A
number of sessions at the sixth Emirates Airline Festival of Literature have
sold out within days of tickets going on general sale say organisers, who also announced
a series of additional workshops to take place in the week-end preceding the
Festival.
The first sessions to
sell out were the Quick Pitch workshops held by UK literary agent Luigi Bonomi,
where aspiring writers can get instant feedback on their unpublished work.
The Murder Mystery
Dinner, an evening event where guests solve a ‘murder’ with the help of
visiting authors, was next to sell out followed by creative writing workshops
with locally-based novelist and playwright Hayley Doyle and former UK poet
laureate Andrew Motion.
To cater to the demand
for the hugely popular creative writing workshops, the Festival has launched
The Festival Prologue, a series of two-day creative writing
workshops in English and Arabic
that give writers the chance to boost their skills in the run-up to the Festival.
The Prologue will also feature a paper architecture workshop.
The Festival itself will
take place in Dubai from 4 to 8 March under the patronage of His Highness
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President & Prime Minister
and Ruler of Dubai, and in partnership with Emirates and the Dubai Culture
& Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated Authority for
culture, arts, and heritage. The Festival
is now part of the Emirates Literature Foundation, which was established last year
by Royal decree.
Festival Director Isobel
Abulhoul remarked on this rush to buy tickets: “It is not surprising that
tickets are selling so quickly. We are poised to present yet another
extraordinary celebration of the written and spoken word with masterclasses,
workshops, talks and debates that are engaging and enriching and will appeal to
all kinds of audiences in Dubai and the region. Every session is unique and
never repeated, which is why tickets are selling well across the whole of the
Festival,” she concluded.
The Festival Prologue
workshops feature Sherry
Ashworth, Anjum Malik and Mohammed Achaari. Calligrapher Dave Wood will also be
conducting a paper architecture workshop. The Prologue is scheduled for
the weekend before the Festival, on Friday February 28 and Saturday March 1,
and will be held at the
Universal American School in Al Badia.
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follows-
“Our aim is to provide regionally-based writers with an opportunity to
enhance their skills and techniques at the in-depth workshops. Hour-long
courses help writers develop their skills but these two-day courses will give
them the opportunity to explore and develop writing techniques while also
receiving constructive and critical feedback,” said Becky Kilsby, Head of
Programming at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.
“We have innovative creative writing workshops in English and Arabic
that will appeal to aspiring writers and a fantastic script-writing workshop
with Anjum Malik. We also have Dave Wood, who will be demonstrating and then
teaching the wonderful art of paper-sculpting,” she added.
The
Tutors
Sherry Ashworth will be
conducting a creative writing workshop specifically designed for anyone with a
desire to write fiction. Ashworth’s writing exercises will encompass character
development, plot construction, effective dialogue and establishing setting. By
the end of the workshop, participants will have produced an original piece of
writing and will also receive extensive feedback from Ashworth and the rest of
the group.
Ashworth has taught
fiction writing for seven years in her role as a Visiting Teaching Fellow of
Manchester Metropolitan University. She has written over twenty books,
including comic novel “A Matter of Fat”, and more serious novels for young
adults such as “Blinded by the Light” and “Paralysed’, both of which have won
awards.
Anjum Malik is also a Visiting
Teaching Fellow of Manchester Metropolitan University where she teaches script
writing and poetry. Malik’s workshop aims to help budding script-writers make
complete scripts based on their burgeoning ideas.
At the workshop,
participants will study films and learn the key skills of script writing -
premise, characters, plot, scenes, setting and dialogue – to develop their
ideas into synopses, treatments and finally scenes of their films.
Celebrated writer and poet Mohammed Achaari will
be conducting a creative writing course in Arabic for the Festival Prologue. Achaari’s
workshop on The Art of the Novel will give participants the opportunity to
develop their understanding of the elements of writing fiction, including
narrative structure, creating character and the effective use of language.
Participants will also be given time to practice their writing and share their
work with Achaari for feedback.
Achaari, who was declared joint
winner (with Saudi writer Raja Alem) of the International Prize for Arabic
Fiction for “The Arch and the
Butterfly”, has been a published
author and poet since the 1960s and will also be attending the Festival as a
participating author.
At the ‘Art of Paper
Sculpture’ workshop with world-renowned Australian calligrapher Dave Wood, participants
will learn how to sculpt a flat page into new and exciting dimensions. Wood
will take participants through the basics of sculpted image before showing them
how to use the versatility of paper to create beautiful artforms.
Tickets for the Festival
Prologue can be purchased online on the LitFest website - http://tickets.emirateslitfest.com/c-13-festival-prologue.aspx
Tickets for the Festival
are available on-line at emirateslitfest.com and also at Festival Bookseller WHSmith’s
selected outlets in Dubai Mall (lower-ground floor), Oasis Centre Mall, Marina
Mall and Al Wahda Mall, Abu Dhabi. Ticket prices start at AED45 and there are
also many events and activities on offer free of charge.
For more details of the Festival
please visit www.emirateslitfest.com.
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