The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the biggest celebration of stories in the Arab region and one of the top literary festivals in the world, will be celebrating its 15^th anniversary from 1-6 February 2023 with a starry mix of Hollywood celebrity, award-winning authors and experts leading the field on matters shaping the world today.

Bringing together more than 250 of the world’s greatest writers and thinkers in more than 300 events, the programme is bursting with big names, many of whom are returning to Dubai as ‘old friends’, reflecting this year’s festival theme.

Top author names were revealed in a ceremony at the Mohamed Bin Rashid Library. The line-up includes Brian Cox, Emmy-award winning patriarch of the hit streaming series Succession; master-storytellers Cecelia Ahern, Mohsin Hamid, Alexander McCall Smith and Jeffrey Archer; Indian politician Shashi Tharoor, and renowned religious commentator Reza Aslan, who will be in conversation with HE Omar SaifGhobashand Malaysian journalist and activist Marina Mahathir;notable Bahraini poet Qasim Haddad and Emirati author and poet Maisoon Saker Al Qassimi, 2022 winner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.

For the first time ever, the Festival has welcomed a guest curator, poet and author LemnSissay, who brings his own inimitable flair to selected events.

The eclectic programme is believed to be one of the most diverse line-ups of any literary event in the world, representing almost 50 different nationalities including a strong representation of Filipino writers.

Celebrating 15 years of enthralling storytelling, the Festival will take place at the Intercontinental Festival City, and across the Creek at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library – with the two venues connected by an abra service across the water.

Ahlam Bolooki, Festival Director for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature said: “We are overjoyed at the amazing line-up we have secured to celebrate our 15^th Year, welcoming old friends and new. We are so proud of what has been achieved in that time. We have welcomed almost 1700 writers to Dubai, who have transported us to new worlds and different timesand introduced us to characters we might not have ordinarily met.  Through discussion, dialogue, and stories, together we have made sense of the world, learnt about ourselves and each other, connected with and appreciated others’ viewpoints. We have ignited a passion for reading and words in the many thousands of children who have been inspired by meeting an author. We have been able to do all of this through the steadfast support of our title sponsor, Emirates, and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, who along with all our other partners and supporters, enable us to make the Festival happen. We are truly grateful and appreciative for all of their support over the years. We know we have made a difference and we couldn’t have done it without our old friends.”

Ticket prices start at AED 25 and there will be 15% off general session tickets in a special early bird anniversary offer from 15 November 2022 -15 December 2022. Also new this year are day-long, weekend, student and publishing day passes starting at AED 199. And an all-access Crystal Pass with exclusive entry to the Green Room. Also returning is the Festival Fringe, with a host of fun free events and performances for all the family.

Members of the Festival Friends loyalty programme receive a 15% discount on tickets and a range of additional benefits including priority booking, reserved seating, access to the Foundation Friends Lounge, and year-round invitations and discounts to Foundation events and additional benefits from Festival partners.

An Emirates spokesperson said: “For 15 years, Emirates has been helping build important connections between established writers, exciting new voices in literature and curious book lovers in Dubai, providing them a platform to share ideas, engage in thought provoking discussions and gain deeper insight into some of the biggest questions of our time. Emirates is proud to have played an important part in creating a community around literature in our home, Dubai, and enriching its cultural landscape. We are pleased to continue our support for the festival and look forward to its future developments and many more years of great conversation and debate.”

Emirati Spotlight

This year’s Emirati strand, sponsored by Dubai Culture, runs right throughout the programme, celebrating the culture of the country and providing an opportunity for Emirati and international authors to share stage and ideas and have meaningful conversations on a range of topics that appeal to the multicultural audiences that fill the sessions.

Dr Saeed Mubarak bin Kharbash, CEO of the Arts & Literature Sector at Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, commented: “The Emirates Airline Festival is an annual coming together of literary minds from around the world in celebration of the written word and contributes to educating community members and raising public awareness of the role that literature plays in our lives. We are proud to be continuously supporting such an inspiring initiative to help empower the status of books and reading and enrich culture and literature of all kinds across the emirate and beyond towards making reading a daily habit.”

More information about the Emirates Literature Foundation can be found online and year-round news of #EmiratesLitFest on  LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, InstagramYouTube and TikTok @emirateslitfest