350 publishers are calling on people to ‘Read for Palestine’ in solidarity with Gaza

A collective of publishers is launching a week of reading for Palestine – focusing on Palestinian authors and literature – to show solidarity with those living under Israel aggression and occupation in Gaza and elsewhere.

Publishers for Palestine

Publishers for Palestine is a new global solidarity collective of publishers and people who work in publishing industries. It first came together to create a public statement expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and calling out many parts of the publishing industry, including the Frankfurt Book Fair, for silencing Palestinian voices and criticism of Israel. You can read the group’s statement here – more than 350 publishers have now signed it.

As one of the group’s next steps, it’s organised ‘Read Palestine Week’, running from Wednesday 29 November to Tuesday 5 December.

During Read Palestine Week, which will start on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Publishers for Palestine will urge people around the world to read fiction and poetry by Palestinian and Palestinian diaspora authors, and non-fiction about Palestinian history, politics, arts, culture, food, and life – as well as books about organising, resistance, and solidarity for a free Palestine.

To encourage the spread of #ReadPalestine, publishers have contributed to a Free Palestine Reading List of e-books in any language that will be offered for free download during the week. The books – in more than six languages and from publishers around the world – will be available here.

There are also numerous events happening globally. These include:

Publishers for Palestine will be encouraging readers to post on social media about their favorite Palestine books, to quote from their favorite authors, and to make learning more about Palestine an act of solidarity, using the hashtags #ReadPalestine, #LirelaPalestine, #اقرأ_فلسطين, and more.

Read for Palestine

So, here’s what you can do to help spread the word:

• Download shareable images to print and to use on social media, and put up posters in your community.
• Follow Publishers for Palestine on Twitter and Instagram (@publishers4palestine) and share our posts. (Facebook coming soon).
• Encourage readers to post on social media about their favorite Palestine books, to quote from their favorite authors, and to make learning more about Palestine an act of solidarity, using the hashtags #ReadPalestine, #LirelaPalestine, #اقرأ_فلسطين, and more.
• Publish articles about Read Palestine and book reviews of books by Palestinians and about Palestine.

If you can do more, consider:

• Organising public poetry readings.
• Hosting an author panel about Palestine and censorship.
• Holding a read-in somewhere it will get in the way of business as usual.
• Finding other creative ways to disrupt day-to-day life with literary events.

If you want more information about how to get involved or you have any questions, you can email Publishers for Palestine at [email protected]

Featured image via Publishers for Palestine