@soniasulaiman
I write stories inspired by Palestinian folklore. Ignyte and Ember Award winning, Pushcart, Palestine Book, & Lammy noms. BNW and Locus finalist. (she/her) Clarion West '25 https://www.soniasulaiman.com
I did try some other pencils. I think this one is the right balance of warmth and tone. The drawing pencil is very soft, though. It’s not ideal for detailed work.
Still, I like how this turned out.
This feeling, but multiplied so many times by so many bombings of children, is a big part of why I'm a FORMER Israeli
Bernard LaFayette, the advance man who did the risky groundwork for the voter registration campaign in Selma, Alabama, that culminated in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, has died.
Thank you!
I’ll have to ask my agent about crowd funding. It would certainly help a lot.
Oh the most direct ways are through my tip jar, or Patreon. I hadn’t thought of crowdfunding these projects but that’s an idea. Money is very tight bc I’m on a disability pension.
Oh yes. I’ve just sent the latest draft off to my agent. I hope we’re ready to finalize the text. I’m trying to illustrate it as well but it’s… a lot for a first book.
The story is a Palestinian folktale called The Lentil. I’ve had to heavily rewrite it to be a picture book but it’s still really charming.
Oh yes. And lots of lentils (his favourite). I’ve named him Abu ‘Adas, Father Lentil.
This has to be a contender for the dad. His face is so expressive
It is pretty fun and has that random quality to it
A stylized sketch in coloured pencil and water colour.
I still need to try this on hot press paper but I think I like this combination of materials… Derwent drawing pencil in terracotta and watercolour on cold press. In my quest for a children’s book illustration style.
I wouldn't expect any less from our bloodthirsty leaders
Correction. Orwell never said this. He did however, warn that: "political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” (That's Politics and the English Language, one of my favorite essays)
Palestinian refugee camps of Burj Barajneh and Sabra and Shatila are being evacuated
These are the people who fled the Nakba and their descendants
The same state, Israel, is the cause of both
www.instagram.com/reel/DVgaM3u...
Thanks!
Former LA Times managing editor @sarayasin.bsky.social launches The Key, a new publication about Palestine that will be "a home for journalists who have had their stories spiked in mainstream outlets."
Her opening essay is worth every second of your time: www.thekeymagazine.com/p/western-jo...
A coloured pencil sketch on tan paper
I think I like the tan paper but I’m not sure. In any case, the sketchbook will be hard to scan so it will have to be just for fun.
Remind me: when you bomb an elementary school, lure the survivors into a false sense of safety, and then bomb the survivors, leaving behind dozens and dozens of dead school children... are you the good guys?
I haven’t done right by this story. I neglected to put it forward for anything. I’ve lost my motivation for awards and such but it isn’t fair to the work, I think.
The Israeli finance minister Smotrich, who is also a deputy defense minister, threatens to turn Beirut into Khan Younis.
My story in this collection is eligible for the Aurora Awards.
Speaking of which…
I’m making a dent in planning for this novella. I like structure, but it has to be my structure…
I keep thinking that I’m a day ahead. Atemporality is weird, man.
My DMs are full of deleted accounts.
We see you ban Palestinians by the hundreds, daily.
Lie all ya want, people have literally published articles about this site's complicity in genocide.
“Almost all the 165 people killed in the attack were girls aged between seven and 12, according to local officials. There were around 170 girls at the school in southern Iran’s Minab at the time.“
A double-tap strike on little girls at school.
A review of Palestine -1, An anthology of horror stories from the eve of the Nakba, including my latest story ‘The Dragon.’ worldliteraturetoday.org/2026/march/p...
