Basim Khandaqji is a Palestinian novelist, born in Nablus, Palestine in 1983. He studied Journalism and Media at the Al-Najah National University in Nablus. He wrote short stories until his imprisonment when he was 21 years old, in 2004. Inside prison, he registered with Al-Quds University and completed university studies in Political Science with a thesis on Israeli Studies. He also continued writing, including articles about literature, politics, female Palestinian activists and prisoners inside Israeli prisons. He has published several poetry collections including Rituals of the First Time (2010); The Breath of a Nocturnal Poem (2013); The Narcissus of Isolation (2017); as well as novels, including The Eclipse of Badr al-Din (2019); The Breath of a Woman Let Down (2020); and A Mask, the Colour of the Sky (2023).