Writing Palestine marks the tenth year of the Palestine Book Awards which was established to honour and endorse the best books written in English on Palestine.
The book, with Arabic and English texts, uniquely brings together revered names: Rima Khalaf, Salman Abu Sitta, Ramzy Baroud, Ilan Pappé, Richard Falk, Karen Abu Zayd, Salim Vally and Eugene Rogan, all of whom were either keynote speakers at our annual receptions or recipients of Awards, including Lifetime Achievement Awards. What unites them is their deep belief in the power of books and their commitment to Palestine.
As writers, academics, poets and artists, theirs is a passionate journey to disseminate knowledge about Palestine and its people. Together, they weave past and present struggles to present in writing the Palestinian Watan (Homeland) where nothing like what’s happening now takes place.
This book also contains the powerful poem Identity Card by Najwan Darwish and paintings from Award winning books by renowned Palestinian artists, Samia Halaby’s Drawing the Kafr Qasem Massacre and Nabil Anani’s Palestine Land and People. The cover is a lyrical painting from 1971 by the late Kamal Boullata – Memory of Silwan from his book with Finbarr Barry Flood, There Where You Are Not.
All proceeds from this book will be donated to Medical Aid for Palestinians and the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme.