Invention, Creation, and Revision

Historical fiction has always been my favourite genre to read since it allows audience
members to learn about history while also allowing readers to become lost in a literary world
where they connect with main characters. It allows people to learn about history while
simultaneously being entertaining. As an Arab American, not many historical fiction books have
been written about the Middle East. I believe cultural representation is in important, which is
why I write historical fiction about Palestine. After spending over a decade following the
political landscape of Palestine, I encountered numerous news articles about military soldiers
harassing and detaining Palestinian students on their way to school. According to the UN Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there are over 645 checkpoints and roadblocks in
the West Bank and these hinder students from attending school. Additionally, since 2000, over
13,000 Palestinian children have been arrested and placed under military detention where they
are held without charge indefinitely (Human Rights Watch). In writing historical fiction, I knew
this is a story I wanted to tell. I began in the story in a place I knew best: the classroom. As a
teacher of over 15 years, I am able to write from the viewpoint of the protagonist, Layla – a
schoolteacher.

I had originally intended for this story to be part of a larger narrative, a historical fiction
novel. However, when I needed to submit a short fiction piece for Introduction to Creative
Fiction, I decided it was a great opportunity to trial the story line. Initially, I found it challenging
to condense the storyline into a short fiction assignment, but I was content with the final product
and grateful for learning about the process.

For both the short story, and the future novel, I knew I wanted to start with the viewpoint
of one of the school children, and the misconception that he is leading a normal childhood in
which he gets to run, laugh, and the race other children. In reality, his childhood is far from
normal, and he is essentially running for his life.

I was a bit nervous submitting my work for peer review since this is the first piece I had
written about Palestine. Especially in today’s political climate, the topic of Palestine is
extremely polarizing. I also did not know how much historical context to include in the story
line. My peer group were incredibly supportive and encouraged me to add more historical
context within the story. This has not only helped me in drafting and editing this short story, but
also in writing future historical fiction pieces. It gave me the courage not to shy away from
sensitive topics.

Publishing Interest

My short story, The War of the Watermelon, appeals to leftist audience members and
those who enjoy socialist literature and revolutionary theory. This includes readers of Susan
Abulhawa, Hala Alyan, Refaat Alareer, Mahmoud Darwish, Edward Said, and Marc Lemont
Hill. The expectation of the audience is to read literature about important topics of interest that
also support a greater social cause. I was very grateful for Dr. Sotirakapolous for introducing me
to Haymarket Books and the leftist publishing world. In doing further research, I found
Publishers for Palestine, a website that lists publishers who support leftist social issues. I made a
list of the US publishers including: AK Press, Charles H. Kerr Publishing, Common Notions
Press, Essay Press, Haymarket Books, Interlink Publishing, Microcosm Publishing, OR Books,
Pluto Press, PM Press, Radical Books Collective, Roam Agency, and Verso Books.
Unfortunately, in going through the list, I found many publishers do not detail the submission
process, are not currently accepting submissions, or they are primarily focused on publishing
non-fiction. Recently, Wisam Rafeedie’s book, The Trinity of Fundamentals, has gone viral and
his book is a historical fiction novel that tells the story of a young Palestine man who was forced
to hide from Occupation soldiers for nine years. In seeing similarities with Rafeedie’s book and
the premise for The War of the Watermelon, I decided to pursue the same publisher and found
1804 Books Press at The People’s Forum. Their submission guidelines include sending a query
letter via email. The query letter should include a writing sample of no more than 10 pages, a
brief synopsis, and biographical information about the author. The subject heading should be
entitled “QUERY” followed by the genre and title of work. They do not accept full manuscripts
unless requested. In addition, they do they accept hard copies or submissions via fax.