A new group named Book Workers for a Free Palestine (BWfFP) has been established, consisting of 175 individuals from over 15 different publishers and agencies. This coalition brings together a diverse array of professionals from the book industry, including publishing workers, agents, booksellers, librarians, writers, translators, and visual creatives. The formation of this group is a response to the escalating conflict in Gaza, which they describe as a “genocide.”
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The group issued a statement expressing their collective dismay at the events unfolding in Gaza and outlining their purpose. “Book Workers for a Free Palestine is a coalition of book workers – publishing workers, agents, booksellers, librarians, writers, translators, visual creatives – who have come together out of horror at the genocide taking place today in Gaza to call for an immediate ceasefire,” the statement read, posted on X. The group’s formation marks a poignant moment, as the Hamas-run health ministry stated that more than 30,000 Palestinians have now been killed in Gaza since the October 7th attack on Israel.
In January, judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered an interim ruling in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, ordering Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by saying Israel would “continue to defend ourselves and our citizens while adhering to international law”.
Read: #BooksForGaza: writers auction books to support injured children in Gaza
The coalition urged their peers to join in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, advocating for an academic and cultural boycott of companies they believe are complicit in Israeli apartheid. The statement further emphasises their commitment to solidarity with individuals who have been targeted within the industry.
“As well as breaking the literary industry’s silence around the ongoing genocide, we are inviting other book workers to join us to express solidarity with Palestinians to organise for the academic and cultural boycott within the book industry of companies complicit in Israeli apartheid and to stand in solidarity with individuals targeted within our industry.”
Book Workers for a Free Palestine
Fossil Free Books (FFB), a movement launched by the literary industry professionals who organised an open letter to the Edinburgh international books festival in August, is another organisation part of the cause. They join the Palestine Festival of Literature, Publishers for Palestine, Alliance of Radical Booksellers, and many more. FFB are helping to host a strategy day on March 2nd both in-person in London and Edinburgh, as well as online.
Their mission states: “We are committed to a free Palestine so that everyone in Palestine and Israel can live safely and freely.” This declaration highlights the group’s desire for a peaceful resolution that ensures safety and freedom for all individuals in the affected regions.
Read: New report released on major destruction of Gaza libraries
Speaking to The Bookseller, they added: “As knowledge and culture workers, we stand against the destruction of cultural heritage in Gaza and the erasure of Palestinian history. At least 14 libraries and two publishing houses have been badly damaged or destroyed in the recent assault on Gaza. Hundreds of years of irreplaceable historical and cultural materials have been lost forever.”
Book Workers for a Free Palestine represents a significant voice from the literary and publishing community, standing in solidarity with Palestinians and advocating for substantial change and action in the face of ongoing conflict.
[…] a statement released today (May 6), Book Workers for a Free Palestine expressed their profound disagreement with Smith’s stance, particularly in light of ongoing […]