Here are five must-see sessions taking place on February 7 at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai.
Ranulph Fiennes: Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know
When: noon to 1pm
Where: Al Ras 1, InterContinental, Dubai Festival City
Price: Dh59
How many people can say they’ve walked unaided to the North Pole, discovered a lost city in Oman and became the first person to travel overland to both Poles?
Sir Ranulph Fiennes has travelled to the most dangerous and inaccessible places on Earth, almost died countless times and lost nearly half his fingers to frostbite. An elite soldier, an athlete, a mountaineer, an explorer and a best-selling author, he also nearly replaced Sean Connery as James Bond.
Take a walk on the wild side with the world’s greatest living explorer according to the Guinness Book of Records.
Fatima Bhutto: New Kings of the World: Dispatches from Bollywood, Dizi, and K-Pop
When: 2-3pm
Where: Al Ras 1, InterContinental, Dubai Festival City
Price: Dh59
Author and journalist Fatima Bhutto takes a vivid look at a new global pop culture trends through her profile of Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan, along with going behind the scenes of ‘Magnificent Century’, Turkey’s biggest TV show, watched by upwards of 200 million across 43 countries. She also takes us into South Korea, where the K-Pop boom took its first step towards global domination.
Tayari Jones: An American Marriage
When: 4-5pm
Where: Al Ras 1, InterContinental, Dubai Festival City
Price: Dh59
An official Oprah’s Book Club selection and winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Tayari Jones’ ‘An American Marriage’ traces the lives of a young couple — Roy, a man wrongly convicted of a crime, and his wife Celestial. Set in modern-day America, this intimate tale explores whether their relationship can endure such an assault by the justice system, and asks questions about love and racial injustice.
Joshua Raven: The Thrilling World of 5fingers
When: 5-6pm
Where: Al Khayma, InterContinental, Dubai Festival City
Price: Dh39
Who says the Emirates Litfest is all about the adults? Author Joshua Raven has created a series of thrillers with adventure, action, mystery and more than a hint of the supernatural in the YA genre. Come and explore the world of ‘5fingers’ in the company of its creator, and decide whether you would have as much courage as the characters who fight for freedom against an enemy with a multitude of faces.
Harry and Chris: The UK’s Favourite Comedy-Rap-Jazz Duo
When: 7.30-8.30
Where: Zaytoun, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dubai Festival City
Price: Dh59
Having played together in various forms for more than 10 years, World Poetry Slam Champion Harry Baker teams up with BFF/Jazz musician Chris Read as the imaginatively titled ‘Harry and Chris’. After sell-out runs of their 2016-2018 Edinburgh Fringe shows, Baker and Read are making comedy-jazz-rap a thing, their songs range from panda repopulation to coming of age to Robot Wars.
