Saqi to publish Sayed Kashua's essay collection Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life

Saqi to publish Native by Sayed Kashua

London-based publisher Saqi Books anounced today that it is delighted to have acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life by Arab-Israeli author Sayed Kashua. It will be publishing the book in April 2016, as a paperback.

Sayed Kashua is the author of the novels Dancing Arabs; Let It Be Morning, which was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award; and Second Person Singular, winner of the prestigious Bernstein Prize. He is a columnist for Haaretz and the creator of the popular, prizewinning sitcom, Arab Labor. Now living in the United States with his family, he teaches at the University of Illinois.

Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life gathers together for the first time a selection of Kashua's personal essays, first published by Haaretz between 2006 and 2014. The essays explore questions of identity, cultural divides and the deeply-rooted complexities of a tragic conflict, alongside witty and intimate depictions from Kashua's personal life as both a father and husband.

Kashua writes with poignancy and candour about his children’s upbringing and encounters with racism, as well as the rising social and political tensions that led him to emigrate from Jerusalem to the United States in 2014.

Sarah Cleave, publishing manager of Saqi Books, who acquired rights from Abner Stein in association with the Deborah Harris Agency, said: ‘Native is a wickedly sardonic, moving and hugely entertaining collection that offers real insight into the lived experiences of Palestinians in Israel. Written by one of the true masters of the form, this ostensibly light-hearted book is a nuanced and enlightening critique of Israeli society that exposes the difficulties of living as a Palestinian in the Jewish state."