NAZEEM HUSSAIN

Word Travels believes in great writing powerfully performed. This is why we’ve chosen Nazeem Hussain as the 2023 Story Week Ambassador.

Nazeem is a prolific Australian writer who presents his work across multiple platforms – stage, print, audio, and TV. He brings humour to difficult topics and inspires us to ask questions like, “Am I racist?”.

Word Travels’ Creative Director, Miles Merrill first saw Nazeem perform at Adelaide Fringe in 2008 as part of the comedy duo, Fear of a Brown Planet.
He says, “I was just excited to see brown people live and on stage in Australia. I’m from a mixed African-Italian family in Chicago. Australia can be quite a lonely place if you’re brown and looking to see reflections of yourself in the arts. I’ve continued to follow his career ever since.”

Since those first stand-up comedy shows, which tackled seemingly simple topics like dating and early video content like this poignant Invasion Day mash-up, Nazeem has always pushed boundaries and our buttons.

He continues to experiment with mediums, socio-political ideas – and now he’s released Hy-larious Hyena, a popular series of kids’ books.

What’s surprising is that a lot of Nazeem’s performances are bizarre stories from his own life. Stories most Australians would never believe. He’s invited by ASIO spies to lunch. He has deep and meaningful conversations about terrorism with his trolls.

He also gets candid stories out of everyday people in his show Legally Brown and hits extreme wokeness with Orange is the New Brown.

This is why Nazeem represents the Story Week ethos: tell your own story. Be heard. Be seen.

Thanks Nazeem for inspiring the next generation of writers to perform.

Word Travels has celebrated inspiring performing writers since it was founded in 2010.  We can’t wait to have Nazeem join us for a reading at Kids’ Story Day and “What the Hell is an Australian Story?”, a conversation with Story Week Creative Director Miles Merrill.