#tbt Author Interview: Randa Abdel-fattah

For #tbt, most people share old pictures, but since this is a writing blog, I’m going to share an old interview I did with a fantastic Sydney-based author, Randa Abdel-fattah. She was a litigation lawyer and is now a Ph.D candidate, exploring everyday multiculturalism and racism in Australia. I don’t know if I ever shared this interview on the blog so I dug it out of my archives. Check it out!

1. How would you characterize your journey as a writer since your first published book, “Does My Head Look Big in This?”

I’ve been writing ‘fast and furious’, so to speak. I’ve always got a novel in the works and been fortunate enough to write widely and for a range of audiences. Each novel has presented me with different challenges- whether that’s plot development, writing a male protagonist, setting a story in a country I’m not physically in at the time of writing or seeing the world through the eyes of a Grade Five student.

2. Your latest books have been targeted towards a little bit younger crowd. What made you decide to do that?

I’ve always wanted to write from the perspective of a younger character and for a younger audience. I can’t offer you a reasoned and thoughtful analysis of why this is the case. It’s just been an instinctual, ‘gut-feeling’ kind of impulse that drew me to write for a younger audience. I know that my very vivid and fond memories of primary school have probably been a factor in drawing me closer to that age.

3. What is the literary community like in Australia and how do you see yourself in it?

The writers’ world I float through is mainly young adult and children’s writers and they truly are a wonderful, friendly, warm, open and brilliant group of people. I love attending writers’ festivals and being amongst such an amazing circle of writers who all invariably share a passion for getting children excited about books and reading.

4. Do you feel like your identity as a Muslim and Egyptian-Palestinian still dominates people’s impression of you and your work?

When I first started writing my background certainly had a major influence in people’s impression and interest in my work. But as my work has grown to involve all sorts of ‘issues’, stories and characters, I think I am being increasingly accepted as a writer in my own right, not as a ‘Muslim’ writer or niche writer. As long as people don’t box or label me, I’m happy to talk about writing, about my identity, about politics, about human rights! I make no apology for the fact that these are all things I am deeply interested in.

5. Are you satisfied with the narratives that are being disseminated about Muslims globally?

No. We are in the midst of an ongoing and systematic campaign of Islam and Muslims being demonized, otherised and stigmatized- represented through the prism of negative imagery and stereotyping. Rather than elaborate, I would like to share with you a poem I wrote last month. I wrote it during my lunch break at work, at a time I and other Australian Muslims were dealing with a barrage of media interviews regarding the ‘burqa’- which inevitably turns into a wider conversation about Muslims in the west, identity politics, ‘us’ and ‘them’.

Poem- I am Not Negotable

It was published on different sites but this is one of them:

http://muslimvillage.com/2011/07/12/i-am-not-negotiable/

6. How involved are you still with interfaith dialogue, Palestinian human rights or media engagement on Muslims and Islam?

I no longer engage in interfaith work simply because I’m so time poor. But I’m still deeply committed to Palestinian human rights campaigning (especially the boycott, divestments and sanctions – BDS- movement) and media engagement. I give a lot of talks and media interviews pertaining to Palestine, Muslims, Islam and identity politics. I also use my opinion writing for newspapers and journals to address such issues.

7. How are you balancing your job as a lawyer and writer, as your career in writing is rising?

There’s only one word to answer that question: caffeine.

The difficulty is not so much balancing law and writing. It’s adding my two young children to the juggling act. They’re the biggest balls to juggle (but also the best). Ultimately, I am passionate about what I do and blessed to have the choice and opportunity to purse my passions. So while it’s challenging and exhausting and the balls sometimes seem about to spill out of my hands, it’s still worth it! And, really, no matter how difficult it can get, the whole ‘time-management/brain fried due to work/life/childcare balance’ thing is so in the ‘first-world problem basket’. When it gets tough, I remind myself of how blessed I am and get some good old-fashioned perspective (and caffeine).

9. What kind of feedback have you gotten from youth or readers in general about the various books you’ve written?

It’s been overwhelmingly positive and humbling to read emails and letters from readers here and around the world who tell me I’ve changed their lives or perspectives.

10. Have you toured outside Australia for your books? If so, what has that been like?

I’ve been to the UK (twice), the USA, Palestine, Sweden (twice), Brunei, Malaysia, Qatar and Egypt. It’s been awful…just kidding! Every trip has been transformative, fun-filled and stimulating. More please!

11. What is your favorite speaking engagement you participated in this year?

Oohh, this is a tough one! I’m going to be cheeky, ignore the parameters of your questions and name my top three!

1. A one-week writer in residence in Palestine in April where I ran writing workshops focused on writing for children and young adults in Ramallah, Jerusalem, and by video link to Gaza.
2. Speaking in Brunei in March to an audience of ambassadors and dignitaries from around the world at an event organized by the Australian High Commission on the 100^th anniversary of international women’s day. I offered my perspective on human rights, women and Islam from my perspective as an Australian Muslim lawyer.
3. The Melbourne Writer’s Festival last month where I ran writing workshops and presented an author talk at the Immigration Museum’s identity exhibition.

12. How can aspiring young writers who want to write about Muslim characters avoid being categorized narrowly in “multicultural fiction” or simply “Muslim fiction” and be accepted in the mainstream book community as you have?

I suppose a lot depends on the tone and approach of writing about Muslim characters. A book that is preachy and clearly aimed at selling a message will always have a narrow audience (and probably won’t do very well anyway). The point is that books that contain Muslim characters need to have mainstream appeal because the writer is writing with a non-religious/non-ethnic, ‘neutral’ audience in mind. If, as a writer, you don’t see your character is a deviation from the norm but in fact part of the mainstream then I believe that kind of confidence and attitude is infectious and will impact on your reader too. For example, I wrote a book for younger readers called Buzz Off. It’s about a boy who discovers he can hear flies talk- a useful skill in Australia’s summer heat when flies threaten to ruin a good picnic or game of football in the park! The entire book is about this boy’s ability to hear flies talk and discover the secret to getting rid of them. That this boy happens to be Muslim is never stated in the text. It is implied through one simple image of his mother wearing hijab. I wrote a story that involved a character who happened to be Muslim in a story that had nothing to do with this character’s faith or identity. So young writers need to find creative and subtle ways to challenge our definitions of mainstream fiction so that a book containing a Muslim character doesn’t necessarily have to be an ‘issues-based’ story.

13. Is there any kind of writing you would like to branch off into, like poetry, screenwriting, short story…?

I’ve tried my hand at screenwriting (just experimenting on my own) and found it required a different skill set and approach to writing than fiction. It’s something I might be interested in developing in the future. I’ve also just finished my first adult novel (No Sex in the City– a cheeky spin on the traditional chick lit genre). But my main passion is writing young adult and junior fiction.

14. Have any of your books been optioned for movie adaptations before and would you be interested in that avenue?

Two books- “Does My Head Look Big In This?” And “Where The Streets Had A Name” have been optioned for TV series. OF COURSE I’D BE INTERESTED IN THAT AVENUE. Any writer who tells you otherwise is lying. Seeing one’s book on the screen? Could it get any better?!

Be sure to follow Randa on Twitter: @RandaAFattah 

Author Interview: Randa Abdel Fattah

Randa Abdel Fattah

Few young adult novels feature a Muslim character on the front cover or are written by actual Muslims themselves, which is what makes Randa Abdel Fattah a breath of fresh air in the industry. Mrs. Abdel Fattah is only 29 and an award-winning novelist with books published around the world. She’s also one of my favorite authors! Her approach to tackling the stories of young Muslims involves humor and honesty, making the experiences connect with both Muslim and non-Muslim readers. She works as lawyer and human rights advocate in Sydney, Australia and lives with her husband and two children.

I found out on her website that Randa Abdel Fattah has recently been invited by the US State Department to participate in the ‘Changing Demographics and Multiculturalism Visitor Leadership Program’. Randa is the only Australian representative amongst 13 other participants from around the world. She will be visiting Washington, Texas, Arizona and New York from 5-25 September 2010. Very cool!

I had the chance to do an email interview with earlier this spring for the Muslim Voice newspaper to learn more about writing non-traditional and ethnic characters in young adult fiction.

Y&W: Your background is in law-how did you transition to becoming a writer?

Well I started writing when I was very young. The writing came first- short stories, essays, poetry. I used to enter writing competitions when I was a teenager and wrote my first novel when I was fifteen.

Y&W: Why did you write Does My Head Look Big in This and do you feel Muslim girls relate to Amal’s experiences?

It became apparent to me that the only time Muslim females appeared as heroines in books were as escapees of the Taliban, victims of an honor killing, or subjects of the Saudi royalty! I wrote Does My Head Look Big In This? because I wanted to fill that gap. I wanted to write a book which debunked the common misconceptions about Muslims and which allowed readers to enter the world of the average Muslim teenage girl and see past the headlines and stereotypes- to realize that she was experiencing the same dramas and challenges of adolescence as her non-Muslim peers- and have a giggle in the process!

Y&W: You went to a Catholic primary school. Did that experience open your eyes to interfaith issues or influence your idea of the relationship between Islam and other religions?

Not really. haha I was too young, in my primary years of school. Perhaps the inter-faith relationships were simply part of my life and influenced me subtly. My best friend was Hindu and my circle of friends made up of Catholics and Buddhists. I grew up in my early years just enjoying friendships without judging people according to their religious labels. My interfaith experiences, in a more formal sense, came when I was in high-school and we participated in inter-faith programs with other schools.

Y&W:What was your life like growing up as an Australian born Palestinian-Egyptian Muslim woman? Similar to your books?

Throughout my teenage and university years I felt the challenges of straddling between my Australian/Muslim/Egyptian/Palestinian identities. I did it by embracing all my identities rather than running away from them. By gaining self-respect, I gained the respect of others.

Y&W:Do you find it difficult to write about Muslim characters and Muslim storylines without being overtly preaching or excluding non-Muslim readers?

I did when I gave it a try at the age of 15. The first draft of Does My Head Look Big In This? was very preachy. When I gave it another try several years later I decided I would use humor to humanize ‘the other’, to avoid being didactic and to focus on the story, not ‘a message’.

Y&W: Are you planning to always write about Muslim characters in your stories?

Not necessarily. Noah, in my fourth novel, is half-Egyptian, half-Anglo, but his religion is not mentioned. I just want to write good stories- whether the characters are Muslim or non-Muslim will depend on the story I am writing. But I don’t see myself writing about one particular faith or identity as a matter of course. The point for me it to be able to write about Muslim or non-Muslim characters without it being seen as a deviation from ‘the Anglo norm’.

Y&W:Does My Head Look Big in This and Ten Things I Hate about Me both deal with identity crisis, peer pressure and the clash between Western culture and Muslim culture. Do you think Muslim youth have a harder time growing up?

For Muslim teenage girls who wear the hijab, and are therefore immediately identifiable as Muslims- the main struggle is to live against the perception that you are oppressed, down-trodden. It is not a natural state to live from a position of resistance. It is exhausting and unnatural to always be on the defensive, resisting a stereotype of victimhood. I believe that is the most constant and frustrating challenge because the teenage exploration of identity is made even more difficult when other people’s stereotypes are thrown into the mix.

And then there is the larger issue for Muslim youth, male and female, of defining your identity and sense of belonging as a Muslim growing up, perhaps born in, the West. With the barrage of headlines about ‘Islam versus the West’ this surely has a cumulative effect on how Muslim teens in the West feel about their sense of place and belonging. I guess the hard thing is you can sometimes feel like you’re in a zoo: locked in the cage of other people’s stereotypes, prejudices and judgments, on parade to be analyzed, deconstructed and reconstructed. I tell you it’s exhausting!

Y&W: Your latest book, Where the Streets Had a Name, has just been short-listed for the 2010 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature. How excited are you for this recognition?

I’m thrilled. It’s a book that holds a very special place in my heart as it is dedicated to my grandmother who did not live to see her homeland free. I am so thrilled that it is being recognized and a Palestinian narrative is being given a voice.

Y&W: Where the Streets Had a Name involves a clearly relevant issue-the Palestinian and

Where the Streets Had a Name

Israeli conflict. Why did you choose to write a YA book about such a sensitive topic?

My visit to my father’s birthplace, Palestine, in 2000 had a profound impact on me. I suddenly understood the tragedy of my family, specifically my grandmother’s, dispossession. I also saw children and young adults trying to get on with their life despite the occupation- attending weddings, gossiping with friends and neighbors, haggling at the shops, following favorite television sitcoms. My observations of the way the children coped stayed with me. What I found most disturbing was the restrictions on travel. It seemed a denial of such a fundamental human right. The idea of an adventure story started to form in my mind- the idea of a child trying to get from one part of the occupied territories to another, forbidden, part.

It took some years before I started writing the story. All my activism in the meantime was, I suppose, part of the planning process. Deciding what to put in and what to leave out was a difficult task. The temptation to deal with all the human rights abuses, all the facets of suffering, all the political issues was overwhelming. The way I was able to avoid this was with the help of my wonderful editor with the first drafts and a realization that Hayaat’s story needed to drive the book, rather than my passion to raise awareness driving Hayaat’s story.  Ultimately I realized that I wanted to write a simple story set in complicated circumstances, looking at the sacrifices best-friends make for each other, sibling rivalry, nagging parents, sparring in-laws, ambitious wedding plans, helpless adults, children who dream big and an occupation that impacts on the minutiae of ordinary life.

Y&W: You are a passionate human rights advocate. How does your writing side tie into that part of you?

It comes from a strong sense of social justice and a desire to write about issues and give voice to narratives that are often misunderstood, demonized or not given due exposure in the arts.

Y&W: What has been people’s reception of your books-both Muslim and non-Muslims?

Alhamdulillah, I have received such wonderful support from readers from all different backgrounds. I have been able to validate the experiences of both Muslims and non-Muslims, people who grapple with their own identity issues, no matter what background they come from.

Y&W: What is the writing process like for you? Do you find it painful or easy?

It is a joy but also hard work. A perfect combination because the challenge is pleasurable and worth it.

Y&W:What advice do you have for Muslim youth who are interested in writing as well? Do you think they should look to their own lives as sources of story material?

The best writing, especially for those starting out, is to write about what you know. Stories that are drawn from one’s own world are more real and authentic.

Y&W:  What’s next?

I’ve just finished my fourth book which is a legal thriller/comedy set in Sydney and narrated by a boy called Noah. It’s a book which has allowed me to draw on my legal background and I’ve had immense fun writing it!

UPDATE: Noah’s Law is out in Australia in November 2010. Where the Streets Had Names is out in Australia and the USA in November 2010. I can’t wait to read them!