Description
Winner of the 2022 Palestine Book Award
"An artistic triumph that will stand as an enduring testament to the spirit of the Palestinian people. Mohammad Sabaaneh is a master."--Joe Sacco, winner of the American Book Award for Palestine
What does freedom look like from inside an Israeli prison?
A bird perches on the cell window and offers a deal: "You bring the pencil, and I will bring the stories," stories of family, of community, of Gaza, of the West Bank, of Jerusalem, of Palestine. The two collect threads of memory and intergenerational trauma from ongoing settler-colonialism. Helping us to see that the prison is much larger than a building, far wider than a cell; it stretches through towns and villages, past military checkpoints and borders. But hope and solidarity can stretch farther, deeper, once strength is drawn of stories and power is born of dreams. Translating headlines into authentic lived experiences, these stories come to life in the striking linocut artwork of Mohammad Sabaaneh, helping us to see Palestinians not as political symbols, but as people.
Galleys:
- 24-page full-color printed blads distributed to sales reps and bookstores. Also available at NY Public Library Programming at NYComicCon, ALA Annual, and at various Comic Arts Festivals.
- Digital Galleys available on Edelweiss.
National TV and radio campaign:
- "Morning Edition," "Fresh Air," "All Things Considered," "Weekend Edition," "Dan Savage" "Weekend All Things Considered," "Here and Now," "On Point," WAMC's "The Book Show," WNYC "All of It with Allison Stewart", "The Takeaway with Tanzina Vega", NPR Books, etc.
National print campaign:
- Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Bookpage, Library Journal, The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, GQ, Esquire, People, Los Angeles Times, New Yorker, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, etc.
Online/social media campaign:
- The Comics Beat, Grovel, Smash Pages, Novel Novice, Book Crushin, Shelf Abuse, Reddit, It's All Comics To Me, Book Toss, All Readers, The Awl, Book Page, boingboing, Book Reporter, Bloomberg "The Muse", CNN, Cool Hunting, Flavorpill, Gawker, Gothamist, Huffington Post, Daily Beast, Vulture (New York Magazine), New York Times, Mashable, Media Bistro, Salon, Slate, Shelf Awareness, PW Newsline, Publishing Perspectives, New Yorker's "Book Bench", Swiss Miss, Talk Time Live, Thrillist, Washington Post, WSJ's "Off Duty," and more.
Potential strategic partnerships:
- Palestinian American Council, Us Campaign for Palestinian Rights. American Task Force on Palestine, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, American Muslims for Palestine, Arab American Institute, US Palestinian Community Network, Eyewitness Palestine, and more.
General tour info:
- Virtual nationwide author tour. Possible NY regional tour when the pandemic passes.
Promotion through the author's Instagram account:
- @sabaaneh
Bookseller/Library promotions:
- Blad giveaways to librarians and educators who attend the NY Public Library Programming at NYComicCon, and the Brooklyn Book Festival.
- Graphic novel panels at ComicCon@Home and at NYComicCon.
About the Author
Mohammad Sabaaneh is a Palestinian cartoonist and a former political prisoner in Israel. His work has been published in the Middle East Monitor as well as Al-Quds Al-Arabi, and he is the principal political cartoonist for the Palestinian Authority's daily newspaper, Al-Hayat al-Jadida. Mohammad is a Middle East representative for the Cartoonists Rights Network International and teaches art at the Arab American University of Palestine. His work has been included in international art fairs around the world. He has taken part in workshops to use cartooning to help children develop critical thinking and express their feelings. The author of White and Black, he recently received his master's degree on a Chevening Scholarship from the University for the Creative Arts, London, UK. And he currently lives in Ramallah, in the West Bank.
Reviews
"Devastating and outrage-inducing; the spare language and poetic illustrations convey the scope of a long, slow genocide. . . . Sabaaneh presents a world in which injustice is unending, but so is the strength of his people. This testament will remind readers of the human toll of political conflict, but also how humanity can never fully be taken." -Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
"The illustrations powerfully convey the bleak atmosphere and quality of life, and while the stories alone would be incredibly moving, the art makes them even more so . . . their dark, surreal style representing the turmoil and hopelessness felt in the prison." -Booklist
"A tour de force for the eyes and intellect. Piercing through iron bars of ideological dogma and liberating the humanity of Palestinians in a way that no book has before it." -Khaled A. Beydoun, Author of American Islamophobia
"Proof of art's capacity to make visible what oppressors want the world to forget" -Molly Crabapple. Author of Brothers of the Gun (with Marwan Hisham) and Drawing Blood
"Truly an astonishing work. The images move and come to life through the darkness. They demand that we look at them and that we do not turn away." -Sarah Glidden, Author of the NYTimes Bestselling book Rolling Blackouts
"Mohammad Sabaaneh has made a book with unparalleled power and poetry. A book about Palestine, about his home and his own personal experiences. About the world we all live in and the fight for freedom which we all face." -Ethan Heitner, Co-editor of World War 3 Illustrated
"A surreal fever dream twisting with horror and hope. An essential read for anyone, anywhere in the world." -Sarah Mirk, Author of Guantanamo Voices
Book Information
ISBN 9781951491147
Author Mohammad Sabaaneh
Format Paperback
Page Count 128
Imprint Street Noise Books
Publisher Street Noise Books
