Samah Zaqout
A Palestinian writer, translator, and lecturer based in Gaza. She graduated from the Faculty of Arts, English literature, as one of the top students, and worked as an English lecturer at the university, a translator at a local institution, and an online tutor on Preply. Samah shares her writings on Medium and Substack and has contributed to Politics Today, Electronic Intifida, and We Are Not Numbers.
How Samah describes herself and her zine:
My name is Samah Zaqout. I’m a Gaza-based Palestinian lecturer, writer, online tutor, and translator. This collection features my writings.
I’m the eldest of six, with the most caring and loving parents. I love writing, tutoring, cooking, swimming, and singing while at home.
I graduated from the Faculty of Arts, majoring in English literature, as one of the top students. I published my first piece before this current “war” on Gaza, about the first “war” I experienced when I was just eight years old. After the truce, I published my writings in outlets such as Electronic Intifada, We Are Not Numbers, and Mamamia.
My work has been featured in Gaza Monologues, an Ashtar Theatre event held in Canada, and in a play performed in the United States. It will also appear in an upcoming book to be published in Spain, the U.K., Ireland, and Australia.
I write from the heart about the experiences we’ve lived through over the past two years. Enjoy reading. Thank you so much.
Praise for In the Depth of Gaza
“Samah Zaqout writes with heart and depth about life in Gaza during the genocide, not just about herself but about her community, especially the elders. It’s shocking to realize that such a gentle poetic soul has witnessed so much terror, and yet here, in her words and drawings, we are gifted her unique vision, laced with hope and fierce determination . A life-changing read.”—Susan Muaddi Darraj, author of Behind You Is the Sea, Farah Rocks, A Curious Land, and more.
Samah’s zine won the Best Political Zine category at Wellington Zinefest 2025, NZ. Copies of In the Depth of Gaza were made available in October, 2025.
“A personal zine, but by a writer whose circumstances makes their mere existence a political statement. Zaqout arranges words to perfection and the Zines for Gaza project demonstrates the potential of zines as a vehicle for international solidarity and understanding.” —Sam Buchanan, Wellington Zinefest.
“When the simple act of a father going to buy falafel becomes one he might not return from. A moment of terror described waiting for his reply.
This zine captures a series of vignettes of family life that happen within the pure horror of war. The devastation of losing your home over and over again, the waiting, the silence. Personal experience punctuated with statistical data that quietly lays out simply one family’s life amongst the endless cycle of loss.
Zines have for a long time been a medium for voices that do not fit in the mainstream, that are inherently political just by way of existence. This zine fits firmly within this legacy and articulates for us the reader what it is to be a writer who belongs to Gaza. A gift from the farthest seas.” —Emma Cullen, Wellington Zinefest.
Contribute to Samah’s fundraiser.
Follow her on Medium, Instagram, Substack, and LinkedIn.
Email: samahzaqout632000@gmail.com
Send proof donation to coastallinespress@gmail.com to receive a digital or print copy of In the Depth of Gaza. For print copies, include your full name and address in the email.
Links to other writings by Samah:
https://wearenotnumbers.org/contributors/samah-zaher-zaqout/
https://electronicintifada.net/content/displacement-killed-my-grandfather/50532
https://politicstoday.org/eid-trauma-israeli-attacks-on-gaza/
https://www.mamamia.com.au/famine-in-gaza/
https://medium.com/@samah.zaqout632000
https://www.instagram.com/share/BADBTHCsVl