'We Are Not Numbers: The Voices of Gaza's Youth' — A Community Reading

PLEASE NOTE: This event has been postponed from its original date, November 3rd, to January 29, 2026. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Third Place Books welcomes readers Ayah Abdel-Qader, Lubna Alzaroo, Yara Hassan, and Giovanna Khoury, along with We Are Not Numbers mentor Alice Rothchild, for readings from the collection . Penned by young people living in Gaza, these are stories of struggle, loss, hope, resilience, and the ongoing fight to be recognized as human beings.

“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

This event is free and open to the public. For important updates, RSVP is highly recommended in advance. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured book!

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This event is free to attend. For important updates, registration is highly recommended in advance.

"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
"This book is a jailbreak and a miracle" —NAOMI KLEIN
"Essential ... A project that insists on liberation" —TA-NEHISI COATES
"Impossible to put down or forget" —RIZ AHMED
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 recognized 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.

Alice Rothchild loves storytelling that pushes boundaries and engages us in unexpected conversations. She has written three books on Israel/Palestine, contributed to anthologies and poetry journals, and directed a documentary film. She is a mentor for We Are Not Numbers, a program that supports young writers in Gaza and active in Jewish Voice for Peace. She received Boston Magazine’s Best of Boston’s Women Doctors Award, was named in Feminists Who Changed America 1963-1975, had her portrait painted for Robert Shetterly’s Americans Who Tell the Truth, and was named a Peace Pioneer by the American Jewish Peace Archive.

About Third Place Books

Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events.

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