Basim Khandaqji

Basim Khandaqji (born 1983) is a Palestinian poet and novelist. His novel A Mask, the Color of the Sky won the Arabic Booker Prize in 2024.

A native of Nablus, Khandaqji was a journalism student at Al-Najah National University. He has been jailed by the Israeli authorities since 2004. He is currently serving multiple life sentences. He completed his higher education in prison, studying political science via Al-Quds University. He has published several works of poetry in addition to his four novels to date.

Selected works

• The Narcissus of Isolation (novel, 2017)
• The Eclipse of Badr al-Din (novel, 2019)
• The Breath of a Woman Let Down (novel, 2020)
• A Mask, the Color of the Sky (novel, 2023)
• Rituals of the First Time (poetry, 2010)
• The Breath of a Nocturnal Poem (poetry, 2013)
• The Narcissus of Isolation (poetry, 2017)