In this week’s roundup, from Palestine is a report on the recent raid of a Palestinian bookstore in Jerusalem; from Sweden, the nominees for a prestigious literary award; and from Latin America, coverage of the most recent edition of the Hay Festival in Cartagena de Indias.
Carol Khoury, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Palestine
In a striking escalation of censorship and cultural suppression, the Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem—a revered institution for intellectual exchange and a cultural cornerstone for Palestinians—was the target of an Israeli police raid. Exactly three years ago (read the AWS dispatch here), this gem on Salah al-Deen al-Ayoubi street was celebrated for its role in publishing the first-ever Arabic edition of Granta, titled “Escape.” Today, however, the narrative has shifted from escape to arrest.
On February 9, 2025, Israeli police raided the beloved bookstore, arresting its owners, Mahmoud Muna and his nephew Ahmad, on charges of “disturbing public order” and selling “inciting materials.” The raid has ignited global outrage, with diplomats, writers, and activists condemning the attack on free expression. Prominent figures like Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell have rallied over four hundred signatures in an open letter demanding that the British government pressure Israel to drop all charges against the Munas and cease attacks on the Palestinian people and their culture.
The Educational Bookshop has served as a hub for intellectual exchange for over four decades. Known for its extensive collection of books in Arabic and English on Middle Eastern politics and history, it is frequented by locals, journalists, diplomats, and tourists. The raid saw officers confiscating numerous books, including titles by Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé, as well as a children’s coloring book titled From the River to the Sea. According to reports, police used Google Translate to identify “suspicious” content, leading to claims of arbitrary confiscation. Eyewitnesses described a chaotic scene where books were strewn across the floor.
Following their arrest, both Mahmoud and Ahmad were released under house arrest for five days but are barred from entering their own bookstore for twenty. The international community has responded with condemnation, viewing these actions as part of a broader campaign against Palestinian identity and culture.
Mahmoud Muna, affectionately knows as “the bookseller of Jerusalem,” is also an author. His latest book, Daybreak in Gaza: Stories of Palestinian Lives and Culture, co-authored with Matthew Teller, was launched in Jerusalem just weeks ago. In this must-read piece, he described a day in his life as a bookseller after October 7.
As the world watches this unfolding situation (this coverage from The Guardian features videos and photos), the raid prompts critical questions about freedom of expression and the preservation of cultural heritage in conflict zones. The Educational Bookshop stands not just as a bookstore but as a symbol of resilience in the face of oppression.
Eva Wissting, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Sweden
Last week, Norrländska litteratursällskapet/Författarcentrum Norr, the literary and writers’ association for the northern part of Sweden, announced the ten nominees for their annual prize for the best book published in 2024. The award, Norrlands litteraturpris, was established in 1973 and initially awarded to a promising author from the region. In 2008, the award was amended to instead focus on the previous year’s most impressive book with a clear connection to northern Sweden, and since 2014, the award goes to two authors writing for adult and youth audiences respectively. This year’s winners will be announced at the organization’s annual meeting on July 5, and will receive SEK 10,000 each.
Nominees in the adult fiction and nonfiction category include Lisa Ridzén for her novel When the Cranes Fly South—which has already been awarded last year’s Swedish Book of the Year Award, and is to be published in English translation by Alice Menzies later this year—and Elin Anna Labba for her novel Far inte till havet (Don’t Go to the Sea), which was published simultaneously in Swedish and in Northern Sámi as Ale mana merrii, in translation by Lea Simma. Labba is most known for her nonfiction book depicting the history of the displacement of the Sámi, Scandinavia’s Indigenous people, in northern Sweden and Norway in the early 1900s. The book was originally titled Herrarna satte oss hit, and has been translated into the English by Fiona Graham as The Rocks Will Echo Our Sorrow, and into the Northern Sámi by Lea Simma as Hearrát dat bidje min. The five nominees in the category for children’s books and YA also include one title with a Sámi connection—Stinas jojk (Stina’s Yoik) by graphic novelist Mats Jonsson, yoik referring to the traditional form of singing among the Sámi.
A more internationally known literary award, of course, is the Nobel Prize in Literature. Earlier this month, the Nobel Foundation released that this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature will be announced on October 9. All the six Nobel Prizes (in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace, and economics) are announced on different days during the same week, with the literary prize announced on a Thursday by the Swedish Academy in the old Stockholm Stock Exchange, a building that has been the home of the Swedish Academy since 1914.
Miranda Mazariegos, Editor-at-Large, reporting for Latin America
Earlier this month, the historic city of Cartagena de Indias, in Colombia, became a literary hub as it hosted the Hay Festival, a prestigious celebration of books, art, and culture. Every year, the city comes together to welcome ideas, books, conversations, and panels that bring together a diverse group of thinkers from the writing industry and the world. This year’s edition featured an impressive lineup of voices, including Nicaraguan author Gioconda Belli, Colombian writer Piedad Bonett, and literary celebrity Salman Rushdie. Other panels included talks on disinformation, the future of democracy in Latin America, and the role of education and artificial intelligence in storytelling.
Since 1988, the Hay Festival has expanded to various cities around the world, Cartagena being one of the most emblematic, and this month the festival celebrated twenty years of bringing storytellers together in Cartagena. Beyond formal discussions, the festival is also an opportunity for the host city to create a space for spontaneous creative encounters in which readers can chat with authors, debate their way through the cobblestone streets of Cartagena, or find new reads to bring to their home countries.
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