DDGC Reading Group 2023: Adania Shibli’s Minor Detail

Organizers: Ervin Malakaj & Adrienne Merritt

In the wake of attempts to deplatform Adania Shibli’s Minor Detail (transl. Elisabeth Jaquette, New Directions Publishing 2020), the DDGC Collective is hosting a reading group dedicated to the writer and the novel. 

One week before the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2023, an event honoring Adania Shibli and her novel was canceled, citing that the cancellation was due to “the war in Israel” (NYT article). Shibli’s novel, Minor Detail, tells the true story of the rape and murder of a Palestinian Bedouin girl in 1949 by Israeli soldiers. In response to the attempt to silence Shibli’s work, we want to come together to discuss and, in many ways, give space and time for Shibli’s novel as a subversive move that acknowledges the impact of violence and conflict on many lives taking place then and now in Israel, Palestine, and, more specifically, the Gaza Strip.

The reading group will meet online. Each participant will find their own way to a copy of the book. It is sold out in some venues, but currently there are free ebook campaigns available through a number of outlets. In order to support the writer and the translator, consider purchasing a copy of the book (to be delivered at a later date) through your independent bookstore.

The registration period for this group is over. If you are still interested in joining, reach out to one of the organizers.

Meeting Schedule

Meeting 1: December 13, 2023, 1-3pm PT/2-4pm MT/3-5pm CT/4-6pm ET

Meeting 2: January 3, 2024, 1-3pm PT/2-4pm MT/3-5pm CT/4-6pm ET

Meeting 3: January 31, 2024, 1-3pm PT/2-4pm MT/3-5pm CT/4-6pm ET

Organizer Contact

Ervin Malakaj (ervin.malakaj[at]ubc.ca)

Adrienne Merritt (adrienne.merritt[at]colorado.edu)