Mahmoud Muna
The bookseller of Jerusalem
Short Biography:
Born in Jerusalem and schooled in its refugee camp. Before finishing his studies at Al-Quds University, he was forced to re-located to the UK where he finished his first and second degree in London. He is a computer science graduate, trained communicator and currently known to many as the bookseller of Jerusalem. He helps running the family’s two bookshops; The famous Educational Bookshop and the prestigious Bookshop at the American Colony Hotel. Mahmoud is active in many cultural and literature initiatives, he is also a regular contributor to the media on culture and politics. His interests lie somewhere between culture and identity, behaviors and language- and when Mahmoud is not reading, he is writing for local and international cultural magazines and newspapers. Most recently, Mahmoud was commissioned by Granta to publish the first ever edition of Granta Literature Magazine in Arabic. Mahmoud curated an impressive selection of the most creative, promising and emerging writers from around the Arab world, and honored the magazine by publishing it first Arabic edition from Al-Quds.
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October 2024 ISBN 9781849250696 Paperback 336pp 41 b&w illustrations 1 map
Speaking tour: |
This is Gaza – a place of humanity and creativity, rich in culture and industry.
A place now utterly devastated, its entire population displaced by a seemingly endless onslaught, its heritage destroyed. Daybreak in Gaza is a record of an extraordinary place and people, and of a culture preserved by the people themselves.
Vignettes of artists, acrobats, doctors, students, shopkeepers and teachers offer stories of love, life, loss and survival. They display the wealth of Gaza’s cultural landscape and the breadth of its history. Daybreak in Gaza humanises the people dismissed as statistics. It stands as a mark of resistance to the destruction and as a testament to the people of Gaza.
Recently published writings:
- Gaza by the Sea: Palestine's Cultural Flagship - The Royal Society for Asian Affairs - London 2024 (PDF here)
- Colonial Subjugation, Not Organic Integration - Institute for Palestine Studies - Jerusalem Quarterly 2024 (PDF here)
- A Bookseller and Many Journalists - The London Review of Books 2023 (PDF here)
- The Book for Israeli Soldiers - Haaretz Israel English & Hebrew 2023 (PDF here)
- Youth-led protests can make a difference - The Independent UK - 2021 (PDF here)
- Young Palestinians are changing old geographies - Open Democracy - 2021 (PDF here)
- The Palestinian body is whole once again - Mondoweiss - 2021 (PDF here)
- Annexation and Culture - NAD PS - 2020 (PDF here)
- Give Me a Word, and I’ll Give You a Homeland - This Week in Palestine - 2018 (PDF here)
- The US Recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel - MERIP / Manchester University - 2018 (PDF here)
- Books Not Soldiers - The Institute of Palestine Studies - 2017 (PDF here)
- Jerusalem, the Occupation and Culture - This Week in Palestine - 2017 (PDF here)
- 50 Years of Occupation, 50 Years of Resilience - Heinrich Böll Stiftung - 2017 (PDF here)
- We We are not second class citizens, we are fifth class citizens - Mondoweiss - 2014 (PDF here)