Shatila Stories by Omar Khaled Ahmad, Nibal Alola, Safa Khaled Algharbawi, Rayan Mohamad Sukkar, Safiya Badran, Fatima Omar Ghazawi, Samih Mahmoud and Hiba Marei (tr. Nashwa Gowanlock)

Shatila Stories is a collaborative work of fiction that was organised by Mike Ziervogel and Suhir Helal who went out to Shatila working with the Lebanese based charity Basmeh & Zeitooneh to run a short writing course and publish a work from a group of Syrian writers.

The logistics weren't without difficulties but the end result is a collection of stories that can sit individually as more classic short stories but interweave a tale of connected lives and narratives that range in length and style across the book.

The narratives reveal the hardships of those within the Palestinian Shatila refugee camps, camp structures, daily lives, but also family, friends, loved ones, and independence and success. Relationships are constructed across the stories and tug on the heartstrings as we go along.

These stories are designed to draw you into the heart of Shatila and have been written by nine refugees. They all received advances and royalties for the work produced and were aware their stories would be woven into a more overarching collaborative fiction piece.

These stories were immensely heart-warming and sad and it felt quite special to read them over a series of days as I delved in and out of the various stories told and immersed myself in Shatila. I think both short story fans and shorter fiction lovers will enjoy this beautiful collection.