Sonia Sulaiman
-
Palestinian Folktale: The Patriarch Goes to Heaven
This is a Palestinian Christian story about a man who dies and goes to Heaven. While he’s getting his bearings after being let through the pearly gates, he sees everyone suddenly get all riled up. They put out decorations and line the streets as if for a festival. The man is confused, so he asks… Continue reading
-
Palestinian Folktale: Pomegranate Seeds
There are a lot of ghoul stories in Palestinian folklore. Here’s one of them. It’s called Pomegranate Seeds. It begins with a woman who had an only child, a daughter. This was in the olden days when there were no schools… The girl was sent to the sheikh for her lessons. Every day she would… Continue reading
-
Palestinian Folktale: The Camel Driver in Need of a Friend
There was and there was not a camel driver who passed by an orchard one day. Looking over the wall, he saw a man sitting in the shade. ‘How lucky he is! He can stay here and enjoy all of this while I must travel to earn my bread.’ Meanwhile, the man saw the camel… Continue reading
-
Do Not Recommend
I’ll be recovering from oral surgery for the next month at least. A tooth extraction went badly and they had to reconstruct my sinus! I don’t have time for a long post, and I’ll spare you the gory details anyway… But I’m going to take it easy for the next few weeks while I recover.… Continue reading
-
Palestinian Folktale: The Camel Husband.
There was and there was not a poor woman who wanted nothing more than to have a child of her very own. Every day she would go to the fountain and see mothers with their children, even camels with their young and she would ask ‘why am I different? I want a child, even if… Continue reading
-
The Day of the Key
This story started as my exploration of what will happen when Palestine is free. It’s based on Palestinian folklore about the cult of tombs, as well as the history of my family’s village, ‘Ayn Karim west of Jerusalem. Then, I came to the prompt for week 2 of the Clarion Flash Fiction Workshop. The prompt… Continue reading
-
I Have No Tweets Yet I Must Screech
Ahhhhhhh! Not Tor dominating novella AND novel nominations for the Hugo awards?! ETA: …so, apparently the list of finalists was ‘released in error and is not correct.’ Continue reading
-
Clarion Flash Fic Workshop: Week One
Above is the epigraph for my most recent story ‘Let the Die Be Cast.’ It’s my first attempt at alternate history AND my first epistolary fic! I’ve been reading a lot of primary sources on Palestinian history, especially the late Ottoman period, and during the British Mandate. When our instructor gave us the week one… Continue reading
About Me
I write speculative fiction inspired by Palestinians folklore. My work has appeared in ArabLit Quarterly, Beladi, FIYAH, Lackington’s, and Seize the Press among other venues.
My stories have been nominated for Pushcart, Lammy, Palestine Book, and Best New Weird awards. In my free time, I’m a First Reader for Strange Horizons.
Recent Posts
- The Last Bride
- Canaanite Mythology: Anat and Aqhat
- Clarion Flash Fic Workshop: Week Four
- Farewell, Strange Horizons!
- I Lied
#AuthorToolBoxBlogHop a land of stone and thyme aleatory writing alternate history an illustrated treasury of palestinian folktales archive author: grace m. crowfoot author: j. e. hanauer author: Jmal Sleem Nuwihed author: louise baldensperger author: najwa kawar farah author: praline gay-para Author: Zev Vilnay blogging books Clarion Flash Workshop 2023 discussion exercises fairy tales fairytales from the holy land fantasy folktales folk tales herbal lore hugos illustration index lebanese folktales legends legends of palestine 1932 Lightspeed nature news palestinian folktales philistia projects science fantasy speculative fiction submissions tarot translator: Inea Bushnaq update world building writing games writing prompts