We are overjoyed to be hosting Ibtisam Azem for the Edinburgh launch of her highly anticipated forthcoming book, The Sleep Thief . Our booksellers loved her wildly successful The Book of Disappearance last year, and we can’t wait to share this one with you all!

The Sleep Thief is Azem’s first novel, now translated into English for the first time by Sinan Antoon. Join us in the bookshop or tune in to the livestream for a brilliant discussion and celebration of its publication.

Please note that The Sleep Thief will be published earlier in the year on 25th August, therefore books for the Book & Ticket options will be posted out to you or made available to collect from the bookshop between then and the event on 7th October. You can choose whether you would prefer collection or postage in the checkout options.

‘Sleep thief is what the interrogator called me. I’ll never forget that. I would steal a few seconds of sleep so I could remain steadfast before them. The name stuck; I even dreamt about it, the same dream, night after night. I woke up not knowing what to do and drenched in sweat.’

The experimental first novel from International Booker-Prize longlisted Palestinian author Ibtisam Azem, The Sleep Thief follows the life of Gharib (“the Stranger”) Haifawi as he comes of age, is drawn into resistance, makes friends, meets lovers, pushes back against traditional values, longs to be free of the labels and expectations that burden him, rails against the commodification of suffering, and dreams of a Palestinian identity that will transcend sorrow. Translated by Sinan Antoon.