Emirates Litfest launch on Friday welcomes 184 authors for nine-day gathering in Dubai

Source: Emirates Litfest set for ninth edition

Dubai: The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature turns the first page of its ninth edition on Friday welcoming more than 184 authors from around the world to one of the largest celebrations of the written word in the region.
Launched in 2009 to encourage higher levels of literacy, the annual festival offers 250 sessions, from speaking engagements and panel discussions by renowned authors to workshops and master classes.
The March 3-11 festival will also host the first Dubai International Publishing conference on March 5-6 to weigh and examine the present and future day publishing industry around the world.
At the helm of the literati gathering, Isobel Abulhoul, CEO and Trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation and Director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, said the stage is set for another resounding festival.
Authors attending this year include John Hemingway, publisher of the bestselling sequel to The Devil Wears Prada; Thalia Suzuma; Jordanian author Rana Nejem; bestselling British author Jeffrey Archer; and baking champion and cookbook writer Nadiya Hussain.