Omar El-Khairy

________________'This anthology will help turn your intellectual understanding of oppression into an emotional one' - New Statesman'Thanks for being who you are and for giving us such exposure to wonderful people. Palestine is proud of you' - Suad Amiry________________The Palestine Festival of Literature was established in 2008. Bringing together writers from all corners of the globe, it aims to help Palestinians break the cultural siege imposed by the Israeli military occupation, to strengthen their artistic links with the rest of the world, and to reaffirm, in the words of Edward Said, ‘the power of culture over the culture of power’.Celebrating the tenth anniversary of PalFest, This Is Not a Border is a collection of essays, poems and stories from some of the world’s most distinguished artists, responding to their experiences at this unique festival. Both heartbreaking and hopeful, their gathered work is a testament to the power of literature to promote solidarity and courage in the most desperate of situations.Contributors: Susan Abulhawa, Suad Amiry, Victoria Brittain, Jehan Bseiso, Teju Cole, Molly Crabapple, Selma Dabbagh, Mahmoud Darwish, Najwan Darwish, Geoff Dyer, Yasmin El-Rifae, Adam Foulds, Ru Freeman, Omar Robert Hamilton, Suheir Hammad, Nathalie Handal, Mohammed Hanif, Jeremy Harding, Rachel Holmes, John Horner, Remi Kanazi, Brigid Keenan, Mercedes Kemp, Omar El-Khairy, Nancy Kricorian, Sabrina Mahfouz, Jamal Mahjoub, Henning Mankell, Claire Messud, China Miéville, Pankaj Mishra, Deborah Moggach, Muiz, Maath Musleh, Michael Palin, Ed Pavlic, Atef Abu Saif, Kamila Shamsie, Raja Shehadeh, Gillian Slovo, Ahdaf Soueif, Linda Spalding, Will Sutcliffe, Alice WalkerWith messages from China Achebe, Michael Ondaatje and J. M. Coetzee________________'Every literary act, whether it is a great epic poem or an honest piece of journalism or a simple nonsense tale for children is a blow against the forces of stupidity and ignorance and darkness … The Palestine Festival of Literature exists to do just that – and I salute it for its work. Not only this year but for as long as it is necessary' - Philip Pullman

‘You’ve got to learn when to throw your punches – when they least expect it. There’s no use flailing in the dark. This is where battles are raged – and wars won.’Saeed is a bookseller in Nablus. His father Khalil is a property developer. They’re just an ordinary family, quietly building a new Palestine. Until one day Saeed is arrested and thrown into gaol. Ashis future disappears, Saeed finds that the answer to his problems may lie in the past, and in the secrets his father has kept from him…Since the Israeli occupation in 1967, Palestine has become a nation of prisons. Up to 40% of the male population have been detained under military orders. Virtually every family has seen at least one relative put behind bars, and entire generations have grown up facing the prospect of the cell. With the release of political prisoners a key part of the current peace process, The Keepers of Infinite Space explores the dynamics of the Israeli prison system to reveal its fraught legacy for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

I was still living as an Arab Muslim in America. I struggled with coming out to friends and family, and so I decided to come back to Syria. It hasn’t been easy. But we are here, just as we are everywhere.DAMASCUS 18:00 – Amina was walking near Fares Al-Khouri Street when three armed men seized her. According to an eyewitness, Amina was bustled into ared Dacia Logan with a bumper sticker of Basel Assad. The men are assumed to be members of the Ba’ath Partymilitia or one of the security services. Amina’s present location is still unknown. Following the story of Amina Arraf, the blogger known as ‘A Gay Girl In Damascus’, and the events fomented by the media’s coverage of her kidnapping, Sour Lips fuses fantasy and non-fiction to create its own speculative narrative.