Literature festival a celebration of reading

At a time when many say fewer people are reading, the UAE and this event have proved otherwise

More than 184 authors will attend the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, which is celebrating its ninth edition. This is testimony to the immense popularity of the festival and the tremendous impact it has had among residents and visitors. The festival opens today and will run until March 11. It will also host the first Dubai International Publishing conference on Sunday and Monday to study the present and future publishing industry around the world.

Reading a book is one of the greatest pleasures of life — it informs and educates, it’s liberating, it fosters ideas and it takes readers on a journey. And the journey is what is crucial. A society that is literate and enlightened is a society where great ideas are born, civilisations prosper and nations evolve. A child’s foundation is built when he or she reads voraciously. Society benefits from that education when the child reaches adulthood and continues to explore and investigate.

The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature has successfully fostered the culture of reading amongst the young in the country and encouraged adults to continue their journey of education and exploration. It has catered to all tastes and evolved with time. Authors attending this year include John Hemingway, publisher of the bestselling sequel to The Devil Wears Prada; Thalia Suzuma; Jordanian author Rana Nejem; top-selling British author Jeffrey Archer; and baking champion and cookbook writer Nadiya Hussain.

At a time when many say fewer people are reading, the UAE and the literature festival have proved otherwise. The nation celebrated 2016 as the Year of Reading with great success. The literature festival is set to celebrate the glorious culture of reading.