Sonia Nimr (; born 1955) is a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

writer, storyteller, translator,

ethnographer Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

and academic. She writes for children and youth in Arabic and English, and relates folk-tales in

colloquial Arabic Varieties of Arabic (or dialects or vernaculars) are the linguistic systems that Arabic speakers speak natively. Arabic is a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family that originated in the Arabian Peninsula. There are considerable variation ...

. She is the winner of the 2014

Etisalat Award for Arabic Children's Literature Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature is an Arabic literary award for children's literature. It was established in 2009 by the Arab Children's Book Publisher’s Forum. It is sponsored by Her Excellency Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qas ...

for Best Young Adult Book for her book ''Extraordinary Journeys to Unknown Places''. Nimr is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Cultural Studies at

Birzeit University Birzeit University () is a public university in the West Bank, Palestine, registered by the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs as a charitable organization. It is accredited by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Mini ...

Background

Nimr was born in

Jenin Jenin ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and is the capital of the Jenin Governorate. It is a hub for the surrounding towns. Jenin came under Israeli occupied territories, Israeli occupation in 1967, and was put under the administra ...

in 1955, where she finished her elementary and secondary studies. She then continued to enrol at

, where she joined the burgeoning student struggle against the

Israeli occupation Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prior to 1967, control of the Palestinian terr ...

. During her second year there, in 1975, she was arrested by Israeli military forces for her political activism, and sentenced to three years in an Israeli prison. During her imprisonment, she developed her interest in writing children's literature. She later moved to

the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to continue her studies, and in 1990, she received her PhD in

Oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...

from

Exeter University The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School o ...

. She began writing only in 1986, while working as an education officer at the

Museum of Mankind Ethnography at the British Museum describes how ethnography has developed at the British Museum. Within the Department of Natural History and Curiosities The ethnographical collection was originally linked to the Department of Natural History an ...

, in England. Her first works were renderings of Palestinian folk tales, and were published in Arabic. She lived in the UK for years, Nimr encountered different views regarding Arab women. She has stated that this is one of the main reasons that most of the heroes of her stories are women and girls, to fight the harmful stereotypes and empower Arab girls. She credits her mother for instilling in her both her love of writing and her political militancy, and in both she connects between feminism and national liberation, stating "If we liberate women, we will have taken a step towards the liberation of Palestine." After her return home, in 1990, Nimr was imprisoned once again. She wrote her first two stories for children while incarcerated, but her work was confiscated by the prison officials. Her experience as an activist and prisoner inform her writing, and she uses the speaking opportunities afforded her as a writer to speak about

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and war zones. Nimr also speaks about the physical, psychological and sexual torture of female prisoners in Israeli prisons, and about the women-led prisoner resistance in which she also took part. Writing in both English and Arabic, Nimr views her writing as a mission on behalf of Palestinian children, as well as for all children living in conflict zones. She has expressed her commitment "to exercising their imagination and keeping them in touch with their cultural heritage". In her work on folk tales, Nimr tries to "rewrite" the stories for children, as they were originally intended for adults, while "keeping the spirit, the magic." Her use of colloquial language in her writing caused some controversy, as publishers want to sell books in multiple markets in the Arabic-speaking world, and Standard Arabic is the form generally used in written form. She first received recognition for her 2003 book '' A Little Piece of Ground'', written with Elizabeth Laird, which tells the story of the

occupied West Bank The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has been under military occupation by Israel since 7 June 1967, when Israeli forces captured the territory, then ruled by Jordan, during the Six-Day War. The status of the West Bank as a militarily oc ...

as seen through the eyes of a 12-year-old boy. ''A'' ''Little Piece of Ground'' was written in English, and then translated into Arabic, several European languages and Japanese. It was nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal in the UK and included in the 2004 IBBY Honour List. Her 2004 book, ''The Story that Begins and Ends in Lies'' was also on the IBBY Honour List, In 2007, ''Ghaddar the Ghoul and other Palestinian Stories'' came out in English. Her next international success was ''Wondrous Journeys to Strange Lands'', published in 2013 and translated to several languages. It won the 2014

for Best Young Adult Book and was included in the 2014 IBBY Honour List. The book has been described as a "feminist-fable-plus-historical-novel... for all ages". In 2017, the first instalment of a planned fantasy trilogy for young adults came out, ''Thunderbird --'' a time-travel adventure following Noor and her 16th century friend, Andaleeb, in their effort to reach Jerusalem and save the world. The translation to English by Marcia Lynx Qualey came out in 2020. Thunderbird was short-listed for the 2017

. It won the Sharjah Children's Book Award in the Young Adult category in 2018, and was short-listed for the

Sheikh Zayed Book Award The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is a literary award presented yearly to writers, intellectuals, publishers whose writings and scholarly publications contributed to Arab cultural, literary and social life. The award has been described as “the Arab ...

. Nimr lives in

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...

, and teaches at the Department of Cultural Studies at

Notable works

Children and Young Adult * ''A Little Piece of Ground'' (with Elizabeth Laird), 2003 * ''Rihlat Ajeeba Fi Al Bilad Al Ghareeba'' (''Wondrous Journeys to Strange Lands''), Tamer Institute 2013 * ''Qisah Awalha khayal wa Akherha Khya''l (''A Story that Begins and Ends with Lies''), 2012 * ''Ghaddar the Ghoul and Other Palestinian Stories'', Frances Lincoln Children's Books, London 2007 * ''Thunderbird'', Tamer Institute 2017 Academic and non-fiction * ''The Arab revolt of 1936–1939 in Palestine: a study based on oral sources'',

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

, 1990 * يالو : بحث الأطفال في ذاكرة الكبار (''Yalu: Children's Examination of Adult Memory''), with Nadiah Aruri; Tamer Institute, 2000 * "Sa’id Nimr’s Stormy Career: From the Dungeons of Istanbul to the Ranks of Faisal’s Arab Army",

Jerusalem Quarterly The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) is the oldest independent nonprofit public service research institute in the Arab world. It was established and incorporated in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1963 and has since served as a model for other such inst ...

, Spring 2007, Issue 30, pp 77–87 * "A Nation in a Hero: Abdul Rahim Hajj Muhammad and the Arab Revolt", ''Struggle and Survival in Palestine/Israel'',

Mark LeVine Mark Andrew LeVine is an American historian, musician, writer, and professor. He is a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine. Education LeVine received his B.A. in comparative religion and biblical studies from Hunter ...

, Gershon Shafir, University of California Press, 2012 * "Fast Forward to the Past: A Look into Palestinian Collective Memory", Cahiers de littérature orale, (20081201): 338–349 * "Oral History and Palestinian Collective Memory", Oral History, v21 n1 (19930401): 54–61

Awards

* 2003 Carnegie Medal nomination / '' A Little Piece of Ground'' * 2004 IBBY Honour List / '' A Little Piece of Ground'' * 2014

Best Young Adult Book / ''Wondrous Journeys to Strange Lands'' * 2014 IBBY Honor List / ''Wondrous Journeys to Strange Lands'' * 2017

Shortlist for Best Young Adult Book / ''Thunderbird'' * 2018 Sharjah Children's Book Award, Young Adults / ''Thunderbird'' * 2018 short list for the

/ ''Thunderbird''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimr, Sonia Living people 1955 births 20th-century Palestinian writers 21st-century Palestinian writers 21st-century Palestinian women writers Academic staff of Birzeit University Alumni of the University of Exeter Birzeit University alumni Oral historians Ethnographers of Palestine (region) Palestinian feminists Palestinian prisoners and detainees Palestinian translators Palestinian women children's writers Women storytellers Writers of young adult literature Women writers of young adult literature 20th-century Arabic-language writers 21st-century Arabic-language writers People from Jenin Writers from Ramallah 20th-century Palestinian women writers