From Gaza to the diaspora: 10 powerful books by Palestinian writers

As someone privy to the inner workings of publishing, I know that books take an average of two to three years between the time an author lands a book deal and the day the physical book hits bookstore shelves.

The fact that books such as The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resistance by Plestia Alaqad (Pan Macmillan), We Are Not Numbers: The Voices of Gaza’s Youth (Hutchinson Heinemann) and Voices of Resistance: Diaries of Genocide (Comma Press) have been written, edited and published during Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza is proof that the publishing industry, when it works urgently, can create something as powerful as published first-hand accounts of a genocide as it is taking place.

Social media empires may censor and remove the written testimonies of Palestinians online, but physical books, like the ones listed below, will serve as a witness to the ongoing horrors perpetrated by Israel in Palestine for decades to come.

Evil Eye, Etaf Rum (HQ, Harper Collins)

The highly anticipated second novel from the author of A Woman is No Man came out just weeks before October 7, 2023. Yara is a Palestinian-American art lecturer in an unhappy marriage whose academic career is going nowhere. As a Palestinian, she deals with ignorant remarks and microaggressions at work daily, until one day, a colleague takes it too far and Yara ends up having an outburst.

However, it is Yara who receives disciplinary action, forced to undergo counselling to keep her job. Through therapy, Yara eventually opens up about her past, tracing back her family’s intergenerational trauma that began with her grandparents, who endured the 1948 Nakba.

This Queer Arab Family: An Anthology by Arab LGBTQ+ Writers, Edited by Elias Jahshan (Saqi)

In this follow-on anthology from Palestinian-Australian author Elias Jahshan’s highly successful This Arab is Queer, ten LGBTQ+ writers from the Arab world and diaspora explore chosen family.

Through the anthology’s ten essays, you will discover how queer Arabs navigate a culture where the collective identity of the family and community often supersedes the individual.

From building a non-binary belly dancing robot to tender acts of kindness that bind queer Arabs together, this book will have you laughing and crying.

A Long Walk from Gaza, Asmaa Alatawna (Interlink Publishing)

This heart-wrenching novel is split into two parts: leave and return, beginning with our female Palestinian protagonist’s escape from Gaza to Europe and the return, which is not her return to Gaza, but rather a return to her childhood and the events leading up to her departure. 

This fiercely feminist novel demonstrates how patriarchy, trauma, violence and Israel’s occupation and persecution of Gazans collide, the most heavily affected being young women. When our protagonist reaches Europe, she believes she has left that all behind, only to find that her new neighbours have stereotyped perceptions of her as a Palestinian woman.

Forest of Noise, Mosab Abu Toha (4th Estate)

The highly awaited poetry collection from Gaza's poet, Mosab Abu Toha, was released a year into Gaza’s ongoing genocide. 

Poetry and prose offer a brief glimpse of the terror, anguish, loss and destruction that Palestinians continue to experience hour by hour.

Many of the poems in the collection draw on Abu Toha’s personal experiences and memories or are dedicated to family members. The poems do not speak of hopes, dreams or plans for the future, understandable given the immeasurable scale of Gaza’s losses.

Wild Thorns, Sahar Khalifeh (Saqi)

This new edition of Sahar Khalifeh’s third novel is the tale of Usama, a member of the Palestinian resistance who has returned to the West Bank from the Gulf to carry out a secret mission.

There, he meets his cousin Adil, whom he tries to convince to join the resistance. Adil tells idealistic Usama that providing for his nine family members is his primary concern.

Through the stories of Usama, Adil and Adil’s younger brother Basil, Khalifeh shines a light on the everyday struggles, ideological differences and discrimination Palestinians in the West Bank endure. It remains as relevant today as it was when first published in 1976.

I’ll Tell You When I’m Home, Hala Alyan (Saqi)

The long-awaited memoir of the Salt Houses author is not just a story of Palestinian displacement, but also an exploration of motherhood.

In her deeply personal autobiography, Alyan shares painful experiences of miscarriages and infertility and ultimately her decision to use a surrogate. As much as it is her own life story, it is also the story of the women in her life: her mother and two grandmothers and their survival through endless war, displacement and exile.

The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience, Plestia Alaqad (Pan Macmillan)

The Eyes of Gaza is a collection of diary extracts from Palestinian journalist Plestia Alaqad’s 45 days reporting on the ongoing genocide in Gaza and a snapshot of her life before October 2023.

Almost overnight, the 21-year-old became internationally renowned for her live coverage of the genocide on social media platforms like Instagram. The diary reveals the emotion and turmoil behind the stoic face of a reporter on the frontline of a genocide.

We Are Not Numbers: The Voices of Gaza’s Youth, edited by Ahmed Alnaouq and Pam Bailey (Hutchinson Heinemann)

What was initially a website where young Palestinian writers could submit essays, articles, and stories is now a bestselling anthology.

Palestinian journalist and We Are Not Numbers founder Ahmed Alanouq and American journalist and activist Pam Bailey have joined forces to compile 59 poems, essays and stories written by young Palestinians from Gaza.

Against the backdrop of censorship, ethnic cleansing, attempted identity erasure and internet blackouts, We Are Not Numbers is a stark reminder of Palestinian writers’ existence and will to prevail.

Voices of Resistance: Diaries of Genocide, Batool Abu Akleen, Sondos Sabra, Nahil Mohana and Ala’a Obaid (Comma Press)

This exceptional anthology comprises diary entries from four women in Gaza who continue to live through the genocide.

Abu Akleen, Sabra, Mohana and Obaid provide first-hand accounts of Israel’s atrocities, siege and engineered famine in Gaza.

The diaries also provide unique and darkly comical details of the everyday lives of Palestinians during this real-time genocide: from how they make a birthday cake when most of the ingredients are unavailable, to what the women talk about while having a long overdue haircut and what it is like to nearly be killed by a flying pressure cooker.

The Slightest Green, Sahar Mustafah (Interlink Publishing)

The upcoming second novel from the highly acclaimed Palestinian-American author who penned The Beauty of Your Face is a multi-generational saga set between Chicago and Palestine.

During dinner one evening, Intisar receives a phone call from Palestine informing her that her father, Hafez, is on his deathbed and she must return right away. What is doubly shocking is that this is the first time she has heard of him since he left Intisar and her mother 20 years ago to join the resistance.

Upon returning to her homeland, Intisar discovers her grandparents are about to lose their ancestral home to the occupiers. Can she help them save their home? Out November 11 2025.

Yousra Samir Imran is a British Egyptian writer and author based in Yorkshire. She is the author of Hijab and Red Lipstick, published by Hashtag Press

Follow her on X: @UNDERYOURABAYA