The weekend of 20-21 June, while Sister Annie McCann was busy co-MCing at Supanova at Sydney Olympic Park, a notification pinged on her phone that stopped her in her tracks: her debut novel My Harimau King had just won Best Middle Grade Book at the FOFKY’s Book Club 7th Annual Readers’ Choice Awards.
“I was absolutely thrilled to not only be nominated but to win this prestigious award,” Sr Annie told AMUST.
“It’s been a wonderful 12 months…. to see a book starring a strong hijabi protagonist drawing on Indonesian mythology resonate so widely with readers means the world to me.”
The FOFKY’s Readers’ Choice Awards are an annual literary honour recognising standout authors across genres, with a strong focus on small press, independent, diverse and Muslim literature.
This year’s seventh annual awards covered seven categories: Best Self-Help Book, Best Thriller, Best Anthology, Best Children’s Book, Best Romance Book, Best MG Book and Best Fiction Book.
My Harimau King nestled among the other winning books.
Voting closed on the final day of Dhul Hijjah 1447, honouring the Islamic calendar alongside the ‘conventional’ one.
AMUST readers may recall our November 2025 profile of Sister Annie McCann and her remarkable debut.
Set between Parramatta in Sydney’s west and ancient Indonesia, My Harimau King follows 13-year-old Sumaiyah Jackson – the chosen one – on a journey through time to break a curse rooted in West Javanese folklore.
The book reached number one on the bestseller charts, something Annie was quick to put in perspective at the time: it wasn’t about her getting to number one, but about a culturally diverse fantasy with a hijabi lead proving the tide was turning.
Australia’s only hijabi MC at Supanova and Oz Comic Con and founder of the Right Pen Collective, Sister Annie continues to bridge the gap between Muslim storytellers and the wider reading public.
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