Dubai: Best-selling British author Jeffrey Archer and baking champion and cookbook writer Nadiya Hussain are among 142 star guests at the Emirates Literature Festival, to be held in March next year, it was announced on Wednesday.
Other famous literary and creative figures that festival visitors will be able to rub shoulders with include New York-born Eric Van Lustbader, whose thriller and science fiction works include The Ninja, The Pearl Saga and 11 books from the Jason Bourne series.
There’s also British author Tanya Landman, who won the Carnegie Medal for Buffalo Soldier, a historical children’s book.
She will be joined by Palestinian author Sonia Nimr, who has written close to 20 children’s books, and Australian crime writer Liz Porter.
Among those representing the UAE are Emirati writer Eman Al Yousuf, whose novel, Haris Alshams (Guard of the Sun), won first prize at the Emirates Novel Award this year.
Also showing up will be Shaikh Abdul Aziz Bin Ali Al Nuaimi, a member of Ajman’s ruling family best known for his environmental activism, and former royal photographer Ramesh Shukla. Over four decades ago, Shukla snapped the iconic image of the country’s leaders which was used to create the National Day logo.
Year of reading
The nine-day festival will take place from March 3 to 11 at the InterContinental Hotel in Dubai Festival City. Organisers are planning signings, readings and workshops with the authors, as well as writing competitions and an inter-school quiz for younger readers.
Emirates Literature Foundation chief and festival director Isobel Abulhoul said that this year’s festival would have plenty to offer all ages.
“We want to encourage as many people as possible, particularly young ones, to pick up a book and read for pleasure,” she said.
The announcement of the 2017 lineup takes place during the UAE’s Year of Reading, a national programme aimed to boost the love of literature — particularly among children.
Quoting a poem by famed Chilean diplomat Pablo Neruda – “You start dying slowly… if you do not read” - one of the festival’s trustees added a humorous twist.
“You will die slowly if you don’t attend the Emirates Festival of Literature,” said Rafia Obaid Gobash, who is also founder of the Women’s Museum in Dubai, to laughter from the audience.
The festival is sponsored by Dubai’s flagship carrier Emirates airline. Held earlier this year, the previous festival saw 40,000 people show up, according to organisers.
More information can be found on emirateslitfest.com.
