The novel, which deals with themes such as identity, race relations and masculinity, is also informed by Dr Ahmad’s tireless scholarly research – which made up half of his PhD project. And I hope this work reminds people of that.” 'For anyone who is from the region, or from a diverse background, there is something unique about who you are and what you have to say about your identity which can have an influence on the whole world.

“I don’t think that many in Western Sydney believe their voice could be seen as literature, but great literature, whether it be Shakespeare or James Joyce – it all looks like they’re saying these grand things about the universe, but actually, all of their work is specific to a particular identity, a particular culture and a particular time, so it’s no different to stories of the Western suburbs of Sydney. “Beyond this, I want readers from Western Sydney to relate to this work, and use the book to have critical discussions about their experiences – empower them to believe that their voice matters. I want to challenge these views by writing authentically about these experiences, and forging a place for this unique ‘Leb’ voice in Australian literature,” says Dr Ahmad. But now, and through this work, I have taken a new approach. “As a young Muslim man, I was always trying to reassure people that we – Muslim men from Western Sydney - weren’t scary. This might seem like challenging content to some, but according to author Dr Ahmad, who wrote the semi-autobiographical work as part of his PhD at the University’s Writing and Society Research Centre, “so too is being a young, Lebanese Muslim man in Western Sydney.”

In the opening paragraph of Dr Michael Mohammed Ahmad’s new novel The Lebs the main character, a young Lebanese Muslim man, references ‘thug life’, swears five times, describes a teacher’s eyes as having a ‘tabouli blaze’ and points out that the setting, Punchbowl Boys High School, has a ‘bulletproof glass shield’ at reception and a ‘White’, capital W, principal. Dr Michael Mohammed Ahmad, whose new novel The Lebs was written as part of his Doctor of Creative Arts.

The Lebs by Michael Mohammed Ahmad