The Shape of Dust: A father wrongly imprisoned. A daughter’s quest to free him

Judges' comments

This debut memoir is a creative and well-written account of Hazem Hamouda’s fight for freedom from an Egyptian prison, where he has been wrongly detained. Told through alternating perspectives between Lamisse Hamouda and her father Hazem, the book captures their harrowing experiences with great care and deep reflection in regard to how stories about trauma are told.

Hamouda’s clean, clear prose tells the story of her father’s imprisonment and the long fight to free him, with a devotion and urgency that is sustained throughout. With great literary skill, she places the day-to-day struggles of an Australian Muslim family’s ordeal within the sociopolitical contexts of Egypt and Australia, for example, offering insights into the Egyptian justice system and the Australian media’s portrayal of Muslims. This is a book that will make you marvel at the tremendous courage of the Hamoudas as both fighters and writers.