New Internationalist to publish Middle East journalist Matthew Teller

New Internationalist has bought a title about the Old City of Jerusalem by reporter and Middle East specialist Matthew Teller.

Provisionally titled Nine Quarters of Jerusalem, the book is a collection of stories to help illuminate a walk – on foot, or in the mind – through the square-kilometre that is the Old City of Jerusalem. It features individual voices from the Palestinian communities to live and have lived within the city walls and will “challenge prevailing narratives”, according to the publisher.

Teller, who has more than 30 years experience in reporting on the Middle East, said: “Palestinian Jerusalem is under intense pressure. Stories from its Indian and West African communities, its Dom Gypsies, its Islamic Sufi mystics, its Syriac and Armenian churches – all these and others are being overlooked. The women who shaped Jerusalem’s architectural legacy. The artists still at work today. Amplifying their voices, helping them to be heard above the clamour, is a privilege. I’m hugely excited for this opportunity.”

New Internationalist acquired world rights directly from the author and will publish in 2020.

Sales and marketing director Dan Raymond-Barker said: “This was an eye-catching and timely proposal from a writer already strongly established in the field. Fuelling the current taste for creative non-fiction, it goes beyond travel writing to dig deep into this famous but little-understood city’s sense of place, while remaining accessible and appealing for a general readership.”