The solidarity among nominees for the Jean Stein Book Award is particularly beautiful to see in light of the late Stein’s own solidarity with the people of Palestine, which, as her friend Philip Weiss wrote, extended to a decades-long personal boycott of “Israel.”

Stein’s solidarity was not only affective; it was real, material. She was great friends with Edward Said, whose 1998 documentary, “In Search of Palestine,” was only shown in the U.S. after a PBS producer attended a screening Stein co-hosted.

As editor of Grand Street magazine, Stein published the work of many young Palestinian writers and artists, like Mahmoud Darwish and Emily Jacir. (Notably, the texts often appeared in the original Arabic alongside the English translation.)

Stein edited a 2014 children’s book about Gaza called “The Story of Hurry,” written by Emma Williams and illustrated by Ibrahim Quraishi. She conceived the book in the belief that “fables can reach people more than hard news.” It was her last publication before her death.