Yesterday, the Middle East Monitor announced the shortlist for the 2015 MEMO Palestine Book Awards:
The seven-book shortlist was chosen from among 43 entries. The shortlist is an eclectic bunch and includes a graphic novel, essay collection, two histories, two memoirs, and a novel:
- Baddawi – Leila Abdelrazaq
- Chief Complaint – Hatim Kanaaneh, MD
- Gaza, A History -Jean-Pierre Filiu
- Jerusalem Interrupted – Lena Jayyusi
- The Drone Eats With Me – Atef Abu Saif
- The Palestinians – Elias Sanbar
- Vanished – Ahmed Masoud
According to organizers, the prizes will be awarded in three categories: academic, memoir and creative at a November 19, 2015 ceremony. It’s not clear from the website which categories each book has been placed in — Is Leila Abdelrazaq’s graphic-novel memoir a memoir or a creative? Aren’t memoirs generally creative?
In any case, The Drone Eats With Me, by Atef Abu Saif, is a war memoir for our era and deserves any prize recognition. Many on the longlist of submissions are also worth reading as well, including A Bird Is Not a Stone and The Book of Gaza.
