Randa Abdel-Fattah

Randa Abdel-Fattah
Abdel-Fattah in 2026
Born (1979-06-06) 6 June 1979
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
CitizenshipAustralia
EducationMelbourne University (B.A.)
Macquarie University (Ph.D)
OccupationsWriter, lawyer, academic
Children4
Writing career
GenresFiction, school story, sociology
SubjectsIslamophobia, Islam, Muslims
Notable workDoes My Head Look Big in This?
Notable awardsKathleen Mitchell Award
Websiterandaabdelfattah.com

Randa Abdel-Fattah (Arabic: رندة عبد الفتاح; born 6 June 1979) is an Australian sociologist, lawyer and writer. She is an advocate for human rights, particularly for Palestinian people. Much of her work focuses on identity and what it means to be Muslim in Australia. Her debut novel, Does My Head Look Big in This?, was published in 2005. Her 2025 novel, Discipline, came to public attention after Abdel-Fattah was disinvited from the 2026 Adelaide Writers' Week, leading to a boycott by most of the scheduled participants and the subsequent cancellation of the event.

Early life and education

Randa Abdel-Fattah was born on 6 June 1979[1] in Sydney, New South Wales,[2] to a Palestinian father and an Egyptian mother.[3][4] Although often referred to as Palestinian Australian,[5][6] Abdel-Fattah has said "I don't think I ever identified as or even felt 'Palestinian in Australia' Sometimes I felt a hybrid of Australian and Palestinian. Sometimes I felt neither Australian nor Palestinian, tired of identity politics [...] As for my cultural consciousness, my mother is Egyptian and I grew up among her family in Australia and probably absorbed more Egyptian culture as a child."[7] In an essay on Mondoweiss in January 2026, she described herself as a Palestinian.[8]

She grew up in Melbourne, Victoria, and attended a Catholic primary school and then King Khalid Islamic College.[2] She wrote her first novel, based on Roald Dahl's Matilda, when she was in sixth grade.[1] She started writing the first draft of a semi-autobiographical novel at age 15, which was completed and published ten years later as Does My Head Look Big in This?[4]

In 2002, Abdel-Fattah gained BA and LLB degrees from the University of Melbourne.[2][9] During this time, she was the media liaison at the Islamic Council of Victoria, writing about Muslims in Australia.[3]

In 2016, Abdel-Fattah obtained her PhD from the Department of Sociology at Macquarie University.[9] Her thesis, "Islamophobia and Everyday Multiculturalism in Australia", was later published by Routledge in 2018.[10][11]

Career

Law

Abdel-Fattah worked as a solicitor for various firms, including Slater & Gordon (2001–2003), Lander & Rogers (2003–2006), Thompson Playford Lawyers (2006–2009) and Hicksons Lawyers (2009–2012).[9]

As of September 2025, she is a lawyer of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. She is patron of the Racial Justice Centre, the first Australian Community Legal Service focused on racial justice.[12]

Writing and research

In 2018, Abdel-Fattah received two research fundings from the Australian Research Council in the form of their Discovery Early Career Research Award, for studying the sociological conditions of modern Muslim and non-Muslim youth. Her three-year project was based at Macquarie University with Amanda Wise as her collaborator.[13][14] Her findings were published by NewSouth Publishing in 2021 as Coming of Age in the War on Terror, and as a paper in the Journal of Sociology in 2024.[15]

Abdel-Fattah has published research articles in the Journal of Sociology,[16] the Sociological Research Online,[17] and the Journal of Intercultural Studies.[18]

She has written books for children and young adults. She created a series aimed at early readers, called Our Stories, of books written and illustrated by diverse authors and illustrators. Her research inspired another project for young children, leading to Australia's first Black-Palestinian picture book collaboration, 11 Words For Love (2023).[12]

She has also published novels. Her latest novel Discipline was published in August 2025.[19] Set in Sydney during the Israel-Gaza War, its main characters are a young journalist of Palestinian descent and an academic of Egyptian Australian descent.[20][21]

She has written articles for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Guardian, Overland, Meanjin, Al Jazeera English, Le Monde, New Matilda, and The New Arab.[9][3]

As of September 2025 Abdel-Fattah is a Future Fellow in the Department of Sociology at Macquarie University. Her research areas cover Islamophobia, race, Palestine, the war on terror, youth identities, and social movement activism.[12]

Views and media appearances

Abdel-Fattah describes herself as a feminist and has written critical pieces on women's rights in Saudi Arabia, stating that women should retain the right to wear what they want.[22][23] She no longer discusses the hijab, on the basis that it constitutes flogging a dead horse and detracts from the discussion of other issues.[23]

On Australian television, she has appeared on Insight (SBS), First Tuesday Book Club (ABC), Q&A (ABC TV),[3] Sunrise (Seven Network), and 9am with David & Kim (Network 10).[24]

In 2022, the Australian Research Council (ARC) granted Abdel-Fattah their Future Fellowship[25] on a research project titled "Arab/Muslim Australian Social Movements since the 1970s: A hidden history". Abdel-Fattah is the primary chief investigator, contracted to work on the project from 2023 to 2027.[26][27]

During the Gaza War starting in 2023, she has been a vocal critic of the Israeli government,[28] accusing it of committing a "Palestinian holocaust" in Gaza.[29] At an academic symposium organised by the Queensland University of Technology's Carumba Institute, Abdel-Fattah spoke of how, instead of organising an academic conference as mandated by her ARC grants, she used the funds to run a workshop for women from multicultural backgrounds.[30] Because of the fund diversion remarks, the education minister, Jason Clare, wrote to the ARC board on 31 January 2025 asking it to investigate Abdel-Fattah. On 27 February, the ARC announced that the Abdel-Fattah's grant was suspended and that it was the responsibility of Macquarie University to resolve the issue[25][31] and, if the grant had been misused, to refund the entire amount.[32] After a 10-month investigation led by two independent academics, the university announced on 23 December 2025 that "there is no basis for any further investigation of the concerns raised by the ARC." The ARC restored the funding.[33]

Abdel-Fattah's social media post from March 2024 which stated that Zionists "have no claim or right to cultural safety" was widely reported and used against her. In an essay on Mondoweiss in January 2026, she wrote of her "fight against Zionism" and restated that Zionists, as she understands the term, are not entitled to claim the right to a culturally safe space.[8]

In the same essay Abdel-Fattah also defended changing her Facebook cover to a picture of a paraglider in the colours of the Palestinian flag on 8 October 2023, one day after the October 7 attacks. She wrote that, at the time, she was not aware that armed paragliders had landed at the music festival and shot at civilians. She wrote: "The last short-lived mass breakout was in January 2008 [...] Images of these items symbolise freedom 'and escape from imprisonment'" and "Palestinians in the diaspora were posting the image as an iconic symbol of an imprisoned, besieged population breaking free." Her profile picture remained unchanged for five months, which she attributed to the fact she does not regularly use Facebook. She wrote in January 2026 that "an image that represented a moment of freedom is not something I will apologise for".[8]

In August 2025, Abdel-Fattah cancelled her scheduled presentation at the Bendigo Writers Festival in response to a code of conduct imposed by the festival two days before the festival was due to begin. Many other scheduled presenters also boycotted the festival in support of Abdel-Fattah and in protest at the code of conduct.[34]

2026 Adelaide Writers' Week

On 8 January 2026, the Adelaide Festival board announced that Abdel-Fattah's scheduled appearance at Adelaide Writers' Week in February to March 2026 had been cancelled due to concerns over "cultural sensitivity" following the 2025 Bondi Beach shooting.[35] There was a backlash from writers and the public to the decision, with most of the participants announcing a boycott of the event.[36][37][35] Abdel-Fattah decried the move as censorship.[38] Due to the controversy, Louise Adler, the director of Adelaide Writer's Week who had scheduled her appearance, resigned from her position,[39][6] and Writers' Week was cancelled.[38] The board resigned and a new board was appointed which apologised to Abdel-Fattah.[5][40] The new board also invited her to the 2027 edition of the event.[41]

Newcastle Writers' Festival 2026

Abdel-Fattah appeared at Newcastle Writers' Festival in Newcastle, New South Wales, in March 2026, with two sessions sold out and a third added owing to demand, despite NSW Premier Chris Minns previously opining that her inclusion was "crazy."[42]

Awards

Year Nominated work Award Category Result Ref.
2008 Ten Things I Hate About Me Kathleen Mitchell Award Winner [43]
2009 Where the Streets Had a Name Inky Awards Gold [3]
2017 When Michael Met Mina Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Writing for Young Adults [9]
People's Choice
2022 Coming of Age in the War on Terror Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Nonfiction Shortlisted [44]
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards NSW Multicultural [45]
Stella Prize Longlisted [46]
2023 11 Words for Love Prime Minister's Literary Awards Children's Fiction Shortlisted [47]
2026 Discipline Victorian Premier's Literary Awards People's Choice Winner [48]
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards NSW Multicultural Shortlisted [49]
Miles Franklin Award Shortlisted [50]
ALS Gold Medal Shortlisted [51]

Other roles and activities

Abdel-Fattah is a human rights advocate and stood at the 1998 federal election as a member of the Unity Party (with the slogan "Say No to Pauline Hanson"). She has also been interested in interfaith dialogue and has been a member of various interfaith networks. She has volunteered time with human rights and migrant resource organisations, including the Australian Arabic Council, the Victorian Migrant Resource Centre, the Islamic Women's Welfare Council, and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.[1][3] Abdel-Fattah has also been a member of the Palestinian Human Rights Committee and the New South Wales Young Lawyers for Human Rights Committee.[2]

Personal life

As of 2022 Abdel-Fattah was living in Sydney with her husband and four children.[52]

She is an observant Muslim.[4]

Works

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Randa Abdel-Fattah". 21st Century Learning Conference. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Randa Abdel-Fattah". AustLit. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Randa Abdel-Fattah". ABC. 20 December 2018. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Dow, Steve (7 July 2012). "Love match". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  5. 1 2 Burke, Kelly (15 January 2026). "Adelaide festival apologises to Randa Abdel-Fattah and invites her to participate in 2027 writers' week". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
  6. 1 2 Livingstone, Helen (13 January 2026). "Randa Abdel-Fattah: How Adelaide Writers' Week imploded after axeing Palestinian author". BBC. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
  7. ↑ Abdel-Fattah, Randa; Handal, Nathalie (14 July 2016). "Both Freedom and Constraint: An Interview with Randa Abdel-Fattah". Center for Palestine Studies | Columbia University. Interviewed by Handal, Nathalie. Archived from the original on 15 March 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2026. Nathalie Handal spoke with Randa Abdel-Fattah at the Sharjah International Book Fair in November 2014; their conversation continued over email in the course of January through April 2015. This is an edited version of their talks. Randa Abdel-Fattah: I don't think I ever identified as or even felt "Palestinian in Australia". Sometimes I felt a hybrid of Australian and Palestinian. Sometimes I felt neither Australian nor Palestinian, tired of identity politics. What was always present, however, was a sense that I was connected – personally and through a strong sense of principles – to an ongoing injustice and that raising awareness about it in Australia was an uphill battle. That was my political consciousness. As for my cultural consciousness, my mother is Egyptian and I grew up among her family in Australia and probably absorbed more Egyptian culture as a child. The older I get, the more I realize how hybridized my cultural identity is.
  8. 1 2 3 Abdel-Fattah, Randa (22 January 2026). "Paraglides, Cultural Safety and Decolonization: Randa Abdel-Fattah on her ban from Adelaide Writers' Week and the silencing of Palestinians". Mondoweiss. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Randa Abdel-Fattah". All 4 Palestine. Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  10. ↑ "Islamophobia and Everyday Multiculturalism in Australia". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  11. ↑ Randa, Abdel-Fattah (28 November 2017). Islamophobia and everyday multiculturalism in Australia (1 ed.). Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315179933. ISBN 978-1-315-17993-3.
  12. 1 2 3 "Randa Abdel Fattah". Macquarie University. Archived from the original on 18 August 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  13. ↑ "Trust Relations, Political Consciousness and Fear among 'Generation 9/11': Muslim & Non-Muslim youth compared". Macquarie University. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  14. ↑ "Trust, Politics, and Fear: 'Generation 9/11' Muslim & Non-Muslim youth compared". Macquarie University. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  15. ↑ Abdel-Fattah, Randa (1 March 2024). "Negotiating Australian academia as a historically white settler colonial institution: A comparison between Muslim and non-Muslim students". Journal of Sociology. 60 (1): 138–154. doi:10.1177/14407833221110929. ISSN 1440-7833.
  16. ↑ Abdel-Fattah, Randa (24 April 2019). "Countering violent extremism, governmentality and Australian Muslim youth as 'becoming terrorist'". Journal of Sociology. 56 (3): 372–387. doi:10.1177/1440783319842666. ISSN 1440-7833.
  17. ↑ Abdel-Fattah, Randa (16 June 2025). "Ceasefire Now: A Zine About Action for Palestine". Sociological Research Online. 31 (1). doi:10.1177/13607804251320525. ISSN 1360-7804.
  18. ↑ Abdel-Fattah, Randa (3 July 2016). "'Lebanese Muslim': A Bourdieuian 'Capital' Offense in an Australian Coastal Town". Journal of Intercultural Studies. 37 (4): 323–338. doi:10.1080/07256868.2016.1190696. ISSN 0725-6868.
  19. 1 2 Abdel-Fattah, Randa (2 September 2025). Discipline. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 978-0-7022-7101-4. Archived from the original on 18 August 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  20. ↑ Haydar, Nour (30 August 2025). "'I have no interest in the white gaze any more': Randa Abdel-Fattah on Gaza, boycotts and her new novel". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 January 2026. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  21. ↑ Heath, Nicola; Nichols, Claire (15 October 2025). "Randa Abdel-Fattah reveals how the Israel-Gaza war shaped her new book Discipline". ABC News. Archived from the original on 11 January 2026. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  22. ↑ Abdel-Fattah, Randa (29 April 2013). "Ending oppression in the Middle East: A Muslim feminist call to arms". ABC: Religion and Ethics.
  23. 1 2 Liew, Stephanie (6 March 2015). "Subtle Racism Is 'More Problematic' In Australia". The Music: Culture: Interviews. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015.
  24. ↑ "Books by Randa Abdel-Fattah". Thuprai. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  25. 1 2 Cassidy, Caitlin (28 February 2025). "ARC suspends $870,000 grant to pro-Palestine academic Randa Abdel-Fattah, senators told". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  26. ↑ "Arab/Muslim Australian Social Movements since the 1970s: a hidden history". Macquarie University. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  27. ↑ Hare, Julie (27 February 2025). "Research funding body suspends grant to pro-Palestinian academic". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  28. ↑ "Taxpayer-funded anti-Israel writer blasts academics". The Australian. 30 January 2025.
  29. ↑ "Macquarie University investigates academic over anti-Israel remarks". The Daily Telegraph. 2025.
  30. ↑ Cassidy, Caitlin (14 February 2025). "Education minister accused of 'political interference' over review of funding for prominent pro-Palestinian academic". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  31. ↑ Ross, John (28 February 2025). "Research grant suspension 'about probity, not politics'". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  32. ↑ Hansen, Steven (10 March 2025). "Solidarity with Palestinian academic Randa Abdel-Fattah". Red Flag. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  33. ↑ Canales, Sarah Basford (23 December 2025). "Pro-Palestine academic Randa Abdel-Fattah cleared of wrongdoing after investigation into research grant". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  34. ↑ Lawrence, Sarah; Nabi, Zain; Parker, Fiona (16 December 2025). "Bendigo Writers Festival debacle continues as La Trobe University is asked to apologise". ABC News. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  35. 1 2 Story, Hannah (8 January 2026). "Authors withdraw from Adelaide Writers' Week after Randa Abdel-Fattah axed for 'cultural sensitivity'". ABC News. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  36. ↑ Watts, Richard (9 January 2026). "Adelaide Writers Week in disarray as almost 100 writers boycott over Board's 'censorship' of Randa Abdel-Fattah". ArtsHub Australia. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  37. ↑ Muller, Denis (9 January 2026). "As authors abandon Adelaide Writers' Week after cancelling of Randa Abdel-Fattah, is free speech in tatters?". The Conversation. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  38. 1 2 Graham-McLay, Charlotte (13 January 2026). "Adelaide Writers Week canceled as 180 speakers withdraw after the exclusion of a Palestinian writer". AP News. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  39. ↑ Adler, Louise (12 January 2026). "I cannot be party to silencing writers, which is why I am resigning as director of Adelaide writers' week". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  40. ↑ Pestrin, Stacey (15 January 2026). "Adelaide Festival Corporation apologises to author Randa Abdel-Fattah". ABC News. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  41. ↑ Rowlands, Lyndal (15 January 2026). "Australian writers' festival apologises to Palestinian author after boycott". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  42. ↑ Murphy, Bridget (28 March 2026). "Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah speaks to sell-out sessions at Newcastle Writers' Festival". ABC News. Archived from the original on 29 March 2026. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  43. ↑ "Abdel-Fattah wins Kathleen Mitchell Award". Books+Publishing. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  44. ↑ "VPLAs 2022 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  45. ↑ "NSW Premier's Literary Awards 2022 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  46. ↑ "The Stella Prize longlist 2022". Readings. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  47. ↑ "Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2023 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  48. ↑ Karakulak, Helen (26 February 2026). "'Sweet victory against Premiers': Abdel-Fattah wins Vic literary award". InDaily. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  49. ↑ "NSW Literary Awards 2026 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 21 April 2026. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  50. ↑ "Miles Franklin Literary Award 2026 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 24 June 2026. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  51. ↑ ""ALS Gold Medal 2026 shortlist announced"". Boos+Publishing. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  52. ↑ "Randa Abdel-Fattah – Coming of Age in the War on Terror". Stella. 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  53. ↑ "Australian Muslim Voices on Islamophobia, Race and the 'War on Terror'". Meanjin Quarterly. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019. This bibliography collates a sample of op-eds, commentary, radio and TV interviews, podcasts and spoken word performances created and authored by Australian Muslims on the subject of Islamophobia, race and 'the War on Terror' from the early 2000s to now.
  54. ↑ "Maku". AustLit. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  55. ↑ "11 Words for Love (Randa Abdel-Fattah, illus by Maxine Beneba Clarke, Lothian)". Books+Publishing. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2023.

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