Still Alive: CBCA’s Shortlist Eve Pownall Award 2022

Still Alive is a graphic novel that documents the stories of a number of people Safdar Ahmed met while running art classes in an immigration detention centre in Villawood, Sydney. These stories are told within the broader context of Australia’s immigration detention systems. Those seeking asylum in Australia due to war, strife and violence in their home countries face extraordinary challenges both during their journey and upon arrival. Ahmed’s book focuses on people who arrive in Australia by boat. For these people, a long, perilous journey ends with the often equally perilous obstacles they face when dealing with Australia’s legal processes, with the privations of onshore and offshore detention centres, and with inadequate health and psychological support. In addition to documenting the stories of those seeking asylum, Still Alive also includes the author’s own self-reflective thoughts on the ethics of telling other people’s stories, the aesthetics of comics and heavy metal, and the way art can be used for catharsis, healing and redemption after trauma. Still Alive interweaves journalism, history and autobiography with a striking visual style to bring to light the crucial untold stories of refugees in Australia, and the immigration detention systems they confront here. Winner: Gold Ledger Comic Arts Award of Australia 2022; NSW Premier’s Literary Award – Book of the Year 2022; NSW Literary Award – Multicultural Award 2022; and Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year – Eve Pownall Award, 2022. —- ISBN: 9780980593730