Mizna is a contemporary arts organization promoting Arab/SWANA lit, film + art. We publish, Mizna Online, a literary journal + produce the Arab Film Fest.
In celebration of Indigenous People's Day, and while Gaza is under attack and Palestinian resistance groups are fighting for their freedom and dignity, Mizna will be sharing art and ways to donate in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle against settler colonialism.
Fast for Gaza
December 21, 2023: Sunrise to Sunset
Continuing every Thursday until a permanent ceasefire is called
We have had enough.
This is a call to fast.
Because we have had enough.
Learn more and join the fast at
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: MIZNA 25.1
Submitters do not need to be SWANA or Arab identified, no submission fees. Selected contributors receive a $200 honorarium, a 1-year subscription to Mizna, and 5 copies of the issue.
Full guidelines + submit your work
Mizna joins the global strike for Palestine on Friday, October 20, 2023. Together with artists and other organisations, we will be closed and use this time to learn and reflect together in order to work for a better future for everyone. We encourage you to join in solidarity.
Now on Mizna's digital platform: Not Just Passing by Hiba Abu Nada, translated by
@FakhreddineHuda
Hiba Abu Nada, a brilliant Palestinian poet and novelist, was killed by an Israeli airstrike on her home in Khan Younes, Gaza, on October 20, 2023.
We are thrilled to welcome Palestinian American poet George Abraham as Mizna's Executive Editor! George will take on the visioning, editing, producing and distributing our literary journal. Welcome to the team
@IntifadaBatata
!
Today we’re fasting for Gaza because we have had enough. We will continue fasting every Thursday until a permanent ceasefire is called.
Learn more and join the fast at
As we commemorate Land Day and continue to work toward the liberation of Palestine, help us support Gazan poet and Mizna Fellow
@yahyaashour98
in helping his family evacuate from Gaza through the sale of his e-book "A Gaza of Siege & Genocide."
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: MIZNA SUMMER ISSUE
Submissions are now open for Mizna 24.1. This issue is not themed.
Submissions are due at 11:59 pm on 12/15
WE PAY! Writers whose work is selected will receive an honorarium of $200 + more perks.
SUBMIT:
🇵🇸 Palestine Fundraiser: Larissa Sansour Retrospective.
Mizna is offering a retrospective of Palestinian filmmaker
Larissa Sansour's groundbreaking sci-fi films available for free to a worldwide audience. All donations will go to Palestine.
While Eid is usually a time to celebrate, this year is hardly celebratory as the genocide in Gaza enters its 7th month.
We continue to demand a permanent ceasefire and reaffirm our solidarity with Palestine. There is no better way to celebrate than with peace and liberation.
Exiled Gazan poet and Mizna Fellow
@yahyaashour98
in trying to evacuate his family from Gaza.
In solidarity, Mizna is supporting Yahya Ashour to fund their evacuation through the sale of this e-book "A Gaza of Siege & Genocide."
Get your copy now:
Announcing our newest mentorship program!
Mizna will focus on teaching western literary and news institutions how to stop obfuscating Israeli war crimes through passive voice by learning how to implement active voice.
We're here to help!
#aprilfools
#freepalestine
Today we’re fasting for Gaza because we have had enough. We will continue fasting every Thursday until a permanent ceasefire is called.
Learn more and join the fast at
Now on Mizna Online: "Dispatch from Gaza" by
@hudasobo7
, a 19-year-old writing from Gaza and currently displaced in Rafah. Huda thinks of writing as her way of practicing resilience—a sanctuary so that the devastation does not consume her spirit.
To kick off AWP 2024, join us in centering Palestine in our hearts and minds at an offsite reading.
Presented with
@wawog_now
@AlHadafKC
@RAWInews
PLEASE NOTE THE VENUE CHANGE: We have moved the event to The Bird Comedy Theater.
RSVP:
#FREEPALESTINE
ISSUE: We're making available a digital version of our sold out Palestine Issue to download for free at or at the link in bio
HOW TO HELP: Send donations to
@ThePCRF
@MedicalAidPal
The Palestinian Social Fund ()
The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived by Heiny Srour, screening at Mizna Film Series.
2/28 at 7pm
@TrylonCinema
TICKETS :
The film archives a forgotten moment in history, when a feminist, guerrilla movement in Dhofar rose up against the Sultanate of Oman.
Toward a Free Palestine
Today marks the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestine. As Palestinian people continue to face genocide and ethnic cleansing, we mark this day by sharing list of resources to take action for + learn about Palestine.
We shared this statement in our newsletter today which reaffirms our ongoing solidarity with Palestinian liberation. Mizna will continue to support artists in making and presenting work which proposes political liberation and self determination. Decolonization is not a metaphor.
As this year's holy month of Ramadan begins, the genocide in Gaza enters its 6th month. Since October 2023, at least 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and many more are at risk of dying due to starvation as a result of Israel's genocidal war and siege.
#ceasefirenow
Mizna presents Insurgent Transmissions: A Palestine Film Series
@BryantLakeBowl
April: Wajib by
@AnnemarieJacir
May: Infiltrators by
@khaledjarrarart
June: Foragers by Jumana Manna
July: More info coming soon!
Tickets:
For our forthcoming Experimental Issue, guest-editor
@mxrlevant
interviewed renowned author
#SolmazSharif
.
In addition to being included in the print edition, we're excited to share this exclusive interview as a digital piece on our website.
Read here:
#FREEPALESTINE
(ISSUE)
In solidarity, in anger, in grief, in reflection, and towards decolonization of Palestine, Mizna offers resources for healing and learning. Mizna: The Palestine Issue is now available for free digitally!
START READING:
Mizna seeks a guest editor for its winter 2023 issue, The Cinema Issue. This issue will explore the relationship between moving image-making and writing and what the two practices can offer one another.
Proposals due by Feb 1, 2023. Learn more + apply
Fast for Gaza
December 21, 2023: Sunrise to Sunset
Continuing every Thursday until a permanent ceasefire is called
We have had enough.
This is a call to fast.
Because we have had enough.
Learn more and join the fast at
Now on Mizna Online: "Autobiography of Gaza" by
#DiaaWadi
, translated by
@NoorJaljuli
.
We encourage our readers to sit with the weight of this essay in hopes that it may sharpen our commitments to freeing Palestine.
Cover reveal: The Experimental Issue, guest-edited by
@mxrlevant
.
This issue features visual art from
#MichaelRakowitz
, an Iraqi-American artist who works at the intersection of problem-solving and troublemaking.
Pre-order:
☁️ 2024 marks 25 years of Mizna ☁️
Stay tuned for news on how we're planning to celebrate this anniversary, including special ☁️ branding (including new merch!), new programs, and exciting events!
Read our full statement
Tomorrow, غداً, demain, завтра, فردا
Fast for Gaza will take place for the fourth time. This is
a global call to join the fast. We will continue fasting
until a permanent ceasefire is called.
Learn more and join the fast at
Our hearts are in Palestine today, but Mizna has some happy news to share: To honor the significant impact we've made on the cultural landscape, we will receive the Regional Cultural Treasure Award unrestricted grant of $500,000.
PR:
We're thrilled to have Black Palestinian poet and Black SWANA Takeover Issue Content Editor
@samah_fadil
read her work at our AWP offsite event this THURSDAY!
Excerpt from her poem "And Then, a Palestinian Was Born"
Cover reveal! Mizna: Black SWANA Takeover
Mizna: The Black SWANA Issue, guest-edited by Safia Elhillo and produced by an all-Black takeover team, explores the infinitely varied and kaleidoscopic nature of the Black SWANA experience.
Pre-order:
"On Execution" by
@El_Gendy_95
Invoking his political imprisonment in Egypt and thinking alongside Solmaz Sharif's work on the failures of Western empathy, ElGendy questions a society that is incapable extending the political action Palestinians demand.
CALL SUBMISSIONS: THE KNAFEH ISSUE
The spring 2022 issue of Mizna will be knafeh themed. We are seeking poetry, prose, recipes, and comix related to knafeh. We will also accept deliveries of knafeh to our office. Head to for details.
#aprilfools
Welcome to Mizna: The Black SWANA playlist! Take a musical journey through the songs and sounds that inspired our Takeover team and the contributors in the issue. Curated by copy editor
@samah_fadil
.
Listen now:
Today is exiled Gazan poet and Mizna Fellow
@yahyaashour98
's birthday! For the past month, he has been trying to raise funds to evacuate his family from Gaza. Wish him a happy birthday by buying his e-book "A Gaza of Siege & Genocide" today
Learn about the printmaking process while making letterpress posters and stamp postcards for Palestine. With print designs by Lamia Abukhadra, Andrea Shaker, and Jamie Kubat.
Drop in anytime on 12/14 5–7pm at
@mnbookarts
Presented by Mizna and MCBA
DEADLINE EXTENDED: Submissions for the Black SWANA Issue are now due May 24.
THOSE SUBMITTING WORK SHOULD IDENTIFY AS BLACK.
This issue is guest-edited by
@mafiasafia
and is produced by a brilliant all-Black takeover team.
Learn more + submit at
We're marking Arab American Heritage Month with a special gift to those who support exiled Gazan poet
@yahyaashour98
in evacuating his family from Gaza. When you buy his e-book, "A Gaza of Siege & Genocide," you get a free one-year subscription to Mizna.
Mizna: The Black SWANA Issue, guest-edited by
@mafiasafia
and produced by an all-Black takeover team, explores kaleidoscopic nature of the Black SWANA experience.
Available for pre-order NOW just in time for last minute holiday gifts!
CALL FOR POSITIONS: Work with guest-editor
@mafiasafia
!
The winter 2022 issue of Mizna will be a Black takeover issue, enlisting an all-Black team who will work in collaboration w Mizna staff.
Applications due 12/31, 2021 at 11:59pm CT.
Apply:
Show your clear stance against genocide. Writers, poets, academics, and cultural activists in the Arab/SWANA region have written this powerful statement condemning the atrocities in Gaza. Sign in solidarity in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Mandarin.
Mizna: The Futurities Issue guest-edited by
@barrakstar
, co-edited by Aram Kavoossi
Call for Submissions opens April 25–June 6, 2024
We issue this call with faith in our ability to transform and imagine our futures.
GET READY + LEARN MORE:
PRE-ORDER NOW
Mizna: Myth and Memory, our summer 2023 issue.
We're excited to release this issue at the
@loftliterarycenter
's Wordplay on July 8 at 3pm! More info coming soon.
Today, while hundreds of Palestinians in the North of Gaza were massacred by the Israeli military while waiting for flour and other humanitarian aid, we fast for the 11th week.
#ceasefirenow
Today we’re fasting for Gaza because we have had enough. We will continue fasting every Thursday until a permanent ceasefire is called.
Learn more and join the fast at
Announcing the guest editor of Mizna: The Cinema Issue! Meet filmmaker, educator and writer Saeed Taji Farouky + stay tuned for the call for submissions, launching soon!
@saeedtaji
WHAT: Solidarity screening and fundraiser for Gaza
@FilmLabPal
WHERE:
@TrylonCinema
WHEN: 11/2 at 8pm
Donate to a fundraiser facilitated by the Beirut Art Center which sending funds on the ground in Gaza.
Donate to BAC:
Tickets:
Announcing the contributors to Mizna: The Experimental Issue, guest-edited by
@mxrlevant
.
Visual art by
#MichaelRakowitz
.
Available for pre-order now:
Mizna 23.1 is finally here!
The summer 2022 issue of Mizna includes a tribute to
#EtelAdnan
featuring Adnan's artworks as well as a number of essays, interviews, and reflections on her legacy.
ORDER THE ISSUE:
LUMINANCE: A TRIBUTE TO ETEL ADNAN
This summer, Mizna celebrates the life and legacy of the prolific artist, writer, and philosopher
#EtelAdnan
in a series of film and literary programs.
Submissions for our summer 2023 issue are due in ONE MONTH!
This issue is not themed and is open to all forms of writing.
Due 11:59 pm on Dec 15, 2022.
WE PAY! Writers whose work is selected will receive an honorarium of $200 + more.
SUBMIT HERE:
We are relieved to hear the news that Mosab has been freed, but there is still work to do.
Join the urgent phone zap to free all Palestinians unjustly detained!
In solidarity with the people of Jenin today, an excerpt from "Autobiography of Fear," a poem by Palestinian poet
@MayaAbuAlhayyat
published in our forthcoming issue Mizna: Myth and Memory.
A sneak peak at the cover of the forthcoming Mizna 22.1. Our cover artist is the late Mohamed Melehi, a painter of vibrant abstractions that helped spur an artistic renaissance in his home country of Morocco.
Pre-order your copy today!
Tunisian-American Leila Chatti is the author of the debut full-length collection Deluge and a poetry lecturer at UW Madison.
@laypay
will take part in our reading THIS SATURDAY at 6 pm CST Presented w
@moonpalacebooks
+
#poetrycoalition
.
RSVP:
We're thrilled to be collaborating with
@mafiasafia
, who has been working with Mizna as a guest-editor to conceive & produce our forthcoming Black SWANA Issue!
We are currently seeking submissions for the issue, due by May 6, 2022. More info at
POETRY IN SOLIDARITY
Poetry reading + conversation with Gazan poet
@yahyaashour98
+
@sunyungshin
Jan 25, 6:30 PM at Open Book
@loftliterary
RSVP REQUIRED:
Suggested donation $10. All donations go to Yahya Ashour, who is currently displaced from Gaza.
The winter 2022 issue of Mizna will be a Black takeover issue, guest-edited by
@mafiasafia
. We are seeking applications for an all-Black production: readers; editors; a visual art curator; designer who will work in collaboration w/ Mizna staff. Due 12/31
We mourn the loss of the great artist and poet Etel Adnan, who’s work imbued the world around her with luminosity.
We’re sharing a link to
@FadyJoudahs
“To Be in a Time of War”: An Homage to Etel Adnan, we hope you take a moment to read it.
Here’s a poem by Maya Abu Al-Hayyat which I translated last spring for the summer issue of
@Mizna_ArabArt
without knowing the bitter resonance it would take on in the fall
Read "For Etel," a digital collection of writing by Mizna community members who have been impacted by Adnan’s life. Contributions from Nicole Olweean, Andrew Riad,
@baruchdayanemet
,
@na5leh
,
@M7mdTonsy
, Farah Kader, and
@shirinesaad
.
READ:
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE EXPERIMENTAL ISSUE
For our winter 2021 issue, guest-edited by
@mxrlevant
, we are seeking works that challenge conventional forms, language, and ideas within the literary process. Submissions due 8/20
Full submission guidelines:
Announcing the contributors to our summer issue, Mizna 23.1!
The summer 2022 issue of Mizna includes a special tribute to
#EtelAdnan
, featuring her artwork as well as essays, interviews and poetry on the impact of Adnan's work.
Pre-order:
What does the Black SWANA Issue mean to you?
@samah_fadil
, responds.
Mizna: The Black SWANA Issue, guest-edited by Safia Elhillo, produced by an all-Black takeover team, is COMING SOON!
Will you help us make it happen? Give today, give to the MAX!
Over 1,000 Minnesota artists, writers, curators, designers, musicians and cultural workers signed a public letter to President Biden and the members of the MN Congressional Delegation calling for an immediate
#ceasefire
in Gaza.
Read the letter and sign:
Coming soon to mailboxes near you... Mizna: Black SWANA Takeover!
Guest-edited by
@mafiasafia
Order now:
Cover art: Composition by Kamala Ibrahim Ishag (2016), Oil on leather drum, courtesy of
@sharjahart
We’re thrilled to be awarded a
@WhitingFdn
Prize, and recognized for our important work, by
@npr
no less!
In
@lanabarkawi
’s words “We want to be around for the next 25 years and all the daring, beautiful work that's to come.”
Read more:
Cover reveal! Mizna 23.1: Etel Adnan Tribute
The summer 2022 issue of Mizna includes a tribute to
#EtelAdnan
featuring Adnan's artworks as well as a number of essays, interviews, and reflections on her legacy.
PRE-ORDER THE ISSUE:
Insurgent Transmissions: A Palestine Film Series
April Screening: Wajib by
@AnnemarieJacir
4/24 at 7pm,
@BryantLakeBowl
Tickets:
In addition to ticket fees, we will be raising money for Crips for E-sims for Gaza at the screening.
Kites for Gaza
January 13, 10am–1pm: Art Build at Public Functionary to paint or make kites.
January 14, 12-3pm: Get together in front of the MN State Capitol to fly kites together. Kites are encouraged but not necessary be in solidarity.
Learn more at
We're hiring!
Mizna seeks an Associate Director and an Executive Editor, expanding its team in an effort to promote organizational sustainability and innovation.
Learn more about each position:
Applications received by Jan 2023 will be given priority
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE BLACK SWANA ISSUE
For our winter 2022 issue, we are interested in focusing specifically on work by people from Black SWANA communities to create a gathering space for our voices and ideas.
Guest editor
@mafiasafia
Submit here:
Mizna is pleased to co-present the official book launch of "Another Room to Live In: 15 Contemporary Arab Poets" with Tamaas
When: March 2, 2024 at 12pm CT
Where: Zoom, RSVP required for link!
Head to for more information and to RSVP
Announcing the contributors to Mizna 22.1, our summer 2021 issue. Featuring visual art from the late renowned Moroccan painter
#MohamedMelehi
.
Pre-order now!
On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, come together in art and community.
WHAT: Live reading of The Gaza Monologues + a screening of The Dupes
WHEN: 11/29 at 6:30pm
WHERE: The Heights Theater
TICKETS: