Highlights From The Emirates Airline Festival Of Literature

Education Day brings hundreds of children together with authors in fun, socially distanced sessions

The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature was all about the joy of learning today as hundreds of students from all over Dubai attended a fun offering of four author sessions curated for different ages. Three of the sessions were also live streamed to students in schools across the UAE, making literary experiences available to as many children as possible.  

Key Highlights

Animator Ken Arto (Demon Slayer) thrilled anime fans with stories from his career and offered advice on how to make it in the animation industry. With a lively Q&A covering everything from how to break into the animation industry to salary expectations, it was clear Ken Arto had captured the imaginations of these secondary school students.

Author Ali Sparkes talked about her bestselling Shapeshifter series and discussed where she gets her ideas from and how she shapes her characters. 

Illustrator Rob Biddulph delighted primary school students with a live drawing session and shared the story of how he became an illustrator before doing a reading from one of his latest books, Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City. The long book signing queue was soon forgotten as each and every student got a personalised drawing along with the autograph.

This evening will also feature a celebration of Charles Dickens in honour of his 120^th birthday as the Emirates LitFest throws a long-awaited wedding party for one of his most iconic characters, Miss Havisham. The event will feature one of Dickens’ direct descendants; Dickens expert and author Lucinda Dickens Hawksley.

The Emirates LitFest will also be bringing the magic of poetry and music to EXPO 2020 with poets Afra Atiq and Carlos Andres Gomez displaying their performance skills accompanied by musician Brent Shuttleworth. 

Coming Up Tomorrow… 

Get swept away to a one-of-a-kind Arabian night as it’s finally time for the Emirates LitFest’s crown jewel event, Desert Stanzas, which sees performers and audiences meet up among the desert dunes for a one-of-a-kind of evening of Emirati hospitality, poetry and music.