The Annual Emirates Airline Literature Festival Begins in Dubai

The eighth annual festival of literature has started on 1st March and will end on 12th March. The festival is solely based on the theme of time and began with a back to back program of literary treats. More than 150 writers, poets, philosophers and scholars will present an incredible selection of categories, topics and subjects to tempt audience of all ages and interests in this festival.

Every year the Literature Festival evolves to bring new ideas, encourage new outlooks on literature and celebrate the traditional forms of literature. There is a wide array of talent and topics that Dubai is privileged to cover in 2016, that is why the Emirates Airline has extended the duration of the festival for two weeks which is for the very first time, just to do justice to the most diverse courses.

The Dubai Literature Festival is the first international literary event of the year 2016 which is announced as the “Year of Reading” by the President of UAE, supported by Prime Minister and Vice-President. In order to highlight the initiative, the Literature Festival has a mission to analyze and track the reading habits of school children across Dubai.

There is an intense need for creative team work to motivate a new generation of readers who will become the next thinkers, scholars and intellectuals. The UAE government is fully supporting the Literature Festival, to help people connect to the modern-day authors, poets and writers who address all ages, genres, cultures and inspire local conversations to create a wealth of wonderful literature activity.

The culture of Dubai has been supporting the Literature Festival for over the past seven years and now it has become the most anticipated literary event in the whole UAE region. The festival is intended to promote the literary culture in UAE and nurturing the next generation of writing talent, engage the community into the appealing world of written word.

The Literature Festival offers a myriad of discussions, insightful conversations, poetry presentations, workshops and classes featuring authors, guest speakers from all around the globe.

Special Events in Literature Festival

–   Spotlights on the Emirates is a segment that runs from 1st to 3rd March, focusing on the culture and history of UAE. A number of renowned Emirati literary stars pay tribute to the literary culture of the UAE.

–   Literary Cruise and Time Travel Dinner are two new events that will be happening this year in which speakers and philosophers will discuss the importance of literature and share their experiences.

–   On Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary, Steven Berkoff, a well-known theater director, will be bringing a play, Shakespeare’s Villains to the whole UAE, and versatile TV actors Meera Syal and Robert Lindsay will be paying tribute to the Bard.

–   The Literature Festival will be featuring the Sonnet Exchange – an international project that celebrate Shakespeare’s poetry and award winning poets will be performing their poetic responses inspired by the Bard’s sonnets.

–   Astronaut Chris Hadfield, and a panel of UAE Mars Mission members will discuss their experiences. Various health experts, body coaches, and dieticians will unlock the health policies, theories of brain, work-life balance tips and how to deal with depression.  

–   International stars, filmmakers, authors and science series writers will discuss their interests and experiences to the audience.

The Literature Festival in Dubai features many sessions, workshops, masterclasses and special events. It is organized to bring literary awareness to the entire UAE nation. So, get your skates on, grab the tickets via the festival website and be a part of this amazing commemoration.