UQP acquires two new books from Omar Sakr

UQP is delighted to announce that we’ve acquired two new books from prize-winning poet Omar Sakr. The first, The Nightmare Sequence, is a collection of poetry responding to the ongoing situation in Gaza, which the International Court of Justice has ruled is a plausible genocide. For Omar, these poems are a means of bearing witness to the violence and devastation we have been watching unfold on our phone and TV screens; some poems have already been widely shared (including in translation) across social media, and at protests and vigils overseas. The poems will be accompanied by black-and-white illustrations created by artist and author Safdar Ahmed (Still Alive: Notes from Australia’s Immigration Detention System, 2021), which provide their own separate testimony, as well as a Foreword by award-winning Palestinian American poet George Abraham, such that the book is a collective portrait of – and response to – what we are living through. UQP has acquired world rights to The Nightmare Sequence and will publish in April 2025.

In addition, UQP has acquired World rights (ex North America) to a collection of Omar’s nonfiction entitled Say the Words: Essays for and against humanity. Omar is a prolific essayist, including via his own platforms, and his outstanding nonfiction will be collected together for the first time in this volume. The collection will include reworked versions of previously published work – such as ‘My First and Second Language’, ‘Tweets to a Queer Arab Poet’ and his most recent essay ‘Speak, Joy: Say the Words’, which is about grief and his autism diagnosis – along with new work. UQP will publish Say the Words in 2026.

Publisher Aviva Tuffield says:

‘Omar is one of those ridiculously talented writers whose skills encompass poetry, fiction and nonfiction. I am honoured to have the opportunity to work with him on not one but two new books. The Nightmare Sequence reflects on the conflict in Gaza through both words and imagery, proving a) that poetry often has the ability to connect in more visceral ways with readers than prose: its concision is its power and poignancy; and b) that visual art can speak volumes – Safdar’s images are as devastating as they are clarifying. This book will stand as a testament to how it felt to witness the past ten (and counting) months from afar, including through the distorted lens of the western media.

‘I’m also proud to be publishing Say the Words, a collection of essays that will enable readers to find Omar’s lucid and mercurial musings on a range of topics in one place; it will be a book that approaches, from many angles, his preoccupation with the intersections of identity, queerness, faith and art.’

Omar Sakr says:

‘Since October 2023 I have been writing poems to record and process the staggering violence being committed by the Israeli occupation which the International Court of Justice has recently ruled credibly constitutes genocide. More specifically, these poems interrogate the position of witness, the terrible and helpless distance of vision, and dig into the impact of “consuming” violence of this scale on a daily basis, from within the relative safety of “normal life” in the West. ‘Normal’ for me as an Arab Muslim, in a society actively participating in the catastrophic destruction of Arabs and Muslims overseas, is fraught and fractured. It was important to me that The Nightmare Sequence not be an individual endeavour, and I’m really lucky to partner with Safdar Ahmed on this book, who has been using his art brilliantly as critical documentary for many years now. I’m honoured as well to have George Abraham introduce it, a beloved poet and friend I admire so much, and continue to learn from. Safdar and I will be donating our royalties from the sale of this book to Palestinian relief efforts; our labour here is dedicated not to the abstract, but material aid.’

‘I’m excited as well to bring Say the Words, with its emphasis on the unsayable and the taboo, into the world, given the intensifying climate of censorship we find ourselves in. I’m grateful to have such a supportive and bold publisher in UQP to partner with and I’m especially thankful to keep working alongside Aviva.’

About Omar Sakr

Omar Sakr is the author of three acclaimed poetry collections, including The Lost Arabs (UQP), which won the 2020 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Poetry and was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Award, the John Bray Poetry Award, the Judith Wright Calanthe Award, and the Colin Roderick Award. His first novel, Son of Sin (Affirm Press), was published in 2022 and is being released in the UK in November 2024 through the87press. His latest poetry collection, Non-Essential Work, has been shortlisted for the Kenneth Slessor Prize and the ALS Gold Medal. Omar is a widely published essayist and editor whose work has been translated into Arabic and Spanish. Born to Lebanese and Turkish Muslim migrants in Western Sydney, he lives there still.

About Safdar Ahmed

Safdar Ahmed is an artist, writer and educator who lives and practices on the traditional lands of the Gadigal people. He works across a range of mediums, including drawing, graphic narratives, painting, musical performance and installation. Safdar’s art practice focuses on issues of representation and belonging, referencing personal history, graphic storytelling, cultural exegesis and Muslim tradition. Safdar is the author of Still Here, which won the Multicultural Award and Book of the Year Award in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, a CBCA book of the year award, and Gold in the Comics Arts of Australia Awards.

For more information, contact UQP Marketing & Publicity Manager Jean Smith on jean.smith@uqp.com.au

Updated 12/08/2024.