In what way can literature be a tool for orienting oneself in and countering the conflict-ridden and war-torn world in which we live? How does one write children’s books about heavy and difficult topics? And how does one translate an experience from one literary culture to another?
In collaboration with the Tamer Institute for Community Education and Ställbergs gruva and with support of the Swedish Arts Council, the Swedish Writers’ Union is leading a project entitled Barnlitteratur i en krigshärjad värld (Eng. Children’s Literature in a War-Torn World) in which Barakat and Qarawani take part.
Ibtisam Barakat is a Palestinian-American poet, author and translator from Jerusalem. She has studied Journalism and Child Development and Family Studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia and her celebrated debut book Tasting the Sky. A Palestinian Childhood has been translated to several languages. After the success of her first books, written in English, Barakat nowadays writes primarily in Arabic. Her latest book The Hidden Gate of Jerusalem har been awarded the International Award for Arabic Children’s Literature and is one of The White Ravens books of 2025.
Anastasia Qarwani is a Palestinian author, scholar and translator. Her debut book, Raihan and the Cloud Fairy, was awarded the Al-Awdah Prize in 2012, which is handed out by the Badil Resource Center, an organization with the aim of spreading knowledge about the rights of Palestinian refugees and the right of return. In 2018 her book Kozi was published by the Jordanian publisher Dar Al-Salwa and was nominated for the International Award for Arabic Children's Literature. It has been translated into Turkish, Indonesian, English and Swedish (Min katt Koozy, Atrium förlag, 2020).
More information:
Erik Lindman Mata, Project Manager
0735-99 08 49
eriklindmanmata@proton.met
Linda Holmer, Senior lecturer in Design, HDK-Valand
linda.holmer@hdk.gu.se
