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Bobuq Sayed

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bobuq Sayed
Alma materUniversity of Miami
San Jose State University
OccupationsWriter, poet, theatre-maker

Bobuq Sayed is an Afghan-Australian writer,[1] poet[2] and theatre-maker,[3] who is the author of A Brief History of Australian Terror. It was named by ABC News as a best new book of 2024.[4] Their novel No God But Us was published in 2026.[5]

Life and education

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Sayed was born in Australia to Afghan parents.[6] They are non-binary.[3] They have a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Miami.[6]

Career

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Sayed wrote an article in 2017 entitled "Literary Production Versus Institutional Whiteness", which challenges structural racism within Australian literary communities.[7] In 2018, Sayed was a member of the theatre collective Embittered Swish, the group worked to expand the concept of trans dramaturgy, including moving away from work related to transition or dysphoria.[3] Sayed's work also featured in the 2018 exhibition The Third Muslim: Queer and Trans* Muslim Narratives of Resistance and Resilience held at SOMArts in San Francisco.[8]

They are also a former editor of Archer magazine.[6] In 2021, they co-organised a fundraiser to supply financial aid to LGBTQ+ Afghans in Afghanistan.[9] Sayed co-edited Nothing to Hide: Voices of Trans and Gender Diverse Australia alongside Sam Elkin, Alex Gallagher and Yves Rees.[10][11] They were a 2022–23 Steinbeck Fellow at San Jose State University.[12][13] In 2024 they published A Brief History of Australian Terror, which was recommended by ABC News as a best new book of 2024.[4] Academic David Coady reviewed the work as an "excellent contribution to an important topic," whilst suggesting that the work leaves some things unsaid, like the conflation of Zionism with anti-Semitism in Western media.[14] They are a Kundiman Fellow.[15] Their first novel No God But Us was published in 2026.[5]

References

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  1. Berry, Jess; Kalms, Nicole; Moore, Timothy; Bawden, Gene (2025-03-18). Designing Gender Sensitive Spaces for Consenting Cities: Practices and Provocations. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-040-32891-0.
  2. Pallotta-Chiarolli, Maria (2018-09-24). Living and Loving in Diversity: An anthology of Australian multicultural queer adventures. Wakefield Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-74305-595-3.
  3. 1 2 3 Reich, Hannah (2018-06-21). "Troubling the linear: Meet the trans and non-binary artists reimagining the way we tell stories". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-11-16.
  4. 1 2 Fry, Declan (2024-12-13). "Sex, chess and time travel: Welcome to the best books of 2024". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  5. 1 2 Seidel, Matt (January 2, 2026). "Spring 2026 Writers to Watch: Bobuq Sayed". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2026-05-24.
  6. 1 2 3 Belkacemi, Rim El (2020-10-09). "Pushing the boundaries". University of Miami News and Events. Retrieved 2025-11-16.
  7. Quist, Jennifer (2025-05-15). Translingual Creative Writing Theory, Practice, and Pedagogy: Daoism and Decentering Monolingual Workshops. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-350-51062-3.
  8. Kayvon, Shervin (January 24, 2018). "Queer Muslim Artists Are Beyond A 'Movement'". INTO. Retrieved 2025-11-16.
  9. Lim, Clarissa-Jan (August 18, 2021). "Organizers Of A GoFundMe To Help Queer And Trans Afghans Say The Platform Won't Allow Them To Access The Money". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on 2024-02-29. Retrieved 2025-11-16.
  10. Herbert, Lezly (2022-09-04). "Bibliophile | 'Nothing to Hide' shares stories of trans & gender diverse Australia". OUTinPerth. Retrieved 2026-05-24.
  11. Kendall, Jonathon; Walker, Alice (2022-10-02). "ABC's Julie Peters in new transgender and gender diverse anthology Nothing to Hide". ABC listen. Retrieved 2025-11-16.
  12. "Bobuq Sayed". Guernica. Retrieved 2025-11-16.
  13. "Past Fellows". San José State University. Retrieved 2026-05-24.
  14. Coady, David (9 December 2024). "Review of A Brief History of Australian Terror, by Bobuq Sayed". Mascara Literary Review (30).
  15. "Fellows". Kundiman. Retrieved 2025-11-16.
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