Message from the Festival Director

Welcome to this month’s Festival News, in which we offer two opportunities to meet and chat with top authors on October 26th: an Emirates Litfest/Magrudy’s talk by Kate Adie and our first Festival Friends exclusive event!

Also, don’t forget to enter this year’s students’ writing competition – and if you feel we have earned it, vote for us in Ahlan! Best in Dubai 2010!

- Isobel Abulhoul, Festival Director

"Instant News": Kate Adie talk and signing on Tuesday October 26th at 7pm

Best-selling author and BBC Chief News Correspondent Kate Adie will be speaking and signing copies of her books at Magrudy’s in Dubai Festival City on Tuesday October 26th. The topic of Kate’s talk will be “Instant News” - how new technology has accelerated the pace of news and changed the way we receive it.

Price: AED 69 (62 for Festival Friends). This price includes a copy of one of Kate’s books.

Tickets are available now & on the night from Magrudy’s at Dubai Festival City. To reserve a ticket, email gina.cledera@emirateslitfest.com. The talk starts at 7pm.

Become a Festival Friend and meet authors Kate Adie and Khaled Al Khamissi on October 26th

Have you dreamed of having a coffee with and chat with your favourite author?

On the 26th of October, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is hosting an exclusive Festival Friends coffee morning with two longstanding Festival ambassadors, Khaled Al Khamissi and Kate Adie.

Egyptian author, journalist and film-maker Khaled Al Khamissi was widely acclaimed for his first novel, Taxi, a tour of the social and political landscape of modern Cairo through the eyes of 58 taxi drivers. Written in colloquial Arabic, the book is enjoying international success in its English and Italian editions with further translations forthcoming.

Kate Adie, best known as the former Chief News Correspondent for BBC News, is the author of four books: The Kindness of Strangers, Corsets to Camouflage: Women and War, Nobody's Child and Into Danger. The Kindness of Strangers, an autobiographical account of her work as a reporter, was on the Sunday Times best-sellers list for 37 weeks.

Enjoy this unique opportunity to get to know these two authors while enjoying complimentary tea & coffee, fresh fruit & pastries. The coffee morning will be held at Bistro Madeleine from 10:30am-12pm. RSVP to gina.cledera@emirateslitfest.com.

This event is free to all Festival Friends so, if you are not a  Friend yet, sign up today. Remember, Friends who signed up before March 14 2010 get another year’s complimentary membership.

Students' Writing Competition - closing date November 12th

The closing date of the third edition of the Emirates Litfest Student Writing Competition is November 12th. This year’s theme is “The Mystery”, so put on your thinking caps and send us in your best mystery story.

The competition is open to four age categories in two languages, Arabic and English. The winning stories will be announced at the Festival on Saturday March 12th 2011.

The age categories and word limits relate to your age on November 12th 2010:

1. Ages 11 and under – up to a maximum of 500 words
2. Ages 12 – 14 – up to a maximum of 1000 words
3. Ages 15 – 18 – up to a maximum of 1500 words
4. Age 18+ for undergraduates in full-time education - up to a maximum of 1500 words

This year’s competition is sponsored by Montegrappa, and the winning entries will be published by Jerboa Books in a bilingual book of short stories entitled The Mystery. The winners will receive 5 copies of the book and be invited to an official Winners’ Ceremony at the 2011 festival. 

The winners will also receive luxury writing instruments from Montegrappa: the overall winner for each age category will win a limited edition Montegrappa Paulo Coelho fountain pen, with runners up each winning a Montegrappa Nero Uno pen.

So what are you waiting for? Send in your entries as soon as possible as the deadline for the competition is November 12th 2010.

Best in Dubai - Best Cultural Event

We're pleased to announce that we have been shortlisted in the Best Cultural Event category of Best in Dubai. If you think that we deserve this award, please vote for us on Best in Dubai's website: http://www.bestindubai.ae/index.php