On 28 October, bookworms flocked to Kiama Library for an engaging presentation and signing from Canberra lawyer, poet and self-published author Vesna Cvjeticanin.

The event was centred around Cvjeticanin’s new book ‘An Unexpected Life’, which shares the inspiring stories of 12 migrant women, including Cvjeticanin’s own experience relocating from Serbia.

Cvjeticanin met the book’s subjects throughout her professional career and when she took a beginner’s English class after moving to Australia in 1990. She said that despite being from different countries–including Romania, Bosnia, Malaysia, South African and South American–they were all in the same situation and connected by common traits.

Cvjeticanin told The Bugle that after being inspired by these women, she wanted to exercise her lifelong passion for storytelling and the written word to spread an overarching message of fortitude and optimism.

“We didn’t want to have yet another book of struggle, as many [migration] stories are,” she said. “We wanted to reflect that there is light at the end of the tunnel. That was what was driving me: the willingness to share our stories and encourage and enlighten and empower.”

Opportunities like her Meet The Author talks at libraries in Kiama and Batemans Bay have made Cvjeticanin realise just how relatable her experiences and these ‘eternal stories’ are to the general public. 

Cvjeticanin recalls that self-publishing as an unknown author was not an easy or cheap process, taking 2 and a half years of active work before release.

However, it allowed her full creative freedom to portray the narrative exactly how she wanted and did not deter her from continuing to follow this career trajectory. She has since released a collection of her Serbian poetry, which she plans to have translated to other languages in the future.

“Poetry is more of an outlet for my thoughts and feelings, my emotional and psychological states. [‘An Unexpected Life’ is] more about observations of the world around me, of other people. Poetry is more inward looking, prose is more outwards,” Cvjeticanin said.

Despite initially being a difficult project to get off the ground, ‘An Unexpected Life’ won the 2025 ACT Literary Award for non-fiction, an accolade Cvjeticanin is ‘very pleased’ about. 

Cvjeticanin’s poetry can be read online at https://belongingmag.com/tag/vesnacvjeticanin/ and ‘An Unexpected Life’ can be purchased on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com.au/UNEXPECTED-LIFE-inspiring-stories-Australia-ebook/dp/B0D1QMY1Y5.