A children’s book about Palestinian history has found a new publishing home after Palestinian American authors Alana Hadid and Jenan Matari withdrew their manuscript from Random House Children’s Books over editorial disagreements. Originally titled Displacement and the Palestinian American Story, the book was scheduled for September 2026 as part of Race to the Truth, a nonfiction series for readers aged 10 to 13. The authors, who signed their publishing agreement in November 2024, have since moved the project to US publisher Interlink after negotiations over the final text broke down.
Correspondence reviewed by The Guardian shows that the dispute involved passages on the Nakba and the October 7, 2023 attacks. The authors objected to an added statement describing the attacks as a violation of international law, saying it had been inserted without their approval and conflicted with their account. The publisher also questioned repeated references to Jewish identity when describing armed Zionist groups involved in the events of 1948.
Random House said its revisions followed standard editorial procedures and were intended to help younger readers understand the subject matter. It proposed adding a publisher’s note and raising the target reading age before ultimately respecting the authors’ decision to withdraw the manuscript. The company also reaffirmed its commitment to publishing Palestinian perspectives. The disagreement had repercussions for the wider series: co-creator Saira Rao said she would not pursue future collaborations with the publisher, while Random House said another installment remained scheduled for publication in 2028.
Interlink is now accepting preorders for the book under a new title, Understanding Palestine for Young Readers: A Palestinian American Perspective, with publication scheduled for summer 2027. Listed at 208 pages, it brings together history, geography, culture, personal stories and illustrations to introduce readers to Palestine and the Palestinian diaspora. According to the publisher, the book aims to give young Palestinians access to a history that reflects their families’ experiences, while offering a broader readership an introduction to the connections between Palestinian lives, memories and aspirations across generations and borders.
