Dear followers,

The Read My World Festival has its origins in Palestine. It all started with a conversation in Ramallah with poet Asmaa Azaizeh in 2010. We didn’t know yet that this spark of speaking truth to power from within would resonate among novelists, poets and performers from all over the globe who have since then joined us year after year for the past decade, gathering around the fire of our festival. A celebration of humanity, of imagination, of empathy, of resilience, a celebration of the power of words and love of life.

In a time of ongoing attacks on civilians in Gaza, the killings of civilians in Israel and the West Bank, and rising ethnic violence, we as a literature festival, feel the need to amplify the voices of victims in this war. We also call for an immediate ceasefire and the end of occupation. We call upon our politicians to stop using words that do nothing else but fuel hatred and misinformation.

We ourselves will take action in the way we know best: offering a space for listening to all those voices who are silenced, under pressure, here, in Palestine and worldwide. That’s why we organize on the 5th of November an on the air read-in, in which over 50 writers, readers, thinkers, poets, musicians and speakers will join us to find words and spaces instead of those that keep evaporating in the face of violence. For ourselves and this reality. For Palestine.

We will soon publish the link to the livestream of the radiothon, hosted by RadioRadio. If you can, we invite you to make a donation through the QR code below or via this payment link. All proceeds will be distributed amongst the non-profit organizations Oxfam Novib, Plant een Olijfboom, and 7Amleh.

We invite our communities of readers and writers to join us. In the meantime, we keep reaching out to people who are in dire need for support, here and there: emotional, financial, practical.