Atef Abu Saif (1973) is a Palestinian writer, political scientist, and former Minister of Culture of the Palestinian Authority. He was born in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza and has published several novels, including A Suspended Life, which was nominated for the World Prize for Arab Fiction in 2015. His poignant diaries from Gaza have been published in outlets such as The New York Times and The Nation. They are collected in Don’t Look Left: A Diary of Genocide (2024). His earlier Gaza diaries were published as The Drone Eats Me (2015). His book Suspended Lives has been translated lately into Dutch.

Atef Abu Saif will be at noon to talk about his books. He will share insights about writing in times of genocide as he lived it for 86 days before he managed to leave Gaza, and will discuss writing in general in the Palestinian context.

At noon coffee & culture we are honored to host him in his short visit to the Netherlands. His books, in Arabic, English and Dutch, will be also sold during the event and he will do a book signing.

Doors open at 17:30, dinner and drinks will be available to order at the bar until 18:00 then we start. After the talk and the signing you are invited to stay for a drink or dinner until we close our doors about 20:00.

Seats are limited to 30. Entry is donation based.