From 7 to 11 May, 16 International Authors visited Palestine in solidarity with the Palestinian People, in recognition of Palestine’s cultural contribution to the world, in affirmation of the power of the word and the responsibility of speaking it. The Palestine Festival of Literature was inspired by the call of the late great Palestinian thinker, Edward Said, to “reaffirm the power of culture over the culture of power.”
The Palestine Festival of Literature was held under the patronage of Chinua Achebe, John Berger, Mahmoud Darwish, Seamus Heaney and Harold Pinter.
In the sixtieth year since the Nakba sixteen international authors will hold the first International Literary Festival in Palestine.
In partnership with the British Council, the Al-Qattan Foundation, Bethlehem University, Birzeit University, Dar an-Nadwa in Bethlehem and Yabous Productions.
In recognition of the difficulties Palestinians face under military occupation in travelling around their own country, the Festival will travel to its audiences in the West Bank. It will tour from Jerusalem, to Ramallah, to Jenin, to Bethlehem.
A Practical Policy 