The PalFest Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

For our very first conversation, we are incredibly lucky to have Batool Abu Akleen, brilliant young poet from Gaza, in conversation with Wiam el-Tamami, Egyptian writer and one of Batool’s translator, speaking from Berlin. They will discuss Batool’s landmark debut collection of poems, 48Kg., which critics have described as ‘profound’, ‘vital’, ‘haunting ‘and ‘an extraordinary book of poetry’. 

This episode was recorded live between Gaza City & Germany.

Date of recording: September 13, 2025

Support Batool here. 

Follow Batool on Insta: @batool_abu_akleen

Find Wiam at her website.

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Buy a copy of 48Kg. here

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Ahead of the UK launch of the new anthology of Palestinian poetry, Heaven Looks Like Us, on October 29th, we are thrilled to bring you George Abraham and Noor Hindi, the co-editors, in conversation with Rachael Allen, the poetry editor at Fitzcarraldo Editions.

Date of recording: October 6th, 2025.

Get your tickets for the book launch in London here

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Buy a copy of Heaven Looks Like Us here

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In this special live recording of The PalFest Podcast, direct from Middle Church NYC we bring you the launch of Fire in Every Direction: A Memoir, Tareq Baconi’s singular coming-of-age story about queer and political awakening from within the Palestinian diaspora. Baconi was joined by Ta-Nehisi Coates in a conversation about personal and political memoir.

Date of recording: October 26th, 2025.

Get the book here (US) or pre-order it here (UK)

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In the third instalment of The PalFest Podcast we are excited to bring you Laleh Khalili, the esteemed professor and writer in conversation with the authors of Resisting Erasure: Capital, Imperialism and Race in Palestine; Adam Hanieh, Robert Knox & Rafeef Ziadah.

Date of recording: October 13th, 2025.

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Buy a copy of Resisting Erasure here

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For episode 5 of The PalFest Podcast, we are thrilled to bring you the award-winning author, lawyer, human rights activist and community volunteer, Randa Abdel-Fattah in conversation with PalFest's own Sara Yasin, a Palestinian-American journalist who was managing editor at the LA Times and Buzzfeed News. They discuss, among other things, Fattah's new book, Discipline, which is the PalFest Bookshelf pick for December & January 25.

This episode was recorded between Palestine and Australia on November 17th, 2025.

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Get your copy of Discipline here

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“Israel is a defeated project.” So begins Nasser Abourahme’s monumental essay in PALESTINE IS EVERYWHERE.

Join us for the latest episode of the PalFest Podcast for a deep, structural analysis of Israel’s current strengths and weaknesses, the geopolitical shifts happening all around it and much, much more. It’s a fascinating conversation between Nasser and the book’s senior editor Edwin Nasr - and we’re thrilled to bring it to you for our 7th Episode.

Nasser is a writer and teacher, and currently assistant professor at Bowdoin College. He’s the author of The Time Beneath the Concrete: Palestine between Camp and Colony (Duke University Press, 2025).

Edwin is a writer and curator living in Berlin, his first short novel, Fears Eats Ali (Wendy's Subway and Wirklichkeit Books), is forthcoming.

This episode was recorded between New York and Berlin on November 12th, 2025.

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In this live recording from The Southbank Centre, Isabella Hammad and Mirza Waheed hold a unique discussion about Palestine, Kashmir and the parallels and divergences in their modern struggles with colonialism.

They discuss art and consciousness around the dual ruptures of 1948, reportage and narration of historical insurgency and their own roles as artists working from within the imperial core.

Date of recording: November 1st, 2025.

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In a wide-ranging discussion the two writers compare notes on their experiences of publishing debut novels in English, how their work was packaged, presented and received - and the ways in which that diverged from their intentions when writing.

Saleem Haddad's GUAPA was published in 2016 by Europa Editions to great acclaim. His new novel, FLOODLINES, is about to come out. 

Yasmin Zaher's THE COIN was published in 2025 and won the Dylan Thomas Prize - one of the most prestigious awards for young writers. 

This episode was recorded between Paris and Lisbon on November 24th, 2025.

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In our first episode of 2026, The PalFest Podcast brings you a discussion between two authors on their writing processes, identities and personal experiences. The conversation delves into the complexities of love, trauma, and survival in the face of conflict and displacement.

Hala Alyan's I'll Tell You When I'm Home was published in June 2025 by Simon & Schuster.

Mai Serhan's I Can Imagine It for Us was published in October 2025 by The American University in Cairo press and is the PalFest Bookshelf pick for February & March 2026.

This episode was recorded between New York and Cairo on February 2nd, 2026.

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Episode 10 of the PalFest Podcast: in conversation with Mahmoud al-Shaer, editor, curator and poet. 

Mahmoud has long been a key figure in the literary scene in Gaza - a scene that Israel has all but destroyed. He founded a cultural centre in Rafah and the online literary magazine, Magazine 28. He was PalFest's co-producer in Gaza in 2023. 

During the genocide many thousands of people got to know Mahmoud through his writings, the painful chronicle of his family's separation, the brutal ordeal of survival under genocidal siege.

Much of those writings have now been collected into A Year on the Abyss of Genocide (Arp Books).

Mahmoud was finally able to get evacuated from Gaza to Spain, where our hosts Beesan and Waheed talked to him.

This episode was recorded between Madrid, Ramallah and London on February 17th, 2026.

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Watch the PalFest poetry event curated and introduced by Mahmoud in 2023 here.

Purchase A Year on the Abyss of Genocide as part of the October/November Bookshelf Bundle here.

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Subscribe to the PalFest Bookshelf here

Find us on our website or our socials:

Insta: @palfest Bluesky: @palfest.bsky.social YouTube: @Palfest

Sign up on Patreon for more content in the future

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Credit to Meqdad.J on Soundcloud for the use of مراجيح | بصوت الشهيدة فاطمة حسونة (Swings - Sung by the Martyr Fatima Hassouna)