{"id":35503,"date":"2021-02-03T15:49:13","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T11:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/?p=35503"},"modified":"2021-02-03T15:49:13","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T11:49:13","slug":"top-authors-and-fascinating-sessions-coming-up-at-the-big-emirates-airline-festival-of-literature-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/top-authors-and-fascinating-sessions-coming-up-at-the-big-emirates-airline-festival-of-literature-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Authors And Fascinating Sessions Coming Up At The Big Emirates Airline Festival Of Literature Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

More literary-themed treats are in store this week as the 2021 Emirates Airline Festival of Literature (29January -13 February) builds up to its big weekend (4-6 February). Featuring a fantastic line-up which includes Nobel Prize winner Malala,\u00a0<\/strong>acclaimed authors ElifShafak<\/strong>and Amin Maalouf,<\/strong>and a day dedicated to Emirati talent, sponsored by Dubai Culture and Arts Authority.<\/p>\n

The action will be taking place at the Festival\u2019s home, the InterContinental Dubai Festival City, with a mix of live sessions featuring home-grown writers, poets and experts combined with virtual appearances from international authors. Tickets for some events are already sold out, but the Festival\u2019s digital ticket, giving access to at least ten live streamed sessions,including Malala <\/strong>and ElifShafak<\/strong>, means that fans won\u2019t be disappointed.<\/p>\n

Not to be missed authors include internationally acclaimed writer and journalist Amin Maalouf <\/strong>with his timely work Adrift: How Our World Lost Its Way<\/em>, and Thomas Erikson<\/strong>, author of the runaway bestseller Surrounded by Idiots<\/em>, discussing the challenges of communication with self-development author SherifArafa<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Festival is proud to host the celebration of the new children\u2019s books from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Festival is also hosting the launch of the Young Voices of Arabia book, supported by HH SheikhaHissa bint Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum<\/strong>, Goodwill Ambassador of the Voices of Future Generations for the Gulf Region. The book features the winning entries from the 2020 competition.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Spotlight on Emirati talent\u2019 day,4 February, includes a discussion between HE Hala\u00a0Badri<\/strong>and HE Major General Mohammed\u00a0Ahmed Al Marri <\/strong>on the UAE\u2019s \u2018Cultural Visa\u2019 for creatives.\u00a0H.E. Noura Al Kaabi<\/strong>will speak as part of a session about the future of the Arabic language.<\/p>\n

The invitation-only Official Ceremony will feature Festival favourite Afra Atiq<\/strong>, performing a poem about the wonder of storytelling.<\/p>\n

Booker Prize shortlisted Avni Doshi<\/strong>\u00a0will be in conversation with award-winning Derek Owusu, <\/strong>comparing notes on debuts, making the awards lists, their writing journeys and more.<\/p>\n

Other highlights include Oyinkan Braithwaite<\/strong>with her smash-hit novel My Sister the Serial Killer<\/em>, self-confessed \u2018romcomisseur\u201d BoluBabalola<\/strong> breathing new life into mythical love stories, and Immanuel Kim<\/strong>, the translator of Friend <\/em>by PaekNam-nyong, with insights into North Korean literature and cinema. There\u2019s alsoSatyarthNayak<\/strong>celebrating the phenomenon of Bollywood star Sridevi: The Eternal Screen Goddess<\/em>,\u00a0Edward Brooke-Hitching<\/strong> taking us on a tour of The Madman\u2019s Library,<\/em> and Malala\u2019s father Ziauddin Yousafzai,\u00a0<\/strong>the Co-founder and Chairman of the Malala Fund that champions girls\u2019 rights to education all over the world.<\/p>\n

Consultant Paediatric Neurosurgeon Jay Jayamohan<\/strong>, star of the BBC\u2019s fly-on-the-wall series, Brain Doctors<\/em> and Children\u2019s Craniofacial Surgery <\/em>will join medical expertNafeaAlyasi<\/strong> and\u00a0Dr RupyAujla<\/strong>, author of Eat to Beat Illness<\/em>on a panel debunking the misinformation surrounding topics from fad diets to the coronavirus outbreak. The route to wellness and good mental health will be examined by\u00a0Heather Grace<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The conservation of the UAE\u2019s wildlife is on the agenda in a fascinating panel discussing the plants and animals that make the mangroves, reefs and deserts of the UAE their home. JoinMajor Ali Al Suwaidi,<\/strong>\u00a0president of the Emirates Marine Environmental Group and \u2018the UAE\u2019s last pearl diver\u2019 and marine heritage expert Johannes Els, <\/strong>who\u00a0will tell us about the steps being taken to conserve our natural world.<\/p>\n

Victoria Montgomery Brown<\/strong>willdiscuss the lessons from her book, the\u00a0Digital Goddess: The Unfiltered Lessons of a Female Entrepreneur<\/em> with Afra Atiq<\/strong>, while Andy Fieldhouse <\/strong>will explain how to build more effective teams in his workshop and join a panel with Mimi Nicklin<\/strong> on empathetic cooperative workplaces.<\/p>\n

Hisham El Kheshen<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Mounir Al Hayek<\/strong>\u00a0take part in an absorbing examination of the connection between the self and place, while Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin<\/strong> and Huda Hamed<\/strong>discuss how to find the balance between strength and weakness in their novels.<\/p>\n

Other international names in the packed programme are Kuwaiti author TalebAlrefai,\u00a0<\/strong>and Egyptian writer Walaa Kamal<\/strong>who shares the story of his time on the road with a famous Egyptian band inMy Days with Cairokee<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There will also be poetry performances from\u00a0Amal AlSahlawi, Shamma Al Bastaki, Kareem Maatouq<\/strong>andAlia Al Shamsi<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The fun-packed children\u2019s programme features interactive sessions and workshops including lots of silly science questions asked \u2013 and answered – by award-winning scientist Isabel Thomas<\/strong>. There are also festival favourite\u00a0Julia <\/strong>Johnson,\u00a0<\/strong>Maitha Al Khayat<\/strong>andAmeeraBuKadra<\/strong>with a modern twist on traditional Emiratifolktales, and storybook fun for younger ones with\u00a0Ebtisam Al-Beiti.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Festival is a fierce champion of locally based writers and this year it is introducing a new feature, the LitFest Launchpad, giving UAE-based authors a chance to launch their latest book to Festival audiences.<\/p>\n

The winner of the Emirates LitFest Writing Prize will be revealed, and as always there will be creative writing workshops and chats and advice from industry professionals such as publisher Allison K Williams<\/strong>, author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro From Blank Page to Book<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Festival\u2019s big weekend follows last week\u2019s opening at Jameel Arts Centre (29-30 January), which saw visitors of all ages enjoying the literary themed events, many with an art and design focus. The festival draws to a close with more events at Alserkal Avenue (12-13 February).<\/p>\n

Due to social distancing, there are fewer tickets available, so early booking is recommended. Tickets will be required for each event, including free sessions, to ensure visitor numbers are restricted.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices start at AED 60 for adult sessions, AED 40 for children\u2019s sessions, and AED 100 for a digital pass to watch live-streamed sessions from home. A minimum of 10 top sessions will be streamed live from the big Festival weekend at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City.<\/p>\n

The Festival will be fully compliant with all Covid-19 prevention regulations and guidelines from the Dubai Health Authorities, including social distancing measures across all three venues and mandatory masks. See full details on the Emirates LitFest website.<\/p>\n

You can also tune in to the Foundation\u2019s two podcasts; the\u00a0Best of the Emirates LitFest<\/a>, and the\u00a0Boundless Book Club<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More literary-themed treats are in store this week as the 2021 Emirates Airline Festival of Literature (29January -13 February) builds up to its big weekend (4-6 February). Featuring a fantastic line-up which includes Nobel Prize winner Malala,\u00a0acclaimed authors ElifShafakand Amin Maalouf,and a day dedicated to Emirati talent, sponsored by Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35503"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35507,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35503\/revisions\/35507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}