“The partnership will see both publishing companies exchange the same number of books to be published in translation each year.”
United Arab Emirates
Emirates LitFest Expands to Two-Week Event
“The festival is now set for March 1 to 12.”
UAE Investing in Writers, Writers, (Some) Writers
When Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi declared that the saying should no longer be “Cairo writes, Beirut publishes, and Baghdad reads,” but instead some combination of Qatari and Emirati cities, many observers scoffed. Yet the Emirates is not just investing in big book fairs and big literary prizes, but also in individual writers.
German Author Detained in Abu Dhabi After Book Fair, Released
After two weeks detained in Abu Dhabi following this year’s Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, German author Jörg Albrecht has been granted passage home. According to his publisher, he arrived in Berlin this morning.
‘Uncommon’: Guides to Cairo and Dubai with Literary Aspirations
Isabelle Mayault is editor-at-large for Uncommon Guidebooks, which has just come out with an Uncommon Dubai and has an Uncommon Cairo in production. What makes these guidebooks less-than-common is that they take a more literary, anecdotal eye on their city-subjects.
All-female Final for First-ever Emirates Novel Award, Novella Category
I’m late to this, but the first ever Emirates Novel Award (@UAENovelAward) announced three finalists for its Best Short Novel (17,000 – 40,000 words) category last Thursday.
New Prize for Arabic YA Opens for Entries
The UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) is now open for submissions to the 5th Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature — the first time there will be an award especially for YA.
Creative-writing Culture in the Emirates: Will Money Help or Hurt?
A piece by Ayesha Almazroui in The National says “The UAE is a young country and so it has yet to develop a rich literary heritage to compare with…other countries in the region.” So, she asks: How can it be jump-started? Can it be jump-started?
New ‘Emirates Novel Awards’ to be Half Crowd-judged
A trio of new literary prizes, announced yesterday by sponsor twofour54, will reward books by Emiratis in three categories: Best Novel, Best Short Novel (Novella), and “Special Writer.”
Sheikh Zayed Book Award for Literature Withheld Again This Year
For the second year in a row, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA) judges have declined to grant a literature prize, stating that this year’s “nominations did not meet the Award’s standards and criteria for winning.” This despite a 14-strong literature longlist that included Mohamed al-Bisatie’s 2011 novel “And Their Bed is Green” and Ibrahim Nasrallah’s poetry collection “A Ray of Light Between Two Nights.”
Emirates LitFest Lineup Revealed
The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, now in its fifth year, released its schedule yesterday for the March 5-9 event, set to be held at the InterContinental in Dubai Festival City. Tickets are now on sale to “Festival Friends.” Headline… Read More ›
The Literary Potential of Dubai?
Today is opening day for The Archive (@TheArchiveDubai) a new library and meet-up space in Dubai. In a recent piece in The National, Egyptian novelist Nasser Iraq “Extols the Literary Potential of Dubai,” telling the newspaper that “there is a great opportunity for… Read More ›
