<span>In March</span><span> next year, the US will get</span><span> its first </span><span>major Palestinian literature festival. The schedule for the New York </span><span>City event, </span><span>called </span><span>Palestine Writes,</span><span> is crammed with </span><span>literary greats, including Ibrahim Nasrallah, Huzama Habayeb, Adania Shibli, Mahmoud Shukair</span><span> and Ghassan Zaqtan, </span><span>and will also </span><span>include an appearance by </span><span>veteran American activist and scholar Angela Davis. Some participating authors live in the US and regularly appear at festivals. But for others, it will be their first time at a North American event.</span> <span>The bilingual festival is set to open with poetry and music on </span><span>March 27, 2020,</span><span> </span><span>just before Palestinians mark </span><span>Land Day.</span><span> </span> <span>The schedule </span><span>is filled with panel discussions, workshops</span><span> and plenaries, with </span><span>50 authors, artists</span><span> and publishers expected to</span><span> take part. Among them are winners of the Griffin Poetry Prize, the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature</span><span>, the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children's Literature</span><span> and the Mahmoud Darwish</span><span> Award.</span> <span>The event comes at an interesting time for the country, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu </span><span>has vowed to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank, including one deep in the heart of the largest Palestinian city in the area. </span> <span>Netanyahu said the move would be a first step, with other settlements to follow after the publication of US President Donald Trump's peace plan for the region</span><span>. </span> <span>Festival co-chair Susan Abulhawa, speaking from her home in Pennsylvania, says </span><span>that the line-up is intentionally packed. "We want attendees to feel they want to process all they've heard for days after the festival. The discussions and workshops are meant to be stimulating</span><span> – intellectually and spiritually. In short, we want to give people things to think about, books to read, ideas to ponder."</span> <span>The festival promises to introduce New York-area bibliophiles to dozens of Palestinian authors they wouldn't otherwise know. "These are giants in our part of the world," Abulhawa says</span><span>. "But here they're unknown."</span> <span>Memoirist and </span><span>young </span><span>adult author Ibtisam Barakat will be on hand </span><span>to lead a workshop on writing memoirs and family biography. She says</span><span> that at most festivals where she appears, she is the only Palestinian. By contrast, this festival will bring together </span><span>different voices "to tell a more complete, larger story. That's unique given the fragmentation of Palestinians</span><span>".</span> <span>Barakat says </span><span>the Palestinian experience </span><span>gives "an example of how to beautifully and creatively tell a story that the world has a hard time hearing</span><span>". This experience</span><span> can help writers from other backgrounds learn to tell aspects of their life stories that readers refuse to hear.</span> <span>One thing that makes </span><span>Palestine Writes</span><span> unique among Arab literary events in </span><span>western countries is that it doesn't focus exclusively on Palestinian or Arab literary culture. Instead, it </span><span>opens space for connections, particularly between Palestinian, </span><span>African-American</span><span> and </span><span>Native-American writers. </span><span>Alongside Davis, Native-American</span><span> </span><span>writers Nick Estes, a journalist and Ryan "Little Eagle" Pierce, a playwright, will also feature at the festival, as will </span><span>Caribbean-American poet Aja Monet.</span> <span>Writers won't be separated by language or nationality, but will come together around various topics. A panel on prison writing will bring together </span><span>Davis and acclaimed Palestinian short-story writer Mahmoud Shukair, who was arrested by the Israeli authorities in 1974. Shukair – whose beautifully fragmented </span><span><em>Jerusalem Stands Alone </em></span><span>was translated into English by Nicole Fares – served several months in </span><span>prison before he was deported to Lebanon. It wasn't until 1993 that Shukair returned home.</span> <span>Palestine Writes</span><span> will also set itself apart from other</span><span> literary festivals, as </span><span>it aims to bring experiences, such as prison writing, from the margins to the centre</span><span> of the conversation.</span> <span>“Because for us,” Abulhawa added, “prisoners are not the margins of society. In societies of struggle, they are central to our communities.”</span> <span>Another </span><span>focus will be the effect of settler colonialism on natural landscapes. "What does that do to your world, and how</span><span> are the books tackling that? And how do stories deal with that?" Abulhawa asks</span><span>. "This festival is a bit more radical in that we'll be talking about things that aren't usually discussed at literary events."</span> <span>Palestine Writes</span><span> did not tailor invitations to those with easy access to the US. Poet Ghassan Zaqtan was unable to launch a US edition of his award-winning collection </span><span><em>Like a Straw Bird It Follows Me </em></span><span>in the spring of </span><span>2012, along with poet-translator Fady Joudah, when his US visa didn't come through – although he ultimately got a visa for a</span><span>n autumn launch that year.</span> <span>Zaqtan, who also has two brilliant novels </span><span>translated into English by Sam Wilder</span><span>, will be a guest of </span><span>Palestine Writes.</span><span> Organi</span><span>sers are prepared for difficulties, but they aren't tying themselves in knots. "We'll just take it as it comes," Abulhawa says</span><span>.</span> <span>Authors on the panels will be free to speak in English, Arabic, or both, with simultaneous translation available for anyone who needs it. On both Saturday and Sunday mornings, festival-goers can arrive as early as 8.30a</span><span>m</span><span> for breakfast and a cultural market that will feature books, art, magazines and more. "People can come in, have coffee, walk around, talk to each other," Abulhawa says</span><span>. There will also be talks and workshops on translation, </span><span>magazine-making</span><span> and children's literature. </span> <span>For award-winning children's and </span><span>young adult author Taghreed Najjar, this will be her first time at a US festival. She's particularly excited by the "mix of people participating," which ranges "from the political, to an array of talented young people, writing and performing in different genres, like [graphic novelist] Leila Abdelrazaq and [poet] Remi Kanazi</span><span>".</span> <span>The cost of tickets</span><span> </span><span>is being kept accessible, with early-bird prices starting at $50 (Dh184) for a three-day pass. Organisers have backing from donors and institutions, including the Lannan Foundation, but are </span><span>looking for additional support. </span><span>Those interested in donating, </span><span>taking part in the cultural market</span><span> or getting tickets can find out more at </span><span>Palestine</span><span>Writes.com.</span> <span>While a </span><span>range of vital topics will be discussed</span><span> – from translation to mass incarceration </span><span>and cultural appropriation</span><span> – the festival is open to everyone with an interest in the literary arts. Abulhawa</span><span> says: "Anybody who loves books</span><span>, </span><span>great literature, has a place at this festival."</span>