It's that time of year again! I'm putting this out a week ahead to give you all some recommendations for Read Palestine Week (November 29-December 5). I have participated in Read Palestine Week since 2023. You can check out my videos from 2024 and 2023 which have a ton of book/comic recommendations in them.

This spotlight of Palestinian literature was started by publishersforpalestine.org "a global collective of publishers, and others who work in publishing around the world, who stand for justice, freedom of expression, and the power of the written word.

Read Palestine Week is seven days when people around the world read – publicly and in community – as part of the global resistance to the genocide of the Palestinian people. To this end, publishers, librarians, & booksellers will share free reads, host events, and recommend books."

This year, there is a particular focus on raising funds to support Palestinian writers in Gaza. Check out the site for more details and some reading resources. I'll share the way I'm doing this reading week differently this year but first, I want to note how important it is to continue speaking about Palestine now just as much as in 2023. As important as it is to highlight the creative work coming out of Gaza, even during this period, it is equally important to call out the ways the global powers are failing the people of Palestine every time a child starves. This supposed ceasefire in Gaza has not stopped the daily suffering from a lack of resources, food, medicine, and access to consistent aid that is desperately needed for an entire population. Gaza has faced genocide, ecocide, and a despicable attempt at cultural erasure that has been unsuccessful. The people of Gaza still rebuild, still share their stories, still make their presence in this world known. It is why highlighting the work of writers, publishers, and artists from Gaza is necessary because no matter what the outside world believes, life has not stopped in Gaza. Children are still attending schools, even if their classrooms are rubble. Writers are still sharing stories, even if they have to struggle for an internet connection. Artists are still creating, even if it's by pen scribbles on the material of a tent. Here are some of the books and comics by writers and cartoonists from Gaza that I recommend:

First I would be remiss to give a list of authors from Gaza and not include the work of the late Dr. Refaat Alareer. A poet, writer, and academic from Gaza that had been a vocal advocate for his people for decades. I was introduced to his work in university in a race and resistance studies class I took that shared his TedX talk called Stories Make Us. I have gone back and watched it countless times, and countless more since he was murdered by the Israeli occupation in his own home December 6th, 2023. This edited collection is in honor of the children of Gaza.

It is called Gaza Writes Back: Short Stories from Young Writers in Gaza, Palestine, a compelling anthology of short stories from fifteen young writers in Gaza, members of a generation that have endured Israel's siege and blockade. Their experiences, especially during and following Israel's 2008-2009 offensive known as "Operation Cast Lead", have fundamentally impacted their lives and their writing. Their words take us into the homes and hearts of moms, dads, students, children, and elders striving to live lives of dignity, compassion, and meaning in one of the world's most embattled communities. Readers will be moved by the struggles big and small that emerge from the well-crafted writing by these young people, and by the hope and courage that radiate from the authors' biographies.

The next recommendation I have for you is from a new publishing company called Gaza Publications started earlier this year by poet and writer Husam Maarouf. You can read about how this publication was started & the unique challenges they have faced in starting this endeavor within occupied territory in an interview featured in Arab Lit Quarterly here. In it, Husam describes how rare it is for Palestinians from Gaza in particular to be seen for their artistry and creative pursuits during a time of such hardship. He aims to spotlight these writers and give them a space to tell their own stories without it being funneled through anyone else's lens. To quote him from an interview in The Avery Review, he writes:

To me, Gaza Publications—in these conditions—means trying to reach out with a severed hand. Who’s going to sew that hand back to the body?

Their first release is a short story collection “The Man Who Looked Back” by Amer Al-Masri a Palestinian writer from Khan Younis. "The deep voice of Gaza rarely heard beyond the noise of global headlines. These stories carry the moans of the besieged, the dread of survival, and the collapse of dreams cut short. Amer Al-Masri writes from within the shadow of genocide, where every detail of life is under threat, and sorrow becomes a form of expression. This is not just a literary collection — it is an emotional testimony to the unseen tragedies of Gaza.

Support the publisher and this poetry collection by purchasing a copy here: https://han-dal.net/shop/books/the-man-who-looked-back/ (Written in Arabic)

The next recommendation is The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience by Plestia Alaqad
"In early October 2023, Palestinian Plestia Alaqad was a recent university graduate dreaming of a career as a journalist. But by the end of November, her homeland was unrecognizable—and she was broadcasting videos of violence and destruction to millions online, known across the world as "The Eyes of Gaza."

A series of diary extracts from the weeks following October 7, The Eyes of Gaza is a gutting, on-the-ground record of the turmoil and destruction endured by the men, women, and children of Palestine. As Alaqad flees from neighborhood to neighborhood, from hospital to hospital, she documents all she sees—the destruction of beloved homes, the waves of bombs, and most of all, the boundless bravery and generosity of her people—all the while trying to memorize the faces of those around her "so somebody will have known them before the end," wondering if, one day, her own journal will be discovered amidst the rubble.

A document of the indomitable Palestinian spirit, told through the voice of one ordinary young woman, The Eyes of Gaza is a tribute to Alaqad's beloved Gaza, a paean to the courage and endurance of Palestine, and a manifesto of hope for its future."

The next one is We Are Not Numbers: The Voices of Gaza's Youth edited by Ahmed Alnaouq and Pam Bailey this was sent to me by the publisher, Interlink Books a Palestinian owned and run publishing company.

"A teenage girl stares at her roof, hoping it won’t collapse over her head. A young student searches the Internet for photos of libraries around the world, hoping he’ll be able to visit them one day. Another walks around the city, taking notes of all the buildings she dreams of repairing.

These are the stories of young people from Gaza, born under Israeli occupation and blockade. They are people who have endured unspeakable struggles and losses, who keep fighting to be recognized not as numbers, but as human beings with hopes, dreams, and lives worth living.

We Are Not Numbers was founded in 2014 to give voice to the youth of Gaza. In this collection—vital, urgent and full of heart, spanning over ten years to the present moment—we gain an unparalleled insight into the past, as well as the current and next generation of Palestinian leaders, artists, scientists and scholars and imagine where we might go from here. The book is dedicated to Refaat Alareer who was a teacher to so many of the children of Gaza, many of whom are featured in this book:

We equally want to honour our writers who were killed in the Israeli genocide up to 9 November 2024, when this book was being edited:
Yousef Dawas, killed 14 October 2023
Mahmoud Alnaouq, killed 22 October 2023
Huda Alsoso, killed 23 October 2023
Mohammed Hamo, killed 24 November 2023

I would also like to spotlight an artist from Gaza named Safaa Odah. Safaa is an animation artist and cartoonist from Gaza. She holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology and has been making daily cartoons from her tent, sometimes using the tent as her canvas and sharing her work online. Her comics gained notice from Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and across the diaspora, notably cartoonist Mohammad Sabaaneh who is quoted saying: “Through raw instinct, she dismantled the official narrative that sought to dehumanize Palestinians, turning her art into a powerful rebuttal. When paper became as scarce as bread, safety, and solace, she did not stop – her tent walls became her new canvas, bearing witness to a resilience that could not be erased.

“We, as Palestinians, know well that Naji al-Ali, the legendary cartoonist assassinated in London in 1987, also began his artistic journey on his tent wall.”

In collaboration with The Lakes International Comic Art Festival, Mohammad Sabaaneh and translator Nada Hodali put together a comic of Safaa's work titled Safaa and the Tent, with all proceeds going directly to her. The comic is unfortunately not available now, as it had a short release on an etsy shop, but I hope it gets picked up and printed by a publisher soon. The best way to support for Safaa's work is by following her journey on instagram.

That is my list for this year. For every book I finish I will be donating $10 to a Palestinian family in Gaza that I have known for 2 years now. You can read their story here. I will also be going live to read from one of these books during those 7 days. You can join me on tiktok to listen in. Thank you for spending the time to read this and as always, Free Palestine.