Tickets are now on sale for the ninth Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the organisers have announced.
The annual literary extravaganza brings a host of top authors to Dubai, the UAE, and will take place over nine days this year from March 3 to 11.
The ‘not-to-be-missed’ events include sessions with master storyteller Jeffrey Archer, ‘queen of crime writers’ Kathy Reichs, celebrated Emirati writer Dr Hamad al-Hammady, veteran poet Mourid Barghouti and multi award-winning journalist Christina Lamb, according to a press statement.
The festival will be held during the UAE’s 2017 Month of Reading and feature more than 160 authors, a third of whom are from the UAE and Arab world.
Overall, some 32 nationalities will be represented.
Also in attendance will be Emirati adventurer, photographer and campaigner Jalal Jamal bin Thaneya, who recently completed a journey — on foot — of the seven Emirates in only 14 days, in an effort to raise awareness about people with special needs.
“It is always a hugely exciting moment when tickets go on sale,” said Isobel Abulhoul, CEO and trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation and director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.“We have a stellar line-up of diverse authors and sessions, and there truly is something to suit all tastes; so many sessions are expected to sell out within the first few weeks.”
Ticket prices start at AED40 and many children’s events and activities will be available free of charge.
Tickets can be purchased on the festival website (tickets.emirateslitfest.com) and via the Emirates Literature Foundation app, available on the iOS and Google Play app stores.
For the first time, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature will be holding four three-day creative writing courses in Arabic and English for writers at different stages of their writing journey, the statement notes.
Internationally-acclaimed authors Patrick Gale, Sue Moorcroft, Tamsyn Murray and Fatima Sharafeddine will be conducting the workshops.
The festival includes a number of feature events, while visitors can also win tickets and exclusive opportunities to meet authors through the festival’s online contests such as the ‘Family Favourite Bake Competition’ and ‘Share and Meet the Authors, At The Top’. The main festival programme runs parallel to the festival’s education events.
The festival is held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, UAE Vice-President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in partnership with Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture).
Emirates
