News & Statements

TORONTO, October 16, 2026 – Basima Takrouri, a Palestinian writer and poet, is the recipient of the 2026 PEN Canada-Humber Writers in Exile Scholarship. During her year at Humber Polytechnic she will work on her new satirical novel, Toronto Finger.

Basima is a novelist, poet, screenwriter, and cultural producer. Born in Jerusalem, she has lived and worked across the Middle East, the United States, and Canada. Her work has been featured in international anthologies, and she has participated in prominent global literary festivals. She has published five books, including Diaries Under Occupation, which was translated into French in 2006. 

In addition to her literary work, she is the founder of Nuwa Arts and Cultural Production, a Canadian organization dedicated to supporting Arabic literature and cultural dialogue. She holds a Master’s degree in Media Studies from Lasell University and is a member of PEN Canada’s Writers in Exile community. 

The Humber scholarship is intended for a writer working on an unpublished book-length project, like a novel, a volume of short stories, or a book of poetry. With one-on-one support from a professional writer-mentor, this year Takrouri will work under the guidance of her mentor on her new novel. 

Toronto Finger is an English-language novel that examines memory, displacement, class, and the lingering presence of the past in the lives of those who believe they have left it behind. Set in Toronto, the novel follows an exiled writer who has lived in Canada for 40 years.

“I wanted to write about what happens when exile gets old,”  says Takrouri. “We usually encounter the immigrant at the moment of leaving or arriving. I wanted to skip forward. To everyone else he may simply be an old immigrant. In his own story, he is still a writer. He remembers being important to people who no longer exist in his Canadian life. I wanted to write about that man.”

About Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning

Innovation. Opportunity. Partnership. Support. At Humber College, we bring it all to more than 86,000 learners, in-person and online. As a global leader in polytechnic education, Humber provides in-depth theoretical learning, hands-on, work-integrated experiences and applied research opportunities to students at three main Toronto locations and beyond. Extensive industry connections, experienced faculty and a comprehensive range of credentials, including honours undergraduate degrees, Ontario graduate certificates, diplomas, apprenticeships, and certificates prepare career-ready global citizens for success in the future world of work. Visit humber.ca.

The Humber School for Writers is noted for its exceptional creative writing mentors including authors of world stature. Past mentors include Martin Amis, Peter Carey, Miriam Toews, David Mitchell, Esi Edugyan, Nino Ricci, Margaret Atwood, Lawrence Hill, Anne Michaels, Edward Albee, Ha Jin and Alistair MacLeod. Recent international authors have included Jenny Offill, Nell Freudenberger, and Ben Fountain.

About PEN Canada

PEN Canada is a nonpartisan organization that celebrates literature, defends freedom of expression, and assists writers in peril at home and abroad. The English-language Canadian centre was founded in 1983 and is proud to be one of nearly 140 centres of PEN International.