Randa Abdel-Fattah

Early life and education

Randa Abdel-Fattah was born on 6 June 1979 in Sydney, New South Wales, to a Palestinian father and an Egyptian mother. Although often referred to as "Palestinian Australian", 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". In a essay on Mondoweiss in January 2026, she described herself as a Palestinian.

She grew up in Melbourne, Victoria, and attended a Catholic primary school and then King Khalid Islamic College. She wrote her first "novel", based on Roald Dahl's Matilda, when she was in sixth grade. 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?

In 2002, Abdel-Fattah gained BA and LLB degrees from the University of Melbourne. She was the media liaison at the Islamic Council of Victoria, writing about Muslims in Australia.

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

Career

Law

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

she is a lawyer of the NSW Supreme Court. She is patron of the Racial Justice Centre, the first Community Legal Service focused on racial justice in Australia.

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 sociological condition of modern Muslim and non-Muslim youth. Her three-year project was based at Macquarie University with Amanda Wise as her collaborator. Her findings were published by New South Publishing in 2021 as Coming of Age in the War on Terror, and as a paper in the Journal of Sociology in 2024.

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

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

She has also published novels. Her latest novel, Discipline, was published in August 2025.

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

Sociology research

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.

Views and media appearances

Abdel-Fattah describes herself as a feminist and has written critical pieces on the situation of women in Saudi Arabia. She states that women should retain the right to wear what they want. She has stated that she no longer discusses the veil, on the basis that it constitutes flogging a dead horse and detracts from the discussion of other issues.

On Australian television, she has appeared on: Insight (SBS), First Tuesday Book Club (ABC), Q & A (ABC TV), Sunrise (Seven Network) and 9am (Network Ten).

In 2022, the Australian Research Council (ARC) granted Abdel-Fattah their Future Fellowship on a research project titled "Arab/Muslim Australian Social Movements since the 1970s: A hidden history". Abdel-Fattah is the Primary Chief Investigator and worked on the project from 2023 to 2027 with the total fund of $870,269. During the Gaza War which started in 2023, she has been a vocal critic of the Israeli government, accusing it of committing a "Palestinian holocaust" in Gaza. 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. She was reported as saying "I look to ways to bend the rules, and I subvert them."

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 and, if the grant had been misused, to refund the entire amount. After a 10-month investigation led by two independent internationally-respected academics, the university announced on 23 December 2025 that "Based on the rigorous process undertaken and the information considered in the assessment, the university has determined there is no basis for any further investigation of the concerns raised by the ARC. The assessment has been thorough, evidence-based, based on best practice and followed due process." ARC restored the funding.

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.

Her 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, Abdel-Fattah 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. in the same essay she also defended her changing her Facebook cover to a picture of a paraglider in the colours of a Palestinian flag on 8 October 2023, one day after the October 7 attacks, describing the breaching of the Erez Crossing as "momentous" and as an "open prison breakout". While she was not aware of the Facebook change (she does not use it), she wrote in January 2026, "an image that represented a moment of freedom is not something I will apologise for."

2026 Adelaide Writers' Week

Main article: Adelaide Writers' Week boycott

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. There was a strong backlash from writers and the public to the decision, with most of the participants announcing a boycott of the event. Abdel-Fattah decried the move as "censorship". Due to the controversy over the disinvitation of Abdel-Fattah, Louise Adler, the directer of Adelaide Writer's Week who had scheduled her appearance and supported her, resigned from her position, and Writers' Week was cancelled. The board resigned and a new board was appointed which apologised to Abdel-Fattah. The new board also invited her to the 2027 edition of the event.

Awards

• 2008: Kathleen Mitchell Award
• 2009: Inky Award in 2009 for Where The Streets Had A Name.
• 2017: Two Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, the Best Young Adult Fiction and the People's Choice Award.
• 2022: Coming of Age in the War on Terror shortlisted for the 2022 Victorian Premier's Prize for Nonfiction, and the NSW Premier's Literary Awards' Multicultural NSW Award, and longlisted for the Stella Prize
• 2023: 11 Words for Love shortlisted for the Children's Award, Prime Minister's Literary Awards

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. Abdel-Fattah has also been a member of the Palestinian Human Rights Committee and the New South Wales Young Lawyers for Human Rights Committee.

Personal life

Abdel-Fattah was living in Sydney with her husband and four children.

She is an observant Muslim.

Works

• Does My Head Look Big in This? (2005)
• Ten Things I Hate About Me (2006)
• Where The Streets Had A Name (2008)
• Noah's Law (2010)
• The Friendship Matchmaker (2011)
• The Friendship Matchmaker Goes Undercover (2012)
• No Sex in the City (2012)
• The Lines We Cross (2016)
• *When Mina Met Michael * (2016)
• "Australian Muslim Voices on Islamophobia, Race and the 'War on Terror'" (Bibliography, Meanjin Quarterly, 9 April 2019)
• Arab Australian Other: Stories on Race and Identity, co-editor with Sara Saleh (2019)
• Coming of Age in the War on Terror (2021)
• Maku (children's fiction, co-authored with Meyne Wyatt, 2022)
• 11 Words for Love (illustrated by Maxine Beneba Clarke, 2022)
• Discipline (2025)

References

References

1. (2020-11-09). "Randa Abdel-Fattah".
2. (15 October 2020). "Randa Abdel-Fattah".
3. (20 December 2018). "Randa Abdel-Fattah".
4. Dow, Steve. (2012-07-07). "Love match".
5. Burke, Kelly. (2026-01-15). "Adelaide festival apologises to Randa Abdel-Fattah and invites her to participate in 2027 writers' week". [[The Guardian]].
6. (2026-01-13). "Randa Abdel-Fattah: How Adelaide Writers' Week imploded after axeing Palestinian author".
7. Abdel-Fattah, Randa. (14 July 2016). "Both Freedom and Constraint: An Interview with Randa Abdel-Fattah".
8. 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".
9. "All 4 Palestine {{!}} Randa Abdel-Fattah".
10. "Islamophobia and Everyday Multiculturalism in Australia".
11. Randa, Abdel-Fattah. (2017-11-28). "Islamophobia and everyday multiculturalism in Australia". Routledge.
12. "Randa Abdel Fattah".
13. "Trust Relations, Political Consciousness and Fear among 'Generation 9/11': Muslim & Non-Muslim youth compared".
14. "Trust, Politics, and Fear: 'Generation 9/11' Muslim & Non-Muslim youth compared".
15. Abdel-Fattah, Randa. (2024-03-01). "Negotiating Australian academia as a historically white settler colonial institution: A comparison between Muslim and non-Muslim students". [[Journal of Sociology]].
16. Abdel-Fattah, Randa. (2016-07-03). "'Lebanese Muslim': A Bourdieuian 'Capital' Offense in an Australian Coastal Town". Journal of Intercultural Studies.
17. Abdel-Fattah, Randa. (2025-06-16). "Ceasefire Now: A Zine About Action for Palestine". [[Sociological Research Online]].
18. 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".
19. (15 October 2025). "Randa Abdel-Fattah reveals how the Israel-Gaza war shaped her new book ''Discipline''".
20. (January 2026). "Randa Abdel-Fattah".
21. (April 29, 2013). "Ending oppression in the Middle East: A Muslim feminist call to arms". ABC: Religion and Ethics.
22. (March 6, 2015). "Subtle Racism Is 'More Problematic' In Australia". The Music: Culture: Interviews.
23. "Books by Randa Abdel-Fattah".
24. Cassidy, Caitlin. (2025-02-28). "ARC suspends $870,000 grant to pro-Palestine academic Randa Abdel-Fattah, senators told". [[The Guardian]].
25. "Arab/Muslim Australian Social Movements since the 1970s: a hidden history".
26. Hare, Julie. (2025-02-27). "Research funding body suspends grant to pro-Palestinian academic".
27. (2025-01-30). "Taxpayer-funded anti-Israel writer blasts academics". [[The Australian]].
28. (2025). "Macquarie University investigates academic over anti-Israel remarks". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
29. Cassidy, Caitlin. (2025-02-14). "Education minister accused of 'political interference' over review of funding for prominent pro-Palestinian academic". [[The Guardian]].
30. Ross, John. (2025-02-28). "Research grant suspension 'about probity, not politics'".
31. Hansen, Steven. (10 March 2025). "Solidarity with Palestinian academic Randa Abdel-Fattah {{!}} Red Flag".
32. Canales, Sarah Basford. (23 December 2025). "Pro-Palestine academic Randa Abdel-Fattah cleared of wrongdoing after investigation into research grant".
33. (16 December 2025). "Bendigo Writers Festival debacle continues as La Trobe University is asked to apologise".
34. (8 January 2026). "Authors withdraw from Adelaide Writers' Week after Randa Abdel-Fattah axed for 'cultural sensitivity'". [[ABC News (Australia).
35. Watts, Richard. (9 January 2026). "Adelaide Writers Week in disarray as almost 100 writers boycott over Board's 'censorship' of Randa Abdel-Fattah".
36. Muller, Denis. (9 January 2026). "As authors abandon Adelaide Writers' Week after cancelling of Randa Abdel-Fattah, is free speech in tatters?". The Conversation.
37. (2026-01-13). "Adelaide Writers Week canceled as 180 speakers withdraw after the exclusion of a Palestinian writer".
38. (2026-01-12). "I cannot be party to silencing writers, which is why I am resigning as director of Adelaide writers' week". [[The Guardian]].
39. Visser, Nick. (2026-01-15). "Australia news live: Adelaide festival apologises 'unreservedly' to Randa Abdel-Fattah and invites her to speak in 2027". [[The Guardian]].
40. Pestrin, Stacey (15 January 2026). [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-15/adelaide-festival-corporation-apology-randa-abdel-fattah/106231602/ "Adelaide Festival Corporation apologises to Randa Abdel-Fattah over Adelaide Writers' Week call"], ''[[ABC News (Australia). ABC News]]''. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
41. (15 January 2026). "Australian writers' festival apologises to Palestinian author after boycott". [[Al Jazeera]].
42. (2021-12-07). "VPLAs 2022 shortlists announced".
43. (2022-04-05). "NSW Premier's Literary Awards 2022 shortlists announced".
44. (2022-02-28). "The Stella Prize longlist 2022".
45. (2023-10-26). "Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2023 shortlists announced".
46. "Panelist: Randa Abdel-Fattah". [[ABC (Australian TV network).
47. (2022). "Randa Abdel-Fattah – Coming of Age in the War on Terror".
48. (9 April 2019). "Australian Muslim Voices on Islamophobia, Race and the 'War on Terror'". [[Meanjin Quarterly]].
49. (29 March 2022). "Maku".
50. (2022-07-12). "11 Words for Love (Randa Abdel-Fattah, illus by Maxine Beneba Clarke, Lothian)".
51. Abdel-Fattah, Randa. (2 September 2025). "Discipline". University of Queensland Press.