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About the author
Hooda Shawa is a Palestinian–British author of children’s and young adult literature. She received the Sheikh Zayed Book Award for Children’s Literature in 2008 for The Birds’ Journey to Mount Qaf, the Kuwait Children’s Literature Award in 2017 for The Elephant’s Journey, and the Arab Children’s Book Publishers Forum award in 2023 for The Puppeteer. Her recent work includes the graphic novel Banat ‘Ad, co-written with Laila Qaddumi and illustrated by Ashraf Ghori; the graphic novel Gilgamesh’s Skull, illustrated by Michael Jabareen; and The Donkey who Carried the War on her Back, which was selected for 2025 White Ravens List. Hooda is the founder of TAQA Productions, a production company that produces theater and puppet shows in Kuwait, where she lives.
About the translators
Nour Jaljuli is a translator and poet traversing the worlds of Arabic and English. She holds an MA in literary translation from the University of East Anglia and is the Arabic translator of Rana Dajani’s Five Scarves. Her English translations have appeared in ArabLit, Middle East Eye, and the 2022 UEA MALT Anthology, for which she was also co-editor.
Sawad Hussain is a translator from Arabic whose work has been recognized by English PEN, the Anglo-Omani Society, and the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, among others. She has served as a judge for the Palestine Book Awards and the 2023 National Translation Award, and was selected to be Princeton University's Translator in Residence in 2025. Her most recent translations include Black Foam by Haji Jaber (AmazonCrossing) and What Have You Left Behind by Bushra al-Maqtari (Fitzcarraldo Editions). She is based in Cambridge, UK.
Praise
“A beautifully interwoven story about loss and making, about history and color, about the tragedy and genius of world-building in the aftermath of great rupture. I was so heartened, so moved, by The Necklace of Seven Souls.”
— Safia Elhillo, author of Bright Red Fruit and Home Is Not a Country
“Romantic and suffused with longing, [The Necklace of Seven Souls] is a luminous exploration of displacement, memory, and the Palestinian diaspora.”
— Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“An inspirational book that blends art, mystery, and history in a moving story about identity and belonging.”
— School Library Journal, Starred Review
“Richly descriptive and saturated with color and sensory detail, with beautiful illustrations by Esmaeel that subtly reinforce the work’s cultural grounding. The narrative engages thoughtfully with questions of colonial collecting practices and artistic ownership without sacrificing emotional intimacy. A quiet, contemplative narrative exploring loss, personal history, and self-reclamation.”
“Provides a space of hope and optimism for the continuity of young generations and their ability to move forward, demolish stereotypes, break down barriers, and find the identities that resemble them.”
— Faten Al-Jamal and Mohamed Al-Zaqzouq, Ultra Sawt