented across the first-year program of Powerhouse Parramatta will connect audiences in new ways to our diverse histories.’
Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath is distributed by Thames & Hudson Australia and New Zealand, under a new sales and distribution partnership with Powerhouse.
Join Shakthi for an in-conversation event with writer and broadcaster Benjamin Law at the Bondi Pavilion, Sydney on 23 September at 6.30pm and in Melbourne at Readings Bookshop with internationally acclaimed author Nam Lee on 8 October. Shakthi’s book tour continues around Australia. To reserve tickets, visit: http://bit.ly/45KCfUM
PRAISE FOR GATHER UP YOUR WORLD IN ONE LONG BREATH
‘Raw, unflinching and mesmerisingly honest … Poetic and profound. Shakthidharan excavates the intricate layers of his family’s history, revealing the complexities of filial love, the weight of inherited trauma, and the search for belonging. This is both an artist’s journey and a son’s.’
SHANKARI CHANDRAN, AUTHOR OF MILES FRANKLIN AWARD WINNER, CHAI TIME AT CINNAMON GARDENS
‘Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath is a rich exploration of the mystery of finding Australia. In a voice “as old and true as the soil beneath you”, Shakthidharan retells his family’s movement from Sri Lanka to Sydney, and their quest to start over.
The exuberance of life in a new continent is balanced by failure, separation and loss. I loved it.’
ARAVIND ADIGA, AUTHOR OF BOOKER PRIZE WINNER, THE WHITE TIGER
‘A beautiful and powerful exploration of the intensity and immutability of being a part of a family, and coming to terms with accepting love. Lyrical, wise and moving, some parts of this book made me gather my world in one long breath.’
ALICE PUNG, AUTHOR OF UNPOLISHED GEM AND HER FATHER’S DAUGHTER
‘Loss, and joy, echoes through this tender, brave and unusual portrait of one family, and literally one house, that moved across two lands.’
SONALI DERANIYAGALA, AUTHOR OF WAVE: A MEMOIR OF LIFE AFTER THE TSUNAMI
‘A luminous and unflinching memoir of exile, love and the weight of inheritance.’
STEVE TOLTZ, AUTHOR OF HERE GOES NOTHING AND A FRACTION OF THE WHOLE
PRESS INFORMATION
Image credit: Powerhouse Studio
Download images here: http://ph.au/3VlrYZ8
To reserve tickets, visit: http://bit.ly/45KCfUM
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About Powerhouse
Powerhouse sits at the intersection of arts, design, science and technology and plays a critical role in engaging communities with contemporary ideas and issues. We are undertaking a landmark $1.2 billion infrastructure renewal program, spearheaded by the creation of the new museum, Powerhouse Parramatta; expanded research and public facilities at Powerhouse Castle Hill; the renewal of the iconic Powerhouse Ultimo; and the ongoing operation of Sydney Observatory. The museum is custodian to over half a million objects of national and international significance and is considered one of the finest and most diverse collections in Australia. We are also undertaking an expansive digitisation project that will provide new levels of access to the Powerhouse Collection.