Zaki al ‘Ela

Zaki al ’Ela (1950-2008) is regarded as one of the fathers of the Gazan short story. Born in the Jabaliya camp, to a family that originated from Yibna, al ’Ela received numerous awards for his short fiction including the Bethlehem University Short Story Prize 1977, and the Palestinian Writers Union’s First Prize in 1989. He received a master’s in Literature and Criticism from Ain Shams Uni, and a PhD from the Institute of Arab Research and Studies (both in Cairo). He published six collections of short stories – The Thirst (1978), The Mountain Does Not Come (1980, both with Dar Kitab), The Heritage of the Palestinian Sea (Dar Rowad, 1982), The Walls of Blood (Ogarit, 1889), A Period of Absence (Ogarit,1998), and Deep Grey Sea (Ogarit, 2000) - as well as criticism and non-fiction. He was the Managing Editor of The Journal of the Word, and a founding member of the Palestinian Writers Union.