Yumna Kassab

Yumna Kassab
Occupation	Novelist
Notable awards	Parramatta Laureate in Literature, 2024

Yumna Kassab is an Australian novelist. She was appointed the inaugural Parramatta Laureate in Literature for 2024.

Career

Yumna Kassab was born and grew up at Parramatta. ^[1] She spent two years of her childhood in Lebanon with her family. ^[2] After studying at Macquarie University she worked as a high school teacher. ^[2]

Her first book, The House of Youssef, published in 2019, contains short stories of Lebanese migrants living in Western Sydney. ^[3] Reviewing the book for ArtsHub, Georgia Brough described it as a "stunning, succinct collection of short fiction". ^[4]

In December 2023 Kassab was announced as the inaugural Parramatta Laureate in Literature. ^[1]

Awards

• The House of Youssef
  • Stella Prize, longlisted 2020 ^[5]
  • Glenda Adams Award for New Writing, New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, shortlisted 2020 ^[6]
  • Steele Rudd Award, Queensland Literary Awards, shortlisted 2020 ^[7]
  • Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction, shortlisted 2020 ^[8]
  • Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction, shortlisted 2020 ^[9]
• Australiana
  • Fiction Book Award, Queensland Literary Awards, shortlisted 2022 ^[10]
• The Lovers
  • Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction, shortlisted 2023 ^[11]
  • Miles Franklin Literary Award, shortlisted 2023 ^[12]
  • Fiction, Prime Minister's Literary Awards, shortlisted 2023 ^[13]
• Politica
  • Fiction Book Award, Queensland Literary Awards, shortlisted 2024 ^[14]
  • Miles Franklin Literary Award, longlisted 2025 ^[15]

Publications

• Kassab, Yumna (2019). The House of Youssef. Giramondo. ISBN   9781925818192.
• —— (2022). Australiana. Ultimo Press. ISBN   9781761150609.
• —— (2022). The Lovers. Ultimo Press. ISBN   9781761150623.
• —— (2024). Politica. Artarmon: Giramondo. ISBN   9781761152009.

References

1. "Football, ice-cream and the best cafes for writing in to feature in author Yumna Kassab's 'dictionary of Parramatta'". ABC News. 9 December 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
2. "Yumna Kassab". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
3. "The House of Youssef". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
4. Brough, Georgia (9 September 2019). "The House of Youssef by Yumna Kassab". ArtsHub. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
5. "Stella Prize 2020 longlist announced". Books+Publishing. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
6. "NSW Premier's Literary Awards 2020 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
7. "Queensland Literary Awards 2020 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
8. "Readings announces 2020 New Australian Fiction Prize shortlist". Books+Publishing. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
9. "2020 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
10. "Qld Literary Awards 2022 shortlists". Books+Publishing. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
11. "VPLAs 2023 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
12. "Miles Franklin Literary Award 2023 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
13. "Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2023 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
14. "Queensland Literary Awards 2024 shortlist". State Library of Queensland. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
15. "Miles Franklin Literary Award 2025 longlist announced". Books+Publishing. 15 May 2025. Retrieved 15 May 2025.