Watch: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2022 starts in Dubai with ‘Emirati Cultural Day’

Dubai: Emirati authors, poets, artists, businesspersons and officials will discuss everything from Emirati women in “unconventional paths” to “stigma in art” on the first day of the 2022 edition of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, which starts at Al Habtoor City in Dubai today.

Day one of the annual festival, also known as LitFest, this year is dedicated to Emirati talent and their works. Presented in collaboration with Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, the ‘Emirati Cultural Day’ at the festival will hear from Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai; business leader Khalaf Al Habtoor; artist and author Hala Kazim; and Freej-creator Mohammed Saeed Harib, among other leading Emirati personalities.

This year’s festival is being held under the theme ‘Here Comes the Sun’. Besides the new venue at Al Habtoor City, there will also be special events at Expo 2020 Dubai and Caravanserai for LitFest.

LitFest-goers on Thursday can also hear from Omar Ghobash, Assistant Minister for Culture and Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations and author of ‘Letters to a Young Muslim’. His latest book addresses his late father, the UAE diplomat Saif Ghobash.

2022 line-up

Among the participants this year at the event are Gary Vee, Nadiya Hussain, David Walliams, Iman Mersal, Indra Nooyi, Azza Fahmy Bridgerton author Julia Quinn, House of Gucci author Sara Gay Forden, Chernobyl 1986 author Serhii Plokhy, and Ken Arto, animator of Demon Slaye.

The festival will also host acclaimed and popular crime writer Mark Billingham; actor Ben Miller with his latest children’s book; YouTuber Ahmed El Ghandour aka Al Da7ee7; and joining the festival virtually, the master thriller writer David Baldacci.

Coping with challenges

Other sessions focusing on self-care, mental health and self-improvement will feature psychotherapist Sasha Bates who blends the personal and the professional as she comes to terms with the loss of her husband in The Languages of Loss: A Psychotherapist’s Journey Through Grief; and Jessica Moxham, a champion for disability rights and parenting, who will speak about what having a disabled child has taught her in The Cracks That Let the Light In. Also featured are Mathilde Loujayne and Ruzina Ahad, pioneers of a new generation of self-help books for the Muslim women of today.

Diverse offerings

The line-up includes experts from the worlds of science, history and art; foodie events including dinner with Italian masterchef Alessandro Borghese, and a Dickensian feast at Miss Havisham’s Wedding; performances from some of the world’s most accomplished spoken word artists; and new authors who have captured the literary zeitgeist.

As always, there is an interactive programme for children, and workshops for all ages covering poetry and poetry slam, creative writing and storytelling, drawing and illustration.

Graphic novelists

Anime fans can find out where graphic novelists and animators get their ideas from, with sessions featuring Fumio Obata, Ken Arto and Fadel Saeed AlMheiri. Jessica Cerasi, curator of the 2019 Venice Biennale who will pose the question ‘Who’s Afraid of Contemporary Art?’ based on her course at the Tate Modern. Lucinda Dickens Hawskley will discuss What Makes Great Art with Myrna Ayad, former director of Art Dubai. Renowned high-end jewellery designer Azza Fahmy will recount her journey from the bustling shops of Cairo to becoming one of the most admired jewellery designers in the Arab world.

Focus on history

Marina Wheeler, an Anglo-Indian with roots in what is now Pakistan, explores the story of her mother’s early years, shaped by the Partition, in The Lost Homestead. Rapahel Cormack will offer a taste of the cosmopolitan counterculture in Egypt during the inter-war years of the last century. The history strand also features paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi, who will be giving a highly entertaining talk on the history of the handshake, and Salma Serry and Daniel L Newman who will be delving back in time with unique insights gained from the history of cookbooks, in a session taking place at the Jameel Arts Centre.

Ashraf Al Ashmawi will take the audiences back to Egypt in the twentieth century in his latest novel, and he will discuss the art of writing historical fiction with Lulwah Al Mansouri and Sultan AlMousa.

Instapoet Nikita Gill will perform her widely acclaimed one-woman show ‘Maidens, Myths and Monsters’, revisiting legendary Greek heroines through storytelling and poetry. Dubai Abulhoul and Hadil Ghoniem will discuss their favourite childhood tales and how they influence their writing today.

Hana Al Hashimi and Mona Ali Khalil will examine ‘The Future of Diplomacy after COVID-19’ and Al Arabiya news anchor Fatima Daoui will share her thoughts on how the next generation of women in media can fight for their success. There is also advice on ‘How to contribute on Wikipedia’ for budding Wiki-editors and workshops galore for all ages on a host of topics from poetry, writing and publishing to sustainability.

Arts and crafts

Litfest also features art and craft workshops in Arabic and English for children of all ages in addition to a host of entertaining sessions throughout the weekend. For little ones, Polly Dunbar, author of the award-winning picture book Penguin, looks at two of life’s big questions - what being safe means and how to be calm – in Rawr! A lion is a lion. Julia Johnson and Maitha Al Khayat will explore the tradition of pearl diving through storytelling and illustration ahead of the launch of their new collaboration, Aisha’s Pear.

For pre-teens, award-winning author of the Shapeshifter series Ali Sparkes will delight with the final book in her most recent fantasy adventure – Night Forever – which reaches its heart-stopping conclusion at the top of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. Award-winning Erin Entrada Kelly is a Filipino-American writer of books including Hello Universe, The Land of Forgotten Girls, and her latest, We Dream of Space, a story of three siblings discovering that life rarely goes smoothly. YA author S. K. Ali brings to life the engaging character of Janna Yusuf, in her novel, Misfit in Love, and will be sharing her inspiration for the stories and the themes she explores at the festival.

Special events

The festival’s first weekend wraps up with two unique events on February 7. Audiences can enjoy a three-course meal and celebrate the anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birthday with an invitation to Miss Havisham’s wedding, starring special guest Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, the great-great-great granddaughter of the man himself.

There is also an evening at Expo 2020 Dubai with Carlos Andrés Gómez and Dubai’s own Dr Afra Atiq, accompanied musically by Nashville-based singer-songwriter Brent Shuttleworth.

The festival is held with Founding Partners Emirates Airline and Dubai Culture, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Litfest at a glance

When: February 3 to 13

Where: Habtoor City Hotels (main venue); Expo 2020 Dubai; Caravanserai

Tickets: Adult sessions Dh65; children’s sessions Dh40; Dh100 digital pass