The coming together of literary giants in Dubai

35% of 130 authors at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature to be held from March 3 to 7 are from Arab world

Zeina Hashem Beck; PG Bhaskar; Nicolas Forzy; Tom Callaghan; Dr. Salah Al Qassim, Advisor to the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority; Isobel Abulhoul; Mohammad Al Hashimi; Liz Fenwick; Julia Johnson and Frank Dullaghan at the Press conference of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature at the Dubai International Writers Centre, Dubai, on Wednesday. — KT photo by Juidin Bernarrd

Dubai - Over 130 of the biggest names in the literary world will join more than 30,000 avid readers and hopeful would-be writers in Dubai in March for the 2015 edition of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.

Among the most recognisable figures slated to attend the March 3 to 7 festival are Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Egyptian writer Nawal El-Saadawi, No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency author Alexander McCall Smith and Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti.

Mohammed Al Hashimi, Vice-President of Commercial Products Dubai at Emirates, said the festival is part of Dubai’s concerted campaign to bring together some of the world’s most creative minds.

“It not only attracts visitors, but is also an embodiment of Dubai’s Expo 2020 host city promise to connect minds and create a future, by bringing the best ideas and the best stories from all around the world,” he said.

Of the authors attending this year, 35 per cent come from the Arab World.

“With each year, we are building on our previous experience,” said Isobel Abulhoul, CEO and Trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation.

“We attract bigger and bigger names from across the Arab World, on different topics and different subjects.”

Among the highlights this year will be a concert based on the best selling 1982 children’s novel War Horse by Michael Morphugo.

“If you come to see anything, come along to see the War Horse concert,” Abulhoul said.

“These life-sized horse puppets have come here from South Africa, and each horse has three puppeteers. It’s the most magical experience.”

Education plays a large role in the festival, and aspiring writers can attend sessions and workshops aimed at helping them perfect their craft.

Among the festival’s past success stories is crime writer Tom Callaghan, whose gritty, Kyrgyzstan-set crime novel, Killing Winter began coming together after attending a crime-writing seminar conducted last year by novelist Mark Billingham.

“I went along to Mark’s seminar, and he gave a list of six opening sentences,” Callaghan said.

“I had an idea at that point but I hadn’t shaped it out at that point. Then I thought that would be a good opening sentence. I wrote the first paragraph, then the second paragraph, and on and on.”

Several of the authors — such as children’s storyteller Julia Johnson — are longtime UAE-based expats who’ve gone on to write books set in the Emirates, including her latest book, theGoat Who Wanted to Fly.

“The festival is a great celebration of the country in which I live,” Johnson told the Khaleej Times. “It’s an amazing idea that we all thought ‘golly’ when it was first suggested, but it’s just gone from strength to strength.”

“It’s fantastic to be able to meet authors whose books you’ve read, and to make connections with people,” she added.  “My stories might be about the Gulf, but it’s nice to share them with international authors.”

In his remarks, Mohammed Al Hashimi noted the power of books to unite people.

“Great literature inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it enriches our lives,” he said.

“It’s with great pride that next month we help connect the people of Dubai with more authors whose books cut across all ages, cultures and genres, inspiring local conversation about the written word and creating a wealth of wonderful literature activity.”

bernd@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE