Kinney, Hawking among guests at Emirates litfest
dubai — Next year’s Emirates Airline Festival of Literature will host famous writers including Diary of
a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney; Jane Hawking, whose best-selling memoir about her marriage with genius Stephen Hawking was turned into the film The Theory of
Everything; and master of crime fiction Ian Rankin.
During a Press conference on Monday, organisors of the festival announced the programme details of the event to be held from March 1-9, 2019. The festival will be held under the theme, United by Words, which is a wonderful way to frame the idea of what reading and writing ultimately does — erasing the perceived notions of what makes us different from one another, said festival director Ahlam Bolooki.
“Around the world, we have seen classifications and separations dividing people into colours, genders and faiths. The notion of ‘us vs. them’ is everywhere. What the world needs more than ever before is unity,” he added.
“We want our festival to be a meeting point for the world... Readers and non-readers, men and women, young and experienced, no matter who you are and where you are from, we have so much in common. We all share our uniquely human condition; our worries and concerns, our hopes and dreams. Throughout our programme, you will find sessions that speak to us all,” said Bolooki.
Other names in the programme list include: Emirati Spoken Word artist Afra Atiq, Jordanian author of Bride of Amman Fadi Zaghmout, author of the Mortal Instruments books Cassandra Clare, Palestinian award-winning author Ahlam Bsharat, Emirati cartoonist and comics author Khaled Al Jabri, Iraqi author Shahad Al Rawi, Lebanese poet Zeina Hashem whose most recent collection — Louder
than Hearts — won the 2016 May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Prize and many more.