Wesam Almadani

Wesam Almadani is a Palestinian writer and activist, born in Sudan in 1983. He lived in Egypt until 1993, when his family moved to Gaza following the signing of the Oslo Accords. Almadani’s writing and activism focus on issues of gender equality, gender identity, and sexuality.

Almadani’s literary career began in the early 2010s, with the publication of his short story Dreams Without Homeland in 2012, followed by his first poetry collection Yaa two years later.

In 2015, Almadani's work was featured in the anthology Shadow of Harvest, and two of his short stories were published in Al Jadeed, a cultural and literary magazine, in 2016, significantly raising his literary profile.

Due to the controversial themes addressed in his work, Almadani faced censorship and persecution in Gaza. In 2018, he took up the ICORN residency in Larvik, Norway, becoming the town’s first ICORN resident.

In Norway, Almadani has continued his literary and activist work, publishing several books, including the novel The Body’s Schizophrenia, as well as collections of poetry and short stories. His works have been translated into English, Norwegian, Swedish, Hebrew, and Italian.