The best new books on Palestine, straight to your door.
There has never been as much work on Palestine published in English as there is today.
The PalFest Bookshelf is a curated subscription that delivers books, along with bespoke extras, straight to your door.
Subscribers receive six key books a year – every other month, with book club conversations – both online and irl – offered in the months in-between.
Most are new, some older works of enduring relevance. Each come with a special extra – a bookmark, a pamphlet, an artwork postcard. Subscribers also receive invitations to Zoom events and discussions with authors.
Bookshelf members give critical support to daring new publishing on Palestine – crucial in this moment of increased censorship.
June & July 2025
The third instalment of the PalFest Bookshelf: Heaven Looks Like Us, edited by George Abraham and Noor Hindi, published by Haymarket Books.
This landmark collection of poetry is a love letter to Palestinian ancestors, their descendants, and their land, to all anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggles, to a history that will never be forgotten, and to a future in which there thrives a free Palestine.
Accompanying it is the healthcare issue of the New York War Crimes, published by Writers Against the War on Gaza. This issue contains reports, analyses, testimonies, poems, and songs of resistance, altogether reflecting the role of Gaza’s medical workers as a bulwark against death and despair.
April & May 2025:
The second book on The PalFest Bookshelf was Ghassan Kanafani’s The Revolution of 1936-1939 in Palestine, accompanied by a special printing of the original PLO edition of the tribute by Kanafani’s widow, Anni, from after his assassination by Israel.
Ghassan Kanafani’s The Revolution of 1936–1939 in Palestine, translated by Hazem Jamjoum. Accompanied by a special printing of the original PLO edition of Anni Kanafani’s tribute to her late husband from after his assassination by Israel, plus a postcard of artwork by Ghassan Kanafani. Available while stock lasts.
February & March 2025:
The first book on The PalFest Bookshelf was Mohammed El-Kurd’s Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal, accompanied by a specially printed postcard of the cover’s original artwork by Maisara Baroud.
While stock lasts, purchase the first PalFest Bookshelf selection: Mohammed El-Kurd’s non-fiction debut, Perfect Victims, accompanied by a postcard of the cover artwork by Gazan artist Maisara Baroud.
“This curation of books on Palestine and ongoing conversations with writers is such a great idea. An invaluable resource to guide our thinking and to connect us to one another.”
““The Palestine Festival of Literature does the important work of connecting writers of all backgrounds with the land and people of Palestine. This latest project - a curated collection of works by some of our most preeminent Palestinian writers – is an extension of that undertaking. It continues their mission of marrying the great power of literature with the great fight of our time: the eradication of apartheid in general, and the freedom of Palestinians in particular. This is a much needed effort from one of the preeminent literary organizations of our time.””
““What a necessary and timely gift to all of us! The PalFest Bookshelf features a curated selection of urgent and beautiful books written by some of the most talented writers, and sends them directly to you. It feels like a ray of hope.””
““Given the constraints of time how to choose between all the books about Palestine that are out in the world? Enter the good people of PalFest whose qualities of political wisdom, emotional intelligence, reliability and very good taste make them the perfect candidates to do the choosing for you. And given their reach and creative flair the ‘bonus features’ are likely to be extraordinary. Sign me up.””