Namesake by N.S. Nuseibeh | Hay Festival Book Club SEPTEMBER 2025 YouTube video by Hay Festival

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵.

Our September Book Club conversation is free online now – N.S. Nuseibeh shares Namesake: Reflections on a Warrior Woman.

Enjoy!

IT'S PUBLICATION DAY!

FICTION
Charlotte Haley
Elle Nash
Donal McLaughlin
Angela Sun
Ore Dada
@saccharinequeen.bsky.social
Sumayya Usmani
Katie Huttlestone

NONFICTION
Giselle Cory
Tara McEvoy
Miriam Guastalla
NS Nuseibeh

ART
Natasha Russell

VISUALS AND DESIGN
Esther Clayton

Namesake: Reflections on a Warrior Woman by N. S. Nuseibeh

A really interesting and beautifully written collection of essays, which won this year’s Jhalak Prize.

Simultaneously personal and intellectual, the author reflects on identity by comparing her modern Palestinian self with her ancestor who fought alongside the Prophet Muhammad.

Moving.

#books
💙📚💡

A paperback copy of Namesake by N.S. Nuseibeh floating on top of a stack of books against a grey background

Winner of the Jhalak Prose Prize & The Guild of Food Writers Award, NAMESAKE offer a remarkable exploration of heritage, gender and the idea of home, and paint a vivid picture of what courage looks like amidst interminable conflict

‘An essential read’ Guardian

A stack of hardback & paperback books published today, floating against a grey background

Happy Publication day!

PHYSICS FOR CATS – @tomgauld.bsky.social
NAMESAKE – @nswriting.bsky.social
RAISING HARE – @chloedalton.bsky.social
WITH LOVE, GRIEF & FURY – @salenagodden.bsky.social
GREEN CRIME – @drjuliashaw.bsky.social

Incredible to see @nswriting.bsky.social gracing this Guardian headline, in celebration of her well-deserved Jhalak Prize win. Congratulations, NSN! www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...

Re-upping this post...because @nswriting.bsky.social has only gone and been shortlisted!

Over the moon that even more readers will be introduced to her writing and, through her, to the legendary Nusayba bint Ka’ab al Khazrajia. #JhalakPrize2025

Jhalak Prize 2025 shortlists revealed as founder hails work ‘full of love, hope and joy'

The Jhalak Prize 2025 shortlists have been revealed, with prize founder Sunny Singh praising the shortlisted books as “exquisitely crafted, stunning works of literature full of love, hope and joy.” 👇#BookSky

A social media asset with a blue background, with thumbnails of the 36 titles long listed across the Jhalak Prize.

Huge congratulations to the brilliant NS Nuseibeh, whose book Namesake has been longlisted for the #JhalakPrize25!

Interweaving personal reflections on Palestinian identity, secular Islam and feminism, with tales of the author’s warrior ancestor Nusayba, it’s a vital read in difficult times.

Jhalak Prize longlists are out too:

Can't believe it's a year since the incredible coming-together of so many indie bookstores, publishers, writers & readers. Can('t) believe & can't stand that there's still such risk for writers in & from Palestine. Donate, share this thread, read Palestinian writers & follow @englishpen.bsky.social

Educational Bookshop open letter We are outraged at the raid by Israeli forces on the Educational Bookshop in Jerusalem and the arrests of Mahmoud and Ahmad Muna. Selling books is not a crime. The Israeli forces have chosen to attack...

Booksellers, writers, publishers, teachers, anyone in the world of books and education... please sign this open letter about what Israeli soldiers did at the Educational Bookshop in Jerusalem docs.google.com/document/d/1...

ONCE MORE FOR THOSE AT THE BACK: BOYCOTTS WORK

REFUSE GREENWASHING

REFUSE TO LET YOUR BOOKS LAUNDER GENOCIDE AND ITS TECHNOLOGIES

A selection of new stock titles in this 'festive' #bookpile 😍📚

From #Palestine to #empire, #feminism, #fiction to #Bollywood, there's truly something for everyone!

We also offer a range of South Asian art and handmade craft, #unique gifts for special people!🎁💜

@shalimarbooks.bsky.social

Screenshot of post from Jhalak Prize with following text: Authors, agents, publishers! We are accepting submissions for our #JhalakPrize25 awards: 1.    Jhalak Prose Prize 2.    Jhalak Poetry Prize 3.    Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize Deadline: 13 December 2024 Send us your fabulous books!

Authors, agents, publishers! Final week to submit books to #JhalakPrize25 awards:

1.    Jhalak Prose Prize
2.    Jhalak Poetry Prize
3.    Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize

Deadline: 13 December 2024

Send in those fabulous books!

Sorry let me be clear: what I mean is it's time for @societyofauthors.bsky.social to revise its silencing of its members and FINALLY make a statement against the genocide in Palestine & in support of Palestinian writers. Here's today's report from Amnesty for evidence.

bsky.app/profile/amne...

Black background with white and red text. A green band down the right side. SBWN Reading List #ReadPalestineWeek Swipe for what we read in our sharing space this week read & resist together

Why so few women on the street at night, Sarona Abuaker The Moon That Turns You Back, Hala Alyan Recognising the Stranger, Isabella Hammad Sambac Beneath Unlikely Skies, Heba Hyek [...], Fady Joudah And most of all I would miss, Mira Mattar Ash & Air, Nadine Murtaja (translated. Fatema Alhashemi) Namesake, N.S. Nuseibeh The Tiny Journalist, Naomi Shihab Nye Writing the Camp, Yousif M Qasmiyeh Palestinian Walks, Raja Shehadeh Forest of Noise, Mosab Abu Toha Blood Orange, Yaffa

yesterday at @scotbpocwriters.bsky.social we shared space & read together for #ReadPalestineWeek

here’s our reading list, some of which are free for download via P4P at the link below

we left with an action of resistance & invite you to do the same 🍉

publishersforpalestine.org/2024/11/29/f...

Visual from Publishers for Palestine announcing Read Palestine Week from 29 Nov - 05 Dec, 2024 with action points: Take Action - Organize events. Read in public. Amplify Palestinian voices. Be in the streets. Amplify BDS. Refuse complicity. Support a bail fund. Call out media. Take action to end genocide now. Read - Visit the website publishersforpalestine.org for access to a week of free Palestine & Palestinian ebooks from around the world. Print - Visit the website publishersforpalestine.org for access to our new free collection of writings by Palestinians in Gaza, And Still We Write. Join - Events: from poetry readings to book discussions to a session on how to research Palestine.

#ReadPalestineWeek starts today.
I’ll post some of my personal favourite reads here
🧵

Please visit publishersforpalestine.org for the complete list of free books.

Please visit publishersforpalestine.org for the complete list of free books.

Please visit publishersforpalestine.org for the complete list of free books.

Throughout #ReadPalestineWeek, there are a selection of free ebooks available through the publishersforpalestine.org website, as well as events & actions you can take now.

It’s #ReadPalestineWeek, folks. I’ve just started this, a new reissue of Edward Said’s seminal The Question of Palestine via @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social. As Edward’s daughter Najla recently told @amkdurie.bsky.social in a LitHub i/view, readers on Palestine ought to go back to the source material👇

A green graphic with the text: SBWN Solidarity Space #ReadPalestineWeek 3rd December, 2024 12pm to 1pm online read & resist together open to everyone: Black people, people of colour, and white allies

join us at @scotbpocwriters.bsky.social for an hour of reading together online and sharing space during #ReadPalestineWeek 🇵🇸🖤

on 3rd december, we’ll read some of Publishers4Palestine free resources and books + other work

register for our solidarity lunch hour here docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Namesake: Reflections on Nusaiba, a warrior woman of early Islam In her collection of essays, NS Nuseibeh engages with the complexities of Palestinian and Muslim identities through the character of Nusayba bint Ka'ab, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad

My latest book review for @middleeasteye on British-Palestinian author NS Nuseibeh and early Islam Nusayba, woman warrior and companion of the prophet.

Palestinianness, Muslimhood, Arab feminism, and chosen ancestries.

What’s in a name?

www.middleeasteye.net/discover/nam...

A sign hanging in Point Reyes Books that reads: If you are thinking of turning this book over, or covering it up with another book, or hiding it somewhere in the bookstore because you don’t agree with its title or political implications, please ask yourself: has anyone who has attempted to suppress the exchange of ideas ever been on the right side of history? Would I possibly benefit from engaging with this text instead of hiding it when no one is watching? Feel free to disagree with the books, but do so on your social media feeds, not in our bookstore.

There's been a rash in people objecting to books about Palestine in our bookstore, so I put up a sign.

The image contains a block of text which reads: there’s laundry to do and a genocide to stop there’s laundry to do and a genocide to stop. I have to eat better and also avoid a plague. my rent went up $150. I’ll need to pick up more shifts. Twenty people died in Rafah this morning and every major news outlet is stretching the limits of passive voice to suggest whole families may have leaped up through the air at missiles that otherwise had the right of way. I just got a notification that my student loan payments are starting up again and my phone isn’t charged. My cousin got COVID for a fourth time and can no longer work or walk or even feed himself. The person across from me on the L train seems to fashion themself a punk rock revolutionary, but they’re not wearing a face mask, and that’s the kind of cognitive dissonance that makes me want to steal batteries. Fascists keep winning primaries for both parties, and I think I gained a few pounds. (cont in comments)

This one feels like a punch in the chest:

Vinay Krishnan on the bird app.

My debut NAMESAKE is published today, but how can I celebrate a book about being Palestinian in the midst of a genocide against my people? Instead, I offer my preface, written in late October, just before the book went to print.

The Dublin and Belfast Irish Writers for Palestine shows are now on the Irish Artists for Palestine YouTube channel:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNYN...

Please consider donating here: www.justgiving.com/page/irish-w...
@blindboyboatclub.bsky.social @mrkocnnll.bsky.social @taraflynnirl.bsky.social

Great short fiction prize here which includes a retreat, manuscript assessment and 2000 euros. Get in!

This gorgeous essay by @therakha.bsky.social has articulated so much of what I've been struggling with. NAMESAKE is out next week but, as Youssef says, I'm having to "block out the fact that—even from a career standpoint—the powers that dominate my world want to kill me" www.guernicamag.com/i-ghost/

The long list - details available on our website: https://www.galleybeggar.co.uk/prize

Here it is! The 2023-2024 Galley Beggar Press short story prize longlist. You can get full details - and enjoy reading these wonderful stories on our website: www.galleybeggar.co.uk/prize