Culture & Education | Thursday 23 February, 2017 7:34 am |

The highly anticipated 2017 Emirates Airline Festival of Literature takes place from 3-11 March during the UAE’s 2017 Month of Reading, with more than 180 authors from 33 countries, including 70 authors from the UAE and Arab World. The stellar line-up of authors includes more than 120 authors attending the Festival for the first time.

At the pre-Festival press conference, Isobel Abulhoul, OBE, CEO and Trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation and Director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature said, ‘2016 was the Year of Reading, celebrating books and reading in the UAE, but we cannot lose momentum now. We have a dazzling array of writers who will entertain, inspire, and a rich diverse range of genres and topics that will fascinate avid readers and surely spark an interest in those who don’t often pick up a book. This year, the Festival takes place for nine days, spread over two weekends, providing our widest range of subjects so that visitors can be sure of seeing their favourite sessions. I believe it is going to be our best Festival yet.’

Abulhoul also introduced Ibrahim Khadim, newly-appointed Deputy Festival Director of the Emirates Airline Festival Literature and Business Development Director of the Emirates Literature Foundation. Khadim joined the Foundation in 2016 and brought his long professional history in the publishing, translation and literature industries to the Foundation’s many initiatives. He has played an integral role in securing Arab World authors for the 2017 Festival, a key contribution to the growing popularity of the event, and one which he will continue to develop in coming festivals.

New Authors Added

A record number of authors are participating in the Festival this year, with the numbers significantly increasing since the official launch of the event in October. Exciting new authors include:

·         Ernest Hemingway’s grandson, writer and translator John Hemingway, will discuss his memoir and also present the first-place winner of the Montegrappa Writing Prize with a limited edition Montegrappa ‘Hemingway: The Writer’ pen

·         Jordanian author and social and cultural intelligence coach Rana Nejem

·         Jessica Jarlvi, 2016 Montegrappa Writing Prize runner-up and latest Festival success story

·         Founder of #MTGcollective and writer and editor from Pakistan, Hananah Zaheer

·         Publisher of the bestselling sequel to The Devil Wears Prada Thalia Suzuma

·         Professor of Arabic at the University of California and currently translating al-Ḥarīrī's 'Maqāmāt, Michael Cooperson

·         Proprietor of Four Seasons Ramesh Gallery Neel Shukla will be joining his photographer father Ramesh Shukla at the Festival

·         Founder and current leader of the SLOW FOOD convivium in Dubai, Laura Allais-Maré

·         Francis Matthew, Editor-at-Large of Gulf News

Authors returning to the Festival are:

·         Dubai One TV executive and media coach Mai El Khalifa

·         Palestinian filmmaker and poet, founder of the Poeticians collective Hind Shoufani

·         Fanteer the Fluffy Flamingo author Noura Al Khoori

·         Executive Vice Chairman & CEO of Dubai Duty Free Colm McLoughlin, who will be joined at his session by Salah Tahlak, Executive Vice President – Corporate Services at Dubai Duty Free

·         Sarah Amiri, deputy project manager and science lead of the Emirates Mars Mission

Emirati Authors

These is always a strong emphasis on showcasing the works of home-grown talents at the Festival, more than 40 Emirati authors will be attending the Festival.

Recently added to the Emirati strand:

·         His Excellency Jamal Bin Huwaireb, Cultural Advisor to the Government of Dubai and Managing Director of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF)

·         Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai

·         First female Emirati spoken word artist and slam poet Afra Atiq

·         Head of the UAE Travelers team Awad Bin Mojrin and UAE Travelers team member Ahmed Farooq Alawar

·         Emirati visual artists – wildlife photographer Ahmed Al Ali, illustrator Maryam Alzaabi, award-winning filmmaker Eman Talal Alsayed and creative landscape designer Kamelia Bin Zaal

·         Self-development coach and specialist Hend Albadwawi

·         Food presenter, columnist, entrepreneur and author of Food, Love and Life from Dalia's Kitchen Dalia Dogmoch Soubra

·         Hassan Al Naboodah, Arabic and Islamic historian and Dean of UAE University

·         Chairman and Co-founder of the Gulf Roleplaying Community, Omar Ismail

·         Hany Torky, Project Coordinator and Chief Statistician of the Arab Knowledge Report at the United Nations Development Programme

·         Co-owner of Paper Fig Desserts in Sharjah, Nawal Alnuaimi

·         Captain Abdallah Al Saadi of the Dubai Police

The Dubai Police will be holding a special display of four supercars from their fleet at the waterfront outside the InterContinental Hotel during the Festival on Saturday, 4 March. The exhibit will also be accompanied by a performance by marching horses and the official police band at 1pm.

These new authors will be joined by renowned Emirati personalities:

·         Ajman’s HH Dr Abdullaziz bin Ali Al Nuaimi (The Green Sheikh) will speak on environmental issues and his work to raise awareness about it

·         Omar Saif Ghobash, UAE Ambassador to Russia and author of Letters of a Young Muslim will feature as part of the Tolerance strand

·         Bader Najeeb, the young Emirati defying gender norms, will talk about his journey to become a culinary chef

·         2016 Emirates Novel Award winner Eman Al Yousuf will discuss her writing career

Boutros Boutros, Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communication, Marketing & Brand for Emirates said: ‘We believe the Festival of Literature is a vital element for Dubai’s growth as a cultural and arts hub, and Emirates is proud to be able to help bring renowned authors from around the world to share their vibrant, diverse ideas to inspire audiences.