99 Names

Shortlisted for the Dorothy Hewett Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, the story centres on two young people from different sides of the tracks who find love and a renewed sense of purpose amid rising racial and religious tensions in south-western Sydney.

Returning from his first Friday prayer session at the local mosque, the kid meets Issi, a budding graffiti artist. Both sixteen, both of them loners, outsiders, they find comfort and solace in one another's company. As their relationship blossoms, jealousy, gang rivalry and parental interference conspire to upset the unlikely summertime romance.

The kid's home life is mired in dysfunction and despair. He has flashbacks to his childhood in southern Lebanon, when his family was forced to flee from their home during the 2006 war. In Sydney, the kid is introduced to illegal street racing, hip hop and stories from the Quran through his brother, Basim, a mechanic's apprentice.

Australian born and bred, Issi is tough and street smart. Her new relationship brings her into conflict with her mother, Angie. As she comes to know the kid and his friends, Issi begins to see how Muslims, and Muslim women in particular, are positioned in a negative way in the wider society.

'vividly evokes the impasses of migrant experience and how these refract through generations' - 2023 Dorothy Hewett Award Judges Comment

'deftly told and richly detailed novel about coming of age in a place you don't quite belong' - Kirkus Reviews

'This novel is capable of opening eyes and hearts.' - Kevin Brophy, CBCA Reading Time