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Book Launch: Elena Dudum
Past event
Featured Book
They Told Me Back Home Would Be Beautiful: A Palestinian Memoir
"In the tradition of Safiya Sinclair's How to say Babylon and Cathy Park Hong's minor feelings, a stirring and poignant memoir that follows Elena Dudum's transformational journey as she interrogates her evolving relationship to Palestine"-- Provided by publisher.
About This Event
Mavey Books is pleased to partner with Al-Bustan Seeds to welcome Palestinian American writer Elena Dudum for the Philadelphia launch of her debut book, They Told Me Back Home Would Be Beautiful. For early chapters of this moving project, Dudum was awarded the prestigious 2025 Whiting Nonfiction Grant for Works-in-Progress.
will be joined in conversation by acclaimed author and journalist Reem Kassis (The Palestinian Table, The Arabesque Table). Together, they will explore personal and collective memory, the emotional landscapes of homeland and exile, and the craft of centering Palestinian stories.
Program Schedule:
6:00 PM – 6:30 PM: Doors open, warm tea, community gathering
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM: Book Talk & Moderated Q&A with Elena Dudum & Reem Kassis
7:30 PM – 8:00 PM: Book signing and sales with Mavey Books
Mavey Books will have copies of They Told Me Back Home Would Be Beautiful available on-site for purchase, along with a curated selection of titles. The conversation will be followed by an author signing. Purchase the book in advance for pickup and signing at the event.
Admission is Pay-What-You-Wish ($5 suggested donation). Seating is limited—please RSVP in advance to secure your seat! Accessibility: located on the second floor up two flights of stairs.
Featured Author
Dudum, Elena
Elena Dudum is a Palestinian American writer whose work has appeared in The Atlantic, Time, Cosmopolitan, and Bon Appétit, among others. In 2025, she was awarded the Whiting Nonfiction Grant for Works-in-Progress for early chapters in They Told Me Back Home Would Be Beautiful. Her work has been supported by The de Groot Foundation, Tin House, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and Hedgebrook. Born in San Francisco, she now divides her time between New York and London. They Told Me Back Home Would Be Beautiful is her first book.
In Conversation With
reem kassis
Reem Kassis is a Palestinian-American writer and award-winning author of two cookbooks: The Palestinian Table and The Arabesque Table. Her articles have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Food & Wine, Saveur and others. Although she studied business and psychology at UPenn and London School of Economics, she chose a writing career in order to preserve the traditions and stories of Palestinians for her two daughters (soon to be three!) and to share them with the world. We Are Palestinian is the first children's book.
About the Venue
Mavey Books
Mavey Books is a fully independent, BIPOC women-run bookstore (& community space!) in the heart of Ardmore, Pennsylvania. We specialize in carefully curated books & stories that reflect this big, diverse world.
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