Nabil Anani, Noura Erakat, Isabella Hammad, Andrew Ross and Samuel Wilder took away the prizes at the seventh Middle East Monitor Palestine Book Awards on 1 November.
The awards have been taking place annually since 2012 and honours authors who have made significant contributions to Palestinian literature, fiction and non-fiction.
Alan Waddams, one of the literary judges, introduced the evening and highlighted the significance the awards place on Palestinian literature and its importance in raising awareness of the Palestinian struggle amid the ongoing dispossession of and injustices against the Palestinian people.
Noura Erakat, author of ‘Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine’ and winner of the Academic Award, spoke of the concept of anti-imperial uprisings and the links between transnational networks which go further than merely the concept of the nation-state. Her book considers the — sometimes negative — role of international law in Palestinians’ struggle to securing their rights.
H.E. Dr. Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian Ambassador to the UK, awarded Andrew Ross the Social History Award for his book ‘Stone Men: The Palestinians Who Built Israel.’ The book stresses a truth many turn a blind eye to – that most of Israel and Palestine, including the illegal settlements and security barriers, were built by Palestinians on the land they lost.
The winners of the 2019 Book Award are:
| The winners of the 2019 Book Award are: | Nabil Anani (Palestine, Land and People) |
|---|---|
| Academic Award: | Noura Erakat (Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine) |
| Creative Award: | Isabella Hammad (The Parisian) |
| Social History Award: | Andrew Ross (Stone Men: The Palestinians Who Built Israel) |
| Translation Award: | Samuel Wilder (Where the Bird Disappeared) |
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