NIMR Sonia
Country: Palestine
Year of Birth: 1955
Biography
Sonia Nimr, born in Jenin, 1955, is a Palestinian writer, researcher and academic. She is Professor of Philosophy and Cultural Studies at Birzeit University, Ramallah, Palestine, and is known for her distinguished contributions to academic research in the fields of oral history and collective memory. She has published over 24 books for children and young adults that have been translated into many languages.
Sonia Nimr has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Etisalat Award at the Sharjah Festival in 2014, for Wondrous Journeys in Strange Lands (2013). Her novel Thunderbird (2016) won the 2018 Sharjah Reading Festival Prize, and three of her books appeared on the Honor List of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) based in Switzerland, in 2004, 2014 and 2024. Nimr has also been nominated for several prestigious international prizes, such as Sweden’s Astrid Lindgren Award (2016, 2018, 2022 and 2025) and IBBY’s Hans Christian Andersen Award (2016).
Young Adult Titles
Ghaddar the ghoul and other Palestinian stories (2001)
A little piece of ground (2003)
Wondrous journeys in strange lands (2013)
Thunderbird 1, 2, 3 (2016, 2020, 2021)
Ghazala and the Sheikh’s seven (forthcoming)
In the press
“Thunderbird”
“The book is a major contribution to Arabic young adult fantasy and Palestinian literature. With elegant prose and vivid imagination, the novel transports readers across extraordinary worlds and different time periods.” — Almayadeen
“Wondrous journeys in strange lands”
“Sonia Nimr does not mind being described as a “storyteller,” as she is among the best at combining storytelling, folklore, and anthropology in a single text, within a broader focus on children and young adults.” — Alquds
“It is beautifully written, exciting, fresh…” — World Kid Lit
“This is one of those books that reaches across time, space and cultural barriers to take us to the heart of human experience. Pure magic” — The Observer
Cessions
A Little Piece of Ground (2003)
Frances Lincoln (UK, English, 2003)
Tamer Institute for Community Education (Palestine, Arabic, 2004)
Ghaddar the Ghoul and Other Palestinian Stories (2001)
Frances Lincoln (UK, English, 2001)
Companhia das Letras (Brazil, Portuguese, 2014)
AphorismA (Germany, Arabic-German, 2018)
A Story That Begins and Ends with Lies (2012)
Editora Tabla (Brazil, 2021)
Wondrous Journeys in Strange Lands (2013)
Interlink Books (USA, World English, 2021)
Nasher Atraf (Iran,, 2022)
Jensen & Dalgaard (Denmark, 2024 )
Editora Tabla (Brazil, 2025)
Le Labyrinthe de Théia (France, 2026)Thunderbird (2016)
Ctr for Middle Eastern Studies UT-Austin (USA, World English, 2022-2024)