Bidisha's Blog

My 4th book Beyond the Wall: Writing A Path Through Palestine, originally published in 2012, has been been updated and reissued. The original publication was followed by my 5th book,  Asylum and Exile: Hidden Voices of London , which was based on my long term outreach work with asylum seekers, detainees and refugees in London (click the thumbnail on the right for more details).

Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path Through Palestine has been described as "an unflinching portrait of life in the West Bank in the 21st Century" by Andrew Kelly in The Observer. 

ORDER THE UPDATED BEYOND THE WALL: WRITING A PATH THROUGH PALESTINE HERE

In spring 2011 I was invited to tour the West Bank as a guest of Palfest. I knew about the ‘issue’ from casual news watching, despite a longstanding professional involvement in international relations, political analysis, cultural diplomacy and human rights. I am not Muslim and have no Muslim heritage, no Palestinian heritage and no Arab or Middle Eastern heritage. I am not an activist.

I went on the tour and wrote down what I observed, nothing more or less, and these observations became Beyond the Wall. It’s a short, accessible narrative non-fiction piece about ordinary people and daily life, originally published by Seagull Books in 2012. Full details of the original publication, with links to further essays and reviews and a list of events from that time, can be read here (scroll down to the 2nd half of the post).
In the book, I focused on character and conversation, setting and community, resilience and survival, atmosphere and daily existence, with the aim of writing something which any reader could engage with.

ORDER THE UPDATED BOOK HERE

Over the last two years I haven’t mentioned  Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path Through Palestine  in any context. I dislike it when individuals push themselves to the front on a human rights ticket during an emergency. I've seen peers speak persuasively about ethics onstage while being egotistical or abusive offstage and witnessed terrible human beings put their signatures to the petitions and statements of the day, just to look good.

In late 2024 I asked Seagull if I could write a new foreword for  Beyond The Wall . They kindly agreed and the essay is as current as we could make it while allowing for production time. It clearly expresses my feelings.

I will not be taking up any media slots to comment on this when there are so many direct reports and testimonies already. I’d like to thank Naveen Kishore and Bishan Samadder at Seagull and all at Palfest.

ORDER THE UPDATED BOOK HERE
Photograph of me in the West Bank in spring 2011, by poet Nathalie Handal

 

Hi. Nothing to report. Recent photo. Contact page and biog are up to date too. 

My 4th book Beyond the Wall: Writing A Path Through Palestine has been been reissued. The original publication was followed by my 5th book, Asylum and Exile: Hidden Voices of London , which was based on my outreach work with asylum seekers, detainees and refugees in London (click the thumbnail on the right for more details).
Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path Through Palestine has been described as "an unflinching portrait of life in the West Bank in the 21st Century" by Andrew Kelly in The Observer. 

ORDER BEYOND THE WALL: WRITING A PATH THROUGH PALESTINE HERE

In spring 2011 I was invited to tour the West Bank as a guest of Palfest. I knew about the ‘issue’ from casual news watching, despite a longstanding professional involvement in international relations, political analysis, cultural diplomacy and human rights. I have no Muslim heritage, no Palestinian heritage and no Arab or Middle Eastern heritage. I am not an activist.

I went on the tour and wrote down what I observed, nothing more or less, and these observations became Beyond the Wall. It’s a short, accessible narrative non-fiction piece about ordinary people and daily life, originally published by Seagull Books in 2012. Full details of the original publication, with links to further essays and reviews and a list of events from that time, can be found here.
In the book, I focused on character and conversation, setting and community, resilience and survival, atmosphere and daily existence, with the aim of writing something which any reader could engage with.

ORDER HERE

Over the last twenty three months I haven’t mentioned Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path Through Palestine in any context. I dislike it when individuals push themselves to the front on a human rights ticket during an emergency. I've seen peers speak persuasively about ethics onstage while being egotistical or abusive offstage and witnessed terrible human beings put their signatures to the petitions and statements of the day, just to look good.

In late 2024 I asked Seagull if I could write a new foreword for Beyond The Wall. They kindly agreed and the essay is as current as we could make it while allowing for production time. It clearly expresses my feelings.

I will not be taking up any media slots to comment on this when there are so many direct reports and testimonies already. I’d like to thank Naveen Kishore and Bishan Samadder at Seagull and all at Palfest.

ORDER HERE
Photo of me taken in the West Bank, spring 2011, by poet Nathalie Handal

My 4th book Beyond the Wall: Writing A Path Through Palestine is being reissued in September.
ORDER HERE

The book has been described as "an unflinching portrait of life in the West Bank in the 21st Century" by Andrew Kelly in The Observer.

In spring 2011 I was invited to tour the West Bank as a guest of Palfest I knew about the ‘issue’ from casual news watching, despite a longstanding professional involvement in international relations, political analysis, cultural diplomacy and human rights. I have no Muslim heritage, no Palestinian heritage and no Arab or Middle Eastern heritage. I am not an activist.

I went on the tour and wrote down what I observed, nothing more or less, and these observations became Beyond the Wall. It’s a short, accessible narrative non-fiction piece about ordinary people and daily life, originally published by Seagull Books in 2012. Full details of the original publication, with links to further essays and reviews and a list of events from that time, can be found here.
In the book, I focused on character and conversation, setting and community, atmosphere and daily existence, with the aim of writing something which any reader could engage with and enjoy reading.

ORDER HERE

Over the last twenty two months I haven’t mentioned Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path Through Palestine in any context. I dislike it when individuals push themselves to the front on a human rights ticket during an emergency. I've seen peers speak persuasively about ethics onstage while being egotistical or abusive offstage and witnessed terrible human beings put their signatures to the petitions and statements of the day, just to look good.

In late 2024 I asked Seagull if I could write a new foreword for Beyond The Wall. They kindly agreed and the essay is as current as we could make it while allowing for production time. It clearly expresses my feelings.

I will not be taking up any media slots to comment on this when there are so many direct reports and testimonies already. I’d like to thank Naveen Kishore and Bishan Samadder at Seagull and all at Palfest.

ORDER HERE
Photo of me taken in the West Bank, spring 2011, by poet Nathalie Handal

A one-year-in-advance warning....
In June 2026 I'll be publishing my first full length volume of all-new fiction in 26 years. It's called Warning Signs, it'll be published by Comma Press and you can pre-order your copy here. The placeholder text on the Amazon page is not correct. The book is a standard 300 pages, not 160 - nor is it 0.4cm thick!
Comprising 7 totally new 'long short' stories created especially for this return, Warning Signs was written to entertain - to thrill, chill, intrigue, delight, uplift, shock and inspire, with bold characters, strong settings, a dash of insanity (I hope) and plenty of back and forth. One of my fantastic editors hailed "such strong and timely themes, expertly plotted." I'd say I like a lurid yet solid psychodrama with loads of movement. I had a blast crafting the stories and I hope you have a blast reading them, especially if you love... let's see, who would the dream team be... Daphne du Maurier, Angela Carter, Edgar Allen Poe, Jordan Peele, R F Kuang, Anna Biller, Italo Calvino, Alan Moore, Diana Wynne Jones, the League of Gentlemen, Susan Hill, Stephen King, John Carpenter, Shirley Jackson, The Wicker Man, Black Mirror, It Follows, Blumhouse's films, Shudder’s slate of films, the TV series Atlanta, The Babadook, M Night Shyamalan, Stranger Things, the first Twilight film, Dario Argento and other giallo cinema, Ana Lily Amirpour, Anne Rice, Hammer Horror and all contemporaries, spin-offs, spoofs and tributes thereof. 
There are more details to come - watch this space - and press releases will go out February 2026. I love the 'long short' format as both a reader and writer and am delighted to be working with Comma Press. We’ve already collaborated on three new fiction anthologies in recent years - Resist (2020 - in my story Occupied Territory, a warrior woman in Roman-occupied ancient Britain joins Boudica's army and proceeds to slash and burn through the country), The Cuckoo Cage (2022 - in my story Lady Swing a seemingly meek household staff member allegedly descended from witches terrorises a modern day country estate alongside a community of secret rebels and a mythical beast) and Collision (2023 - in my story Afterglow, ambitious scientists jockey for position at CERN with bonkers slash disastrous totally exciting consequences). The three stories I wrote for those anthologies are not in my forthcoming book as I wanted to give you totally new work. 
I haven't exactly been away from public life - quite the opposite since my entire 33 year career is in mass media. But in terms of releasing a full length volume of new fiction, it's been a minute. Or a quarter of a century. 
Warning Signs is my sixth book. It follows my short film series Aurora (2020-2023), first short film An Impossible Poison (2017), my fifth book Asylum and Exile: Hidden Voices (2015) and the bound essay The Future of Serious Art (2020). You can find my overall career stuff and job factoids right here if you must.
For a quick overview of the book side of things specifically you can look at the old My Writing Life interview I did for the Royal Literary Fund and maybe also this for Renaissance One, and for a specific bibliography you can look here. I started my journalism and broadcasting career in my mid-teens and published two novels at 18 and 21 (respectively: Seahorses in 1997 with Flamingo/HarperCollins after that famous book-deal-at-16, then Too Fast To Live in 2000 with Duckworth) but at the time I never felt that writing literary fiction novels was quite me, despite working with amazing editors, agents and PRs, making good friends among my contemporaries, having a fantastic time generally and being supported by respectful critics and readers. From 2000 onwards I accepted commissions for short story anthologies and I'm so pleased that things have come around. Moving forward, I intend to continue publishing fiction when the opportunity arises and inspiration strikes. 
I signed the Warning Signs deal at the end of 2023 and spent the whole of 2024 doing deep dives into each story with total focus, writing large - almost novel length every time - and then cutting down, compressing and polishing carefully to deliver only the good stuff. Like I said, exciting, tangy, lurid psychodrama is what I'm into. Above all I want to thrill and entertain and I very much hope you enjoy the collection when it comes out. 

My 4th book Beyond the Wall: Writing A Path Through Palestine is being reissued with a new foreword this summer. You can pre-order it here. 

"An unflinching portrait of life in the West Bank in the 21st Century."

Andrew Kelly, The Observer

In spring 2011 I was invited to tour the West Bank in the occupied Palestinian territories as a guest of the Palestine Festival of Literature. I knew about the subject only from the headlines and casual news watching, despite a longstanding professional interest in international relations, political analysis, cultural diplomacy and human rights. I have no Muslim heritage, no Palestinian heritage and no Arab heritage. I am not an activist. 

I decided to go on the Palfest tour, keep my eyes and ears open and write down what I observed. These observations became my fourth book, Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path Through Palestine. It’s a very short, accessible narrative non-fiction piece about ordinary people and daily life across the West Bank, originally published by Seagull Books in May 2012. I focused on character and conversation, humour and strength, setting and community, atmosphere and daily life, with the aim of writing something relatable and universal which any reader could engage with, especially if they were coming to the topic for the first time. 

Full details of that edition plus links to reviews and related events and articles can be found here. Seagull went on to publish my fifth book, Asylum and Exile: Hidden Voices (2015), which is based on my outreach work with asylum seekers and refugees in London. 

Over the last nineteen months I haven’t mentioned Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path Through Palestine in any context, online or offline, professionally or personally. I dislike it when individuals self-promote off the back of world events and am suspicious of people who push themselves to the front on a human rights ticket. Like all people in public life - especially as a journalist/chair/interviewer - I've seen countless peers speak persuasively about ethics onstage and while being hypocritical, egotistical or abusive offstage, or just insincere and on the make. I've witnessed truly terrible human beings performatively putting their signatures to the petitions and statements of the day, just to look good in public. I figured that anyone who was interested in this issue would do an Amazon search and buy the top five or six books that came up, that appealed to them. If mine was included, great. If not - I am not in competition with others.

In late 2024 I contacted Seagull to ask if I could write a new foreword for Beyond The Wall. They kindly agreed and the essay is as current as we could make it while still allowing for 8 weeks' production time. It clearly expresses my feelings. 

Seagull's page for the book is here. I am grateful to anyone who read Beyond the Wall in 2012 and will be grateful to anyone who reads the new 2025 edition. 

The new edition of Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path Through Palestine can be bought here. It's currently on pre-order and will be published in the summer.I will not be taking up any media or event slots to comment on this when there is so much direct footage and reportage already, including testimonies by those who are directly affected. I’d like to thank Naveen Kishore and Bishan Samadder at Seagull.

 

One for art history buffs obviously. Photo Feb 2025 for an art+writing commission.

 

Image taken 15th Jan 2025

 

15th Jan 2025

Placeholder cover image - but I love the acid green.
In October I'll be publishing my first full length volume of new fiction in 25 years. It's called Warning Signs, it'll be published by Comma Press and you can pre-order your copy here.
Comprising 7 totally original 'long short' stories created especially for this project, Warning Signs was written to thrill, chill, intrigue, delight, uplift, inspire, tickle and entertain - to carry readers up, through and out, with bold characters, strong settings, a dash of wildness, some fine conflicts and plenty of back and forth. In my stories, stuff happens. I had a blast crafting them and I hope you have a blast reading them, especially if you love... let's see, who would the dream team be... Angela Carter, Edgar Allen Poe, Italo Calvino, Alan Moore, Diana Wynne Jones, the League of Gentlemen, Susan Hill, Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier, The Wicker Man, Black Mirror, Blumhouse, the TV series Atlanta, Stranger Things, Dario Argento and other giallo cinema, The Love Witch, Ana Lily Amirpour, Hammer Horror and all contemporaries, spin-offs, spoofs and tributes thereof. 
There are more details to come - watch this space. I love the 'long short' format as both a reader and writer and am delighted to be working with Comma Press. We have collaborated before on three anthologies in recent years - Resist (2020 - in my story Occupied Territory, a warrior woman in Roman-occupied ancient Britain joins Boudica's army), The Cuckoo Cage (2022 - in my story Lady Swing a seemingly meek household staff member allegedly descended from witches terrorises a modern day country grand estate alongside a community of local secret rebels and a mythical beast) and Collision (2023 - in my story Afterglow, mad scientists jockey for position at CERN with bonkers slash disastrous consequences). The three stories I wrote for those anthologies are not in my forthcoming book as I wanted to give you all-new work. I credit Comma Press with getting me back into fiction in a way I've really enjoyed and that seems to have found a sweet spot with readers and critics too.
Warning Signs follows my short film series Aurora (2020-2023), first short film An Impossible Poison (2017) my fifth book Asylum and Exile: Hidden Voices (2015) and the bound essay The Future of Serious Art (2020). You can find my other career stuff and job factoids right here if you must. I know I haven't exactly been away from public life - quite the opposite - but in terms of publishing a full length volume of new fiction, it's been a minute. Or a quarter of a century. For a quick overview of that side of things you can look at the My Writing Life interview I did for the Royal Literary Fund and maybe also this for Renaissance One, and for a bibliography you can look here. I started my journalism career in my mid-teens and published two novels at 18 and 21 (respectively: Seahorses in 1997 with Flamingo/HarperCollins after that famous book-deal-at-16, then Too Fast To Live in 2000 with Duckworth) but at the time I never felt that longform literary fiction was quite me, despite working with amazing editors, agents and PRs, making good friends among my contemporaries, having a fantastic time generally and being supported by respectful and considerate critics and readers. I'm so pleased that things have come around. 
I signed the Warning Signs deal at the end of 2023 and spent the whole of 2024 doing deep dives into each story with total focus, writing large (almost novel length every time) and then cutting down, compressing and polishing carefully to deliver all thriller no filler. Cheesy phrase, but that slightly lurid psychodrama quality is what I'm into. Above all, I want to entertain and I very much hope you enjoy the collection when it comes out.