Randa Abdel-Fattah Randa Abdel-Fattah i(A90134 works by)
Born: Established: 1979 Sydney, New South Wales, ;
Gender: Female
Heritage: Palestinian ; Egyptian
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BiographyHistory

Randa Abdel-Fattah grew up in Melbourne where she attended a Roman Catholic primary school and the King Khalid Islamic College. She then studied arts/law at the University of Melbourne and worked as a commercial lawyer in Sydney. Abdel-Fattah has been a member of the Palestinian Human Rights Committee and of the New South Wales Young Lawyers for Human Rights Committee, and an enthusiastic representative of Muslim women in Australian society.

In 2009 Abdel-Fattah was selected as one the Weekend Australian Magazine's ten 'Emerging Leaders' in the 'Society' category. Abdel-Fattah is frequently sought for comment by the media on issues pertaining to Palestine, Islam or Australian Muslims. She has appeared on SBS's Insight, ABC's First Tuesday Book Club, ABC's Q & A, ABC's Lateline, Channel 7's Today Tonight, Sunrise and Channel 10's The Circle and 9am.

Her work includes autobiographical stories, children's fiction, picture books and young adult fiction. She is well known for her YA novel Does My Head Look Big in This? which was adapted into a film in 2019. Her other novels include Ten Things I Hate about Me, When Michael Met Mina and Where the Streets Had a Name. 

Abdel-Fattah has lived in Sydney with her husband and their two children. She has worked as a litigation lawyer and studied for a PhD exploring everyday multiculturalism and racism in Australia. In 2019 Abdel-Fattah was based at Macquarie University undertaking an Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Randa Abdel-Fattah is a Stella Schools Ambassador.

  • Other works not individually indexed include: 

    Coming of Age in the War on Terror (NewSouth Publishing, 2021)

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon The Very Best Doughnut Sydney : Pan Macmillan Australia , 2022 25310244 2022 single work children's fiction children's

'Friday is always the best day at Adam's house. It's doughnut day!

'But this week, his family is fasting for Ramadan. They aren't going to eat or drink until the sun sets.

'Adam wants to fast too, but it's so hard. Can he wait that long for his very special doughnut?' (Publication summary)

2024 shortlisted Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards Five to 8 Years
2024 longlisted The DANZ Children's Book Award Chapter Books
y separately published work icon 11 Words for Love Sydney : Lothian , 2022 24800992 2022 single work picture book children's

'There are eleven words for love, and my family knows them all.

'A family flees their homeland to find safety in another country, carrying little more than a suitcase full of love.

'As their journey unfolds, the oldest child narrates 11 meanings for love in Arabic as her family show, and are shown, all different kinds of love in their new home, and they also remember the love they have for their homeland and for those left behind or lost along the way.

'In the Arabic language, there are over 50 words describing the degrees of love. That's 50 stories, 50 life-worlds. This lyrical and heartwarming book takes you on a journey through 11 of these Arabic expressions for love.' (Publication summary)

2023 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards Children's Fiction
2023 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Multicultural NSW Award
2023 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book Picture Book
y separately published work icon When Granny Came To Stay Sydney : Pan Macmillan Australia , 2022 23667583 2022 single work children's fiction children's

'OUR STORIES is a funny, relatable and engaging new early-chapter book series that celebrates Australia's multicultural society with authors and illustrators from a diverse range of backgrounds. Everything changes when Granny comes to stay. She doesn't drive, she cooks strange foods, and she thinks Destroyer Discs are just toys! But when Granny finally leaves, will things go back to the way they were?' (Publication summary)

2024 shortlisted The DANZ Children's Book Award Chapter Books
2023 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Multicultural NSW Award
Last amended 24 Jun 2024 11:22:09
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