Mahmoud Shukair is a Palestinian writer. He was born in Jabal al-Mukabbar in Jerusalem during the British Mandate and studied philosophy and sociology at Damascus University in Syria. He was jailed by the Israeli authorities, and was deported to Lebanon in 1975. After living for 18 years in Beirut, Amman and Prague, he returned to Jerusalem in 1993. He worked for years in teaching and journalism, and served as editor-in-chief of the cultural magazines Al-Talia'a, Dafatir Thaqafiya. He also edited the cultural issues of the journal Sawt al-Watan. Shukair also occupied positions in the Jordanian Writers' Union, the General Union of Palestinian Writers and Journalists, the Palestinian Community Party, and the Palestinian Ministry of Culture.