PBA announces shortlisted books

Seven books have been shortlisted for this year’s Palestine Book Awards, Middle East Monitor is happy to announce.

The Palestine Book Awards (PBA) is celebrating its tenth anniversary in November 2021 as part of its annual ceremony that honours and celebrates books in English about Palestine.

2021 has been another successful year with a total of 39 books submitted for consideration.

The shortlist winners selected by the judges include both Palestinian writers and those of a variety of different backgrounds, adding to the diversity of submissions. They include and range in topics from those submitted by American Professor Marc Lamont Hill who was sacked by CNN after a speech he made on Israel and Palestine at the United Nations and a culinary offering by Gaza-born Lima Shawa.

The 2021 shortlisted authors are:

• Timothy Brennan – Places of Mind A Life of Edward Said 

• Marc Lamont Hill and Mitchell Plitnick  – Except for Palestine: The Limits of  Progressive Politics

• Sahar Mustafah – The Beauty of your Face 

• Sonia Nimir- Wondrous Journeys in Strange Lands 

• Linda Sarsour  – We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders: A Memoir of Love and Resistance

• Lima Shawa – A Taste of Gaza : Food and Traditions from Home 

• Erik Skare – A History of Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Faith, Awareness, and Revolution in the Middle East

Our panel of Judges this year are:

• Victoria Brittain – Former associate foreign editor of the Guardian and author
• Dr Ibrahim Darwish – Journalist with Al-Hiwar TV
• Subhi Hadidi – Literary critic and political commentator
• Sawad Hussain– An award-winning Arabic-English literary translator
• Nur Masalha – Member of the Centre for Palestine Studies, SOAS, University of London
• Alan Waddams – Former Chairman of Medical Aid for Palestinians
• Haifa Zangana – an Iraqi novelist and author

MEMO offers its heartiest congratulations to the finalists and gratitude to all those who have submitted their work for consideration and to the judges who have had the difficult task of deciding the shortlist and winners.

All queries on books and authors should be directed to [email protected]