Faiza Bokhari is a Pakistani-Australian writer whose short fiction has appeared in Djed Press, Roi Fainéant Press and Portside Review, among other publications. She completed a Hot Desk Fellowship at the Centre for Stories in 2023 and was awarded an Early Career Fellowship there in 2025. Her work was published in the Centre's anthology All of Our Selves. Most recently, one of her stories received the Judges' Choice selection in the 2026 RUSSH Literary Showcase. She holds a master’s degree in psychology and works as a UX Researcher.
Faiza's manuscript Shedding Skin has been shortlisted for the 2026 Dorothy Hewett Award. In this short interview, with Mabel Gibson, Faiza Bokhari shares how it feels to be shortlisted and their advice for writers looking to submit to the Dorothy Hewett Award in the future.
About Shedding Skin: Shedding Skin is a collection of short stories exploring metamorphosis in its many forms – physical, emotional and cultural. The stories depict characters caught between worlds, often experiencing subtle but profound transformations. A young woman undergoes facial enhancement surgery in a world where beauty has become homogenised; a bathroom attendant in rural Pakistan is drawn into the life of a wealthy stranger after discovering the phone they left behind; a bride newly arrived in Australia records her grievances in a notebook as she struggles to reclaim her autonomy.
Mabel Gibson interviewed Faiza about her shortlisting:
How do you feel being shortlisted for the 2026 DHA?
I’m ecstatic, and it still feels quite surreal. I’m thrilled that the characters and stories in Shedding Skin have resonated with the judges, and it’s an honour to see the collection recognised in this way.
How long have you been working on Shedding Skin and what made you submit to the DHA this year?
I’ve been writing the stories sporadically over the last decade (which sounds like a long time now that I say it). I only decided to compile them into a collection a couple of years ago and was lucky to be selected for an Early Career Fellowship at the Centre for Stories. Through this, I worked with an editor and gained confidence in how the stories fit together, bringing the manuscript to a stage where I felt it was ready to be sent out into the world. I’ve followed UWA Publishing and the Dorothy Hewett Award over the years, and admired the writers associated with it – so I was excited to finally have something to submit.
Shedding Skin is a short story collection, what drew you to this form of writing and how do you think choosing short form has benefitted the work and the themes it tackles?
I have so much respect for the tenacity required to write a novel, but when I write I’m naturally wired towards the shorter forms. My mother tells me that as a young child during trips to Pakistan, I’d get moments of inspiration and immediately need to find a scrap of paper, sit down and write, no matter where we were or what was going on. Even now, when I have an idea, I can’t stay with it for too long. The short story form requires a lot of precision, and each line becomes incredibly important. James Baldwin once said, “You want to write a sentence as clean as a bone,” and that idea always resonated with me. I think short stories are a good medium for Shedding Skin, because through many different characters and settings, it gave me more room to explore the complexities of identity and inheritance, and the ways people shift in response to the world around them.
Do you have any advice for writers who have been working on a manuscript and are considering submitting their work into the DHA in the future?
Having someone read your work is invaluable. When you are so close to a manuscript, it’s easy to see it from a fixed perspective, so feedback from a writing group, editor, or a trusted reader can help open your eyes to how it’s received by others. It can also be hard to know when something is finally ready. I know the longer I stare at something, the more changes I want to make. At some point, I think you have to feel comfortable enough that you won’t regret clicking submit and have the confidence to back yourself and let the work speak for itself.
Check out our interviews with the other 5 shortlisted writers: