Susan Abulhawa was born to refugees of the Six Day War of 1967, when her family's land was seized and Israel captured what remained of Palestine, including Jerusalem. She moved to the USA as a teenager, graduated in biomedical science and established a career in medical science. In July 2001, Susan Abulhawa founded Playgrounds for Palestine, a children's organisation dedicated to upholding The Right to Play for Palestinian children. Mornings in Jenin is her first novel and is being published in nineteen countries. She lives in Pennsylvania with her daughter.