Nada Shawa

Nada Shawa's powerful blend of memoir and poetry, ‘Indigenous Soul: Gaza and Me’ (Main Point Books, 2024) bears witness to Gaza with honesty, heart and defiance. Recalling her childhood, Shawa reflects on grief, displacement, war and the daily realities of travelling with a wheelchair in such severely constrained circumstances. Her voice is peaceful yet fierce, holding pain alongside the restorative power of nature and art. This new edition brings together prose written between 2009 and 2019, recent poems on Gaza, and an extended introduction responding to events in 2025. Join us for a moving celebration of Palestinian memory, resilience and solidarity.

Nada Shawa is a Palestinian dancer and writer from Gaza. Born with Cerebral Palsy, she was schooled and treated for her condition when she came to Scotland without her family at the age of eight. Making Scotland her home, she graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an Honours degree. She has worked extensively in the field of refugee support and human rights, including disability rights, and has performed at multiple International arts festivals, including the Edinburgh International Festival, the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Her first book of prose and poetry, 'Indigenous Soul: Gaza and Me' was first published by Main Point Books in 2024, and an extended edition in 2025, supporting a charity her late mother founded in Gaza.