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 key books, along with bespoke extras, straight to your door.
Subscribers receive six shipments a year – every other month, with book club conversations – both online and irl – offered in the months in-between.
Bookshelf members give critical support to daring new publishing on Palestine – crucial in this moment of increased censorship.
February & March
Mai Serhan lives in Cairo and has never been to Palestine, the country from which her family was expelled in 1948. She is twenty-four years old when one morning she receives a phone call from her estranged father. His health is failing and he might not have long to live, so he asks her to join him in China where he runs a business empire about which Mai knows nothing. Mai agrees to go in the hopes that they will become close, but this strange new country is as unknowable to her as her father. There, the ghosts of the Nakba come to haunt them both. With this grief comes violence, and a tragic death brings a whole new meaning to the word erasure.
In a narrative made rich by its layers of fragmentation, as befitting the splintered and disordered existence of exile over generations, this courageous memoir spans Egypt, Lebanon, Dubai, China and, of course, Palestine. It is filled with bitter tragedy and loss and woven through with an understated humor and much grace.
PalFest has worked with three artists from Gaza to produce six greetings cards with their artwork. This month, as a special extra, Bookshelf subscribers will receive one of the designs. The full set of six can be bought on our website.
2025 Bundles
“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.””