Librarians and Archivists with Palestine is proud to announce Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal by Mohammed el-Kurd as our pick for the 2026 “One Book, Many Communities” international reading campaign!

This non-fiction title confronts the performance of victimhood that is demanded of Palestinians by global spectators. Discussing the condemnation of Palestinians living through settler-colonialism and genocide, Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal is a critical examination of the creation of the perfect victim. The title has won the Palestine Book Award, and was a New York Times, National Indie, and USA Today bestseller, with the author of Justice for Some, Noura Erakat, stating the book “recentres the Palestinian gaze as compass and metric unit.”

The “One Book, Many Communities” campaign draws inspiration from the “one book, one town” idea that encourages local communities to come together and discuss a common text. Librarians and Archivists with Palestine aims to introduce readers to the richness of Palestinian literature and create broader awareness and understanding of Palestinian history and the struggle for liberation. We invite readers, librarians, and others to organize gatherings centered on Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal.

Join us and host book discussions in-person or online. COVID-19 is unfortunately still with us, so consider incorporating high-quality masks, ventilation, or even an outdoor venue for in-person events. Our 2026 toolkit and resource guide provides tips on hosting your event. If you schedule your event in October or November 2026, you’ll be connected with readers across the globe who will be reading and discussing the book at the same time. Use your imagination and let us know what you’re planning! Use the hashtag #lap1book and tag @librarianswithpalestine when posting to social media.

Acquiring the book

This year, LAP is happy to announce that we have graciously received a discount code from Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal’s publisher, Haymarket Books, for 50% off purchases of the title! To receive the code, you must register your event which can be done through the online submission form found here. We request that this code only be shared to those registered or invited to your event.

• Perfect Victims is available to borrow from many public and academic libraries, or through interlibrary loan. If your local library does not have the title, you can request they purchase the book for their collection.

• English titles can be purchased from the publisher, Haymarket Books, as well as Bookshop.org, Powell’s, and Barnes & Noble in print and eBook. It is also available as an audiobook on Libro.fm.

• Arabic titles can be purchased from Neelwafurat نيل و فرات.كوم, or you can contact the translation publisher, Dar Al Adab دار الآداب, for more information.

• Korean titles can be purchased from Kyobo Book 교보문고 or 예스24.

• Let us know if you have any questions about acquiring the book.
  

Register your event

This year, we are moving event registration to a centralized event submission form which can be found here. If you are unable to register through the form, you can also email us at librarians2palestine@gmail.com and lap1book@gmail.com. We will send you a confirmation of receipt and inform you when your event is listed on our website.

Additional details on book discussion planning can be found in our 2026 toolkit.

Previous One Book, Many Communities events:

2025: They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl’s Fight for Freedom by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri. Tamimi became known worldwide after a clip of her slapping an Israeli soldier went viral, but her struggle against apartheid and occupation began long before that. Through this narrative we see how Tamimi’s family, village, and fellow prisoners inspired and supported her through imprisonment, continued struggle against oppression, and the tribulations of her newfound fame. Additionally, Tamimi and Takruri outline important points in history from the Nakba in 1948 to the present day in an accessible way that makes the book an excellent primer on the struggle for Palestinian self-determination.

2024: Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear by Mosab Abu Toha. This poetry collection paints a picture of life in Gaza, first as a child and later as a young father. The scenes of violence and destruction of living through four brutal military attacks are set against a landscape of humanity and joy as resistance of Palestine and its people.

2021: Minor Detail by Adania Shibli. A Palestinian woman is determined to know more about a young Bedouin girl raped and killed by Israeli soldiers in 1949.

2020: The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem. Set in modern-day Jaffa and the greater Tel Aviv area, the story follows Alaa, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, and his friend Ariel, a Jewish Israeli. After Alaa disappears, Ariel finds Alaa’s journals and Alaa’s family memories create a dialogue with Ariel as the crisis of the mass disappearance unfolds.

2018: Code Name: Butterfly by Ahlam Bsharat. This coming-of-age novel portrays life under occupation from the perspective of a 14-year-old girl. Butterfly and her peers have conventional teenage challenges like love and jealousy, but they also contend with fears and struggles most adults will never have to experience.

2017: “Returning to Haifa” by Ghassan Kanafani as found in the short story collection Palestine’s Children: Returning to Haifa and Other Stories. Kanafani tells the story of a couple that was forced to flee Haifa in 1948 and is returning for the first time in 20 years. Their feelings of displacement are accompanied by grief for the son they had to leave behind.

2016: Sharon and My Mother-in-Law by Suad Amiry. Suad Amiry writes with humor and insight about the realities of life under occupation. From falling in love across borders to dealing with deliberately inscrutable Israeli policies, Amiry’s “Ramallah Diaries” will have you laughing and crying in the same breath. 

2015: Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa. Mornings in Jenin is a sweeping, heart-wrenching historical saga about four generations of the Abulheja family. From Jenin to Jerusalem to Beirut to Philadelphia, the novel follows the family from its displacement from Ein Hod village in 1948 through love and loss over decades of life in Palestine and the diaspora.