Sharmila | WOC Publishing

The MET have declared war on pro-Palestinian lit. Now is the perfect time to use your platform/ classrooms to amplify #ReadPalestine. #IndiePublishers are offering FREE ebooks in six languages from 29 Nov — 5th Dec. Click on publishersforpalestine.org/ @publishers4palestine and get involved. اقرأ_ فلسطين

Mainstream publishers have either abstained or unapologetically embraced Israel this month, leaving Palestinian employees and authors without support or representation. Many have faced dismissals and threats of violence, yet my colleagues @penguinukbooks / #LitinColour continue to remain silent. Over the past four weeks, various pro-Palestinian artists and writers have been removed from prominent literary events, culminating with the grotesque "shutdown" at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Yet, only three people out of the 12,330 employees @penguinukbooks publicly spoke out about Adania Shibli. McCarthy-esque witch hunts are on the rise. Yet the outrage coming from my workplace is nothing but lukewarm. Publishing has normalised the erasure of Palestinian voices in our classrooms, libraries, and bookshops, and I, for one, cannot continue to ignore our role in this. Aren't you sick of accounts hiding behind their privilege? If your industry/ workplace is complicit, call them out. If you have a platform: ⚠️ SHARE — @nora_lester_murad 's post: 'The Censorship of Palestinians is so Normal, Even Antiracists Don't See It' ⚠️ SHARE — @joe.fahim.1 's 'SHUT UP AND FALL IN LINE: Israel, Palestine, and the Dawn of a New Censorship in Western Art' ‼️We are supplying 🍉 titles from independent publishers to classrooms for FREE. If you're a decision maker for KS* — get in touch. FREE FOR SCHOOLS — We Are Palestinian by @reem.kassis FREE FOR SCHOOLS — Ida in the Middle by @nora_lester_murad FREE FOR SCHOOLS — Homeland by @hannahmoushabeck ‼️ If you would like us to supply any other 🍉 title to schools (incl. #selfpublished), please comment below. ‼️ Unfortunately, we can not source Malak Mattar’s Sitti’s Bird: A Gaza Story. But we're working on it! Across the publishing and media landscape since October, the reprisals for speaking out have been severe and extensive. Yet these UK #indiepublishers continue to challenge the industry: @plutopress @versobooks @hajarpress @leftbookclub @saqibooks @tiltedaxisbooks @out_spoken_press @renardpress @cipher_press ‼️ promote these #indiepublishing giants‼️ 🍉 🎨 @nabil.anani & @room_four_art #censorshipinpublishing

EGA School is one of many creating space for Palestine 🇵🇸. With this in mind, we are revising resources such as @key48return to enhance PDFs for teachers. If you are searching for prompts/ aids on this humanitarian crisis, join the teachers advocating for change and get in touch! We're not after cheap likes here but long-term resistance... #LearnAboutPalestine

In 2023, only 2.3% of the artists named in GCSE art papers were Black (1.54%) or South Asian (0.74%). Only 4 out of 10 art teachers felt they could teach artists from diverse backgrounds, and a third had never encountered Black artists in their own training. Yes. This new report is a win, but we need to keep this momentum going, especially in primary schools. 82% of teachers are calling out for additional standardised content on race and diversity, and 90% want supplementary teaching resources dedicated to diverse artists. Let's keep this momentum going! #PrimarySchools #KS2Leads, reach out for free copies: Teaching a Diverse Primary Art Curriculum by @kaytieholdstockart On The Tip of a Wave by @joannahowrites & @catia_chien Black Artists Shaping the World by @sharnajackson & @esther.e.draw I will be putting together a free Palestinian art pack soon. Watch this space! If you want downloadable 🍉 content now, see the link in my bio. * The full report can be found at @runnymedetrust and @freelandsfoundation

“People tend to discount oral history from [the] Indigenous side as somehow being less accurate, less trustworthy compared with the ‘documents’ traditionally favoured by historians. But Indigenous people always know the truth far earlier than the occupier.” Suad Amiry / @suad.amiry In the case of Palestine, Israel has confiscated, destroyed, and continues to withhold from public view the vast majority of documents—official, private, or otherwise—chronicling Palestinian life before 1948. So, in the context of ongoing colonisation, exile, and marginalisation, every act of historical "rememory," as Toni Morrison evocatively describes it, becomes a "rebellious history." Uncovering the poetry of Mx. Yaffa is a form of remembrance as well as protest. Blood Orange references the oranges of Yafa, one of the many exploited resources by the British Mandate for Palestine, and later, the Israeli occupation. It is a symbol of struggle, defiance, and connection; it is a homage to the Yafa oranges and the blood spilled in the name of settler colonialism. Teachers, this is your in— The history of the Jaffa Cake could be a great way to teach about displacement and empire in the classroom. So we are giving this book to KS4+ teachers, out-of-school poetry schemes, and for April, a one-off giveaway open to all.  If you would like to enter the giveaway (which includes *The Queer Arab Glossary* @ustaz_marwan and *Squire* @saraalfageeh + @nadiashammas ), comment below. If you would like a class set, DM. Ibtisam Azem's *The Book of Disappearance* has been removed from the algorithm. If you can see this post, please let me know! Deadline: May 4th i am Palestine indigenous sovereign a movement a thought a voice i am inevitable #QueerLit #JaffaCakes #Yaffa

With anti-Muslim hate surging to record levels last year in schools (* see the latest report by the NSPCC or Tell Mama) and the USA removing Eid from school calendars completely in large muslim communities (* see Houston ISD petitions) isn’t now the time to integrate Eid and Ramadan into your EYFS rotation?  Yesterday, the funding for @tellmamauk , a service reporting on anti-Muslim hate crimes, was cut by the government. If you believe that the UK is too liberal to contemplate hard-line Trump-style guidelines and that classrooms are safe —think again. Stay vigilant and keep asking for content! > The National Education Union and Educate Against Islamophobia are running a session on Wednesday, 19th March. Sign up here: .uk/events/how-can-educators-tackle-islamophobia-within-school-community > FREE BOOKS FOR RAMADAN  The Night Before Eid by @ayakhalilauthor Can You Find My Eid Presents by @a.m.dassu Teachers, comment below to claim FREE COPIES for your CLASSROOM ⤵️

It’s ironic that an industry that continues to erase Palestinian voices and restrict pro-Pal opinion on a McCarthy-esque scale has chosen *The Book of Disappearance* for one of its greatest accolades. Obviously, with judges such as Caleb Femi, Max Porter, and Sana Goyal, we were set to see a greater selection from independent publishers and translated works; but by adding Azem to the mix, they have also chosen the perfect middle finger to shove in the industry's face. Thank you, @caleb.femi , @maxmaxporter , and @sansyg04 ! To celebrate Ibtisam Azem's nomination for the Booker Prize, we are giving away copies. If you would like to enter the draw, simply share this post with a caption (* hopefully celebrating this Palestinian marvel, that is Ibtisam Azem...) You can share this post multiple times for multiple entries. We have a shedload to give away. ** Deadline : 2nd April

‼️OFFLOADING TRASH‼️ Authors with no integrity in our collective fight are up for grabs!! You will find Zionists, Israeli sympathisers, and cowards who solely write about the horrors of colonialism for profit. “Liberals” who only chase the bottom line have no place in this project. If you would like copies of the following DM, don't be shy. We are offloading: * Signed Exclusive Editions* R. F. Kuang: Yellowface Sathnam Sanghera: Empireland Michelle Obama: Becoming Michelle Obama: The Light We Carry Tiny Fey: Bossypants * Multiple copies are available *

Why did we shut down Regent Street in June? To once again protest a genocide funded by the West— a genocide that has displaced millions, weaponised sexual violence (48 women are raped every hour), and killed over 6 million people, including children as young as 5. As the UK (*£240 million), US (*$643 million), and EU (*€900 million) pour money into Uganda and Rwanda, lawsuits against Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft, and Tesla (brought by Congolese families) are thrown out of federal appeals courts. How do we hold them accountable? We drain their pockets. We cease demand. There is a global protest tomorrow at all Apple stores, coinciding with the launch of the #iPhone16. If you're a Londoner, the next meet at the flagship store on Regent Street is on Saturday at 1pm 🇨🇩 Only a handful of people turned up in June, yet the police ratio was off the scale. Remember to bring your bust card when attending. Three peaceful protesters were arrested in June, including a 15-year-old boy who had been shoved by a pro-Israeli protester (slide 5). Be aware. Stand your ground. Film it! We are not free until we are all free!!! Bust Card: .uk/advice_information/protest-bust-cards-with-translations/ #BoycottiPhone16 #BreaktheSilence #NoiPhone16 #StandwithCongo

I have been called a Paki for most of my childhood. This isn't a new form of racism. This is still "Rivers of Blood" territory. How many anti-racist books do I need to send before schools comply? This week, I am broken. In our increasingly fractured and divided times, we must see that our current framing of conversations about race simply does not work. To continue on the same path is a self-indulgence we can no longer afford. Is it time to shut up shop and, in the words of Reni Eddo-Lodge, "no longer talk to white people about race..."??? #tired

Starmer's Labour will be in power by Friday. It is imperative that we disrupt the Labour majority and ensure that independent voices are represented within the House. Vote @andrewfeinstein for Holborn & St Pancras Vote @leannemohamad for Ilford North Vote @jeremycorbyn for Islington North Vote @emma_dent_coad for Kensington & Bayswater Vote @faizashaheen for Chingford & Woodford Green Vote @fionaalal for Stratford & Bow Vote @tanushkamarahcampaign for Hove and Portslade Find your anti-genoc*de candidate here: / If you don't have a viable independent candidate in your area, vote @thegreenparty #4thJuly 🎥 @seanramiz

I don't believe in 'tokenised days', but today is a great opportunity to talk about distraction. While around the world wildfires rage, floods sweep cars from the streets and crops shrivel, you will hear debates on Sunak's footwear, or a discussion about charcuterie boards for dogs. l'm not making up these examples: I stumbled across them while flicking between news channels on days of climate disaster. If the media does discuss climate change, the focus is on micro-consumerist bollocks: tiny issues such as plastic straws and coffee cups rather than the huge structural forces driving us towards catastrophe. We are obsessed with plastic bags. We believe we're doing the world a favour by buying tote bags instead, though, on one estimate, the environmental impact of producing an organic cotton tote bag is equivalent to that of 20,000 plastic ones. We are rightly horrified by the image of a seahorse with its tail wrapped around a cotton bud, but apparently unconcerned about the elimination of entire marine ecosystems by the fishing industry. The rich can persuade themselves they've gone green because they recycle, while forgetting that they own a second home and two cars - the list goes on. Instead of focusing on microscopic solutions like ditching our plastic coffee cups, we must challenge the pursuit of wealth. Microscopic solutions only align with the corporate agenda and stop us from seeing the bigger picture. For example, a recent survey of public beliefs about river pollution found that "litter and plastic" was by far the biggest cause people named. In reality, the biggest source of water pollution is farming, followed by sewage. It's not that plastic is unimportant. The problem is that it's almost the only story we know. In 2004, the advertising company Ogilvy & Mather, working for the oil giant BP, took this blame-shifting a step further by inventing the personal carbon footprint. It was a useful innovation, but it also had the effect of diverting political pressure from the producers of fossil fuels to consumers. continued in the comments...