Dear Festival Friends,

With Stroud Book Festival 2025 now under three weeks away, we’d like to thank you for your support, and for reading this now weekly bulletin which aims to give you the latest news, including some background behind some of the events we have programmed this year.

This week, with the announcement of the ceasefire agreement and the first phase of a peace plan for Israel and Gaza, we look forward with hope to our event on Sunday 9 November, which focuses on the young people of Gaza: those who have so much to gain from a peaceful future.

 

WE ARE NOT NUMBERS: The Voice of Gaza’s Youth

with Ahmed Alnaouq

Sunday 9^th November, 6–7pm, Sub Rooms

The We Are Not Numbers project was founded in 2014 to give voice to Gaza’s youth. Spanning a period of more than ten years, the book of the same name collects the stories of 50 young people from Gaza. Urgent and full of heart, it portrays their struggles, fears, and often terrible losses, but also their hopes and dreams as they look to the future despite all.

We are honoured to be welcoming Ahmed Alnaouq, the book’s co-editor, to discuss this powerful project with British-Palestinian journalist, Jehan Alfarra.

Ahmed grew up in Gaza and after he lost one of his brothers and a close friend in an Israeli airstrike in 2014 became the inspiration for and the original project manager of We Are Not Numbers. In 2023 in another airstrike he lost 21 relatives and almost his entire family, including his father, siblings, their children and a cousin.

Please do consider joining us for what will be an incredibly moving event, in a show of support for the peace process and the young people of Gaza.

And we’re pleased to announce that the young people of Gloucestershire will now benefit from a student discount, for this and two other Stroud Book Festival 2025 events:

 

HALF-PRICE TICKETS FOR GLOUCESTERSHIRE STUDENTS

At Stroud Book Festival, we recognise that some of the biggest questions of our time – from climate change to disinformation and global conflicts – are of huge concern to young people.

So this year we’re offering a half-price student discount on tickets to three of our most topical events to encourage young people to join in our crucial Festival conversations, challenge ideas, and help shape what comes next.

If you are a student in Gloucestershire, you can purchase a ticket to any of the following events at Stroud Sub Rooms for £6 (normal price £12).

Firewords Night – Wednesday 5^th November, 7.30pm

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: Navigating Life Online – Saturday 8^th November, 5.00pm

We Are Not Numbers: The Voice of Gaza’s Youth – Sunday 9^th November, 6.00pm

Please go to https://stroudbookfestival.org.uk/events/ and book using the code BOOKFEST25 to access the discount.

 

STROUD SHORT STORIES

Sunday 9^th November, 7.30pm (doors 7pm), Lansdown Hall

We are delighted once again to present the latest event from the ever-marvellous Stroud Short Stories as part of Stroud Book Festival, particularly as this one will be the 30^th event since the founding of SSS in 2011.

As always, you will have the opportunity to hear ten extraordinary short stories read by their authors, this time on the theme of All This Useless Beauty.

Tickets are now on sale now but don’t delay – Stroud Short Stories events always sell out quickly!

Tickets are also still available for the majority of our Stroud Book Festival events but please book soon if you haven’t already – we don’t want you to miss out!

With love from

The Stroud Book Festival team x