Batool Abu Akleen is a 20-year-old Palestinian poet and translator, born and raised in Gaza City. She is studying English literature and translation at the Islamic University of Gaza. At the age of 15, Abu Akleen won the Barjeel Poetry Prize for her poem ‘I Did Not Steal the Cloud’ which was also translated and published as part of the anthology Di acqua e di tempo. In 2024 She was the Poet in Resistance with Modern Poetry in Translation. This May, her debut bilingual poetry collection 48kgs will be published by Tenement Press. You can find her GoFundMe, organized by Nashwa Nasreldin.
Heba Al-Agha is a mother, amateur writer, and creative writing educator at the A.M. Qattan Foundation in Gaza City. She does not belong to any writers’ unions and has not published any literary books, but works with an army of young writers training them in freedom and the power of writing. She writes at t.me/hebalaghatalkwar and https://gazastory.com/archives/author/hebaaga. Donate to Heba’s GoFundMe.
Mahmoud Alshaer is an editor, curator, and poet who, until October 2023, was deeply involved in cultural work in Gaza, leading initiatives such as Majalla 28 and Gallery 28 and coordinating the cultural program at Al Ghussein Cultural House in Gaza’s old city. Donate via Mahmoud’s Go Fund Me page.
Basman Eldirawi’s work is also featured in the collection And Still We Write and in the “Gaza! Gaza! Gaza!“ issue of ArabLit Quarterly. Donate to Basman and his brother’s GoFundMe.
Doha Kahlout is a Palestinian poet and teacher of Arabic. She graduated from Al-Azhar University with a BA in Arabic Language and Media Studies. In 2018, Kahlout published her first collection of poetry, Ashbah (نشرت, “Similarities”), with Dar Tarik Publishing House. She has also contributed to publications of the Qattan Foundation and Dar Tibaq Publishing House. Donate to Doha’s GoFundMe.
Husam Maarouf is a poet and journalist from Gaza. He has published two poetry collections, Death Smells Like Glass and The Barber Loyal To His Dead Clients, and the novel Ram’s Chisel. He is also co-founder of a new publishing house, Gaza Publications. There is currently a campaign to get Husam and his family residency in France, through the PAUSE program; however, we need to raise additional funds. You can contribute to getting Husam out here.
Baraa’h Qandeel is a writer and translator who participated in our Gaza Literary Translation Workshop Series. She is fundraising both to survive and for grad school in Malaysia in the fall. You can donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-baraah-and-her-family.
Mohammed Zaqzooq is a researcher born in Khan Younis in 1990. He studied Arabic language and literature at Al-Aqsa University and is a contributor to various Palestinian and Arab platforms. Mohammed is an active member in literary and cultural organizations shaping Gaza’s cultural landscape and the former general coordinator of the “Utopia for Knowledge” assembly. Currently, he coordinates community library and youth teams at the Tamer Foundation for Community Education. His poetry collection The Soothsayers of Khanun won the Khalili Poetry Award at the First Palestinian Cultural Forum for Creative Writers in 2018. Donate to Mohammed’s Go Fund me.