Jumaana Abdu’s debut novel Translations follows the lives of Aliyah and her daughter Sakina as they retreat to rural NSW in search of a new life. Their lives intertwine with those of the locals as bushfires rage around them and a reckoning approaches.
Jumaana Abdu is a Dal Stivens Award winner and an alumnus of The Wheeler Centre’s Next Chapter program.
Non-alcoholic beverages and complimentary snacks courtesy of ASRC Catering will be provided.
Winner, 2025 SMH Best Young Australian Novelists
Shortlisted, Stella Prize
Shortlisted, Readings New Australian Fiction Prize
Shortlisted, NSW Premier's Literary Awards
Shortlisted, MUD Literary Prize
Longlisted, Voss Literary Prize
'Jumaana Abdu is extraordinary and I will read everything she writes.'
HANNAH KENT
'Translations is a joy to read.'
Stella judges' report
18 Apr
2026
Bankstown, NSW
Sydney Muslim Writers Festival: Our Words, Our Worlds
Bookings Essential
23 May
2026
Eveleigh, NSW
Sydney Writers' Festival: The Writers Who Made Us
Arrive Early