Zeynab Gamieldien is an award-winning novelist based in Gadigal/Sydney, Australia.
The manuscript for her first novel, The Scope of Permissibility, won the inaugural 2022 Westwords/Ultimo Prize and was published by Ultimo Press in 2023. Her second novel, Learned Behaviours, was published by Ultimo Press in 2025 and was shortlisted for the 2026 NSW Literary Awards. In 2026, Zeynab was named one of the Sydney Morning Herald’s Best Young Australian Novelists. Her work has also been featured in publications such as The Griffith Review and The Guardian.
Books and Publications
Learned Behaviours
As a prospective barrister, Zaid Saban is on the cusp of achieving everything he has dreamed of. His social and professional world is far removed from his schoolyard days in the suburbs of western Sydney, even more far removed from the traumatic events of his final year of school in which his best friend, Hass, was arrested for murder.
Zaid thinks he has put all this behind him. But when Hass’s sister, Amira, finds him and asks him to read her brother’s diary, Zaid is pulled back to the very world he had left behind.
The Scope of Permissibility
This stunning debut novel explores the nuances of love, friendship and ambition, against a backdrop of racism, class and politics within Australian society. The result is a beautiful coming-of-age story, exploring the intensity of youth against the push and pull of expectation and autonomy.
The Griffith Review
Lost and Found (Edition 92)
Endless Summer – First loves and generational nostalgia
Leaps of Faith (Edition 86)
Religion as Resistance – Islam and anti-colonial struggle
Short Story – The Cleaner
This short story, The Cleaner placed third in the 2022 Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction.
Zeynab Gamieldien 