Velvet Box Letters

“Provides a space of hope and optimism for the continuity of young generations and their ability to move forward, demolish stereotypes, break down barriers, and find a way in which they have features and an identity that resemble them.”

— Faten Al-Jamal and Mohamed Al-Zaqzouq, Ultra Sawt

Hooda Shawa

Hooda Shawa was born in the U.K. to a Palestinian father and an English mother. She now lives in Kuwait with her husband and two children, and teaches English as a Second Language at Kuwait University. She has a BA in Economics and an MA in Teaching English as a Second Language. She is currently pursuing a degree in Comparative Literature.

Nour Jaljuli

Nour Jaljuli is a translator and poet traversing between the worlds of Arabic and English. She holds an MA in literary translation from the University of East Anglia and is the Arabic translator of Rana Dajani’s Five Scarves. Her English translations have appeared in ArabLit, Middle East Eye, and the 2022 UEA MALT Anthology for which she was also co-editor.

Sawad Hussain

Sawad Hussain is a translator from Arabic whose work has been recognised by English PEN, the Anglo-Omani Society and the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, among others. She is a judge for the Palestine Book Awards and the 2023 National Translation Award. She has run translation workshops under the auspices of Shadow Heroes, Africa Writes, Shubbak Festival, the Yiddish Book Center, the British Library, and the National Centre for Writing. Her most recent translations include Black Foam by Haji Jaber and What Have You Left Behind by Bushra al-Maqtari. She was selected to be the Princeton Translator in Residence in 2025. She is based in Cambridge, U.K.

Nada Esmaeel

Nada Esmaeel is a multidisciplinary artist and illustrator based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Born and raised in the United States, her work is heavily influenced by her continued exploration and reconnection to her Palestinian heritage, often inspired by and invoking the vibrant colors and geometric motifs of traditional Palestinian tatreez in her artwork. Nada’s personal work focuses on the celebration of repressed cultural history, women, tradition, and connections between land and people.