We Are Not Numbers

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

A teenage girl stares at her roof, hoping it won’t collapse over her head. A young student searches the Internet for photos of libraries around the world, hoping he’ll be able to visit them one day. Another walks around the city, taking notes of all the buildings she dreams of repairing.

These are the stories of young people from Gaza, born under Israeli occupation and blockade. They are people who have endured unspeakable struggles and losses, who keep fighting to be recognised not as numbers, but as human beings with hopes, dreams and lives worth living.

We Are Not Numbers was founded in 2014 to give voice to the youth of Gaza. In this collection, vital, urgent and full of heart, spanning over ten years to the present moment, we gain an unparalleled insight into the past, as well as the current and next generation of Palestinian leaders, artists, scientists and scholars and imagine where we might go from here.

'This book is a jailbreak and a miracle' NAOMI KLEIN

'Essential . . . A project that insists on liberation' TA-NEHISI COATES

'You'll carry [it] in your heart for a long time' KAMILA SHAMSIE

'Wondrous, devastating and vibrant' BRYAN WASHINGTON

'Impossible to put down or forget' RIZ AHMED

'A vital book . . . a profoundly important literary event' CHINA MIEVILLE

'A brilliant collection of voices that lays bare the struggles and suffering of ordinary young Palestinians' MONICA ALI

'We Are Not Numbers is not just a book — it's my life, their life, and our shared story . . . This is Gaza as it truly is, written by those who live it every day' MOTAZ AZIZA

'A rebellion against the singular story. An insightful, multifaceted glimpse into the besieged Gaza Strip, where millions of people continue to confront a genocide waged by an Israeli regime' MOHAMMED EL-KURD

© Ahmed Alnaouq and Pam Bailey 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

If you want to read something meaningful and impactful this summer, make it We Are Not Numbers ... Is it an easy read? No. Is it a vital one? Absolutely ... Tell all your friends
British Vogue
A powerful new collection of writing by young people living in Gaza ... shining a light on the realities, emotions and everyday worlds of both those living in Gaza, and those who have found a way to leave
Service95, founded by Dua Lipa
These brilliant young people have embraced writing as a form of liberation, both for the self and to resist the global invisibilisation of Gaza. Ad meliora, young talents of Gaza.
Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Picking up this book may seem hard because of the subject matter; putting it down is even harder. The voices of Gaza’s young writers are so moving and varied and astonishing. You’ll carry We Are Not Numbers in your heart for a very long time
Kamila Shamsie
Wondrous, devastating and vibrant beyond measure. These essays, piercing and searching, striking and warm, grapple with the question of how to make a life. An achievement and a marvel, an absolute shooting star
Bryan Washington
With lovingly crafted words and stories, the authors in We Are Not Numbers open portals in Israel’s apartheid wall, inviting readers into the impossible realities of life under siege in Gaza. The collective commitment to doing whatever it takes to produce this extraordinary symphony of testimony is evident on every page. This book is a jailbreak - and a miracle
Naomi Klein
A brilliant collection of voices that lays bare the struggles and suffering of ordinary young Palestinians. More importantly, it illuminates their humanity and dignity, and the hopes and dreams that persist even in the face of death and destruction
Monica Ali
Impossible to put down or forget - a testament to the unimaginable strength of the people of Gaza
Riz Ahmed
Powerful, humane and heroic . . . the voices of Palestinians soar. This is the most important collection of writing published today. It’s a book the world must know
Jenni Fagan
We Are Not Numbers is not just a book—it’s my life, their life, and our shared story. I know some of these brave writers; I’ve walked the same streets, felt the same fear, and shared the same dreams under Gaza’s skies. These pages carry the truth of our struggle and the beauty of our humanity. This is Gaza as it truly is, written by those who live it every day
Motaz Azaiza, award-winning Palestinian photojournalist

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