Guide to Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2024
The start of the year is always an exciting time in Dubai. Out of all the events, lovers of the written word are counting the days until the Emirates Literature Festival 2024.
An epic celebration of literature, creativity, writers and readers, this much-loved festival celebrates its 16th birthday this year. Find out all you need to know about one of Dubai’s biggest annual events and festivals, including dates, venues, attending authors and ticket information.
About the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2024
The 16th edition of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai celebrates the beauty of storytelling, an art that fosters imagination and appreciation of culture.
This festival is among the world’s most prominent international literary events. It combines various literary workshops, debates, performances and panel discussions featuring famous local and international authors and poets.
Launched in 2009, the Emirates Lit Fest has grown from humble beginnings into an immensely popular literary event, highly anticipated by residents and visitors alike. The festival aims to instil a passion for reading and writing literature into the community.
There are also many popular workshops for adults and children across various categories — such as story writing, poetry performances, zine making and more.
Emirates Lit Fest 2024 Dates and Locations
The festival will happen at the InterContinental in Festival City from the 31st January to 6 February 2024. Close to 160 events will be hosted in various halls at this hotel.
Other special events, such as the ‘Desert Stanzas’ and ‘Arabic Poetry and Oud Night’, will take place at the Caravanserai in Exit 29 – Jebel Ali and the Theatre of Digital Art, respectively.
Speakers at the Dubai Emirates Literature Festival
Visitors can expect to meet a diverse range of local, regional and international authors, activists, thinkers, poets and icons at the Emirates Literature Festival!
Some big names attending include UAE astronauts Hazza AlMansoori and Sultan AlNeyadi and prominent authors such as Saud Al Sanousi, Thomas Erikson, Sue Lynn Tan, Lucy Hawking and Hala Alyan.
Apart from discussions, performances and workshops, there will also be book launches and award ceremonies to bring talent to the spotlight.
Emirates Literature Festival Programme for 2024
The Emirates Literature Festival’s programme has five broad categories. Each category has its own series of events across the 7-day festival.
Individuals looking to attend the festival can look out for either of these categories and select the event of their interest. They can also head to the speakers and performers page, and look out for their favourite author/poet and the event they’re a part of.
Let’s look at these five events to be held at the Emirates Lit Fest 2024, and the highlights of each.
CONVERSATIONS
As the name suggests, Conversations involve thought-provoking discussions by thought leaders and experts in their fields.
Events of interest include:
- ‘Thomas Erikson: Surrounded By Energy Vampires’, where behavioural psychology expert Thomas Eriksen will discuss eliminating the people that zap your energy.
- ‘The Language Of Love’, where Eslam Abo Shkir, Zahran Al Qasmi and Nada El Hajj will talk about the portrayal of love in their books.
- ‘A Meeting Of Literary Giants’, where His Excellency Mohammed Ahmed Al Murr, Ali Abu Al Reesh and Dr Rafia Ghubash will discuss the growth of Emirati literature.
Other speakers of note include Cecilia Ahern (P.S I Love You), Anthony Horowitz (the Alex Rider series), Hala Alyan (The Arsonist’s City), Anton Hur (BTS: Beyond the Story) and Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing)
- Tickets: From AED 50 (prices vary for each event)
- Language: English and Arabic
WORKSHOPS
If you want to get hands-on with anything literature-related, your best bet is to attend one of the Workshops at Emirates Lit Fest.
Seven workshops will be conducted by renowned authors and members of the publishing industry. Each allows attendees to explore skills such as writing poetry, non-fiction and zine-making. While attending, you can also socialise with fellow budding writers and share the highs and lows of writing.
One highlight of the workshops is the two-day boot camp by American author and writing tutor Susan Breen. This workshop helps attendees navigate the process of creating characters, their journeys and writing the plot. It concludes with reading out an excerpt of your story to fellow attendees.
- Tickets: From AED 200 (the writing boot camp is AED 2,000)
- Language: English
DISCOVERY TALKS
Discovery Talks are discussions on more niche, unique topics for people seeking insights from the experts. Talks include ‘Teaching Robots Arabic (with AI)’ by Nizar Habash, ‘Bringing Chinese Mythology to Life’ by Sue Lynn Tan and ‘Literature For A Changing Planet’ by Martin Puchner.
Listen to the experts as they share their views and ideas on decolonising literature, talking about climate change in books, gender and diversity issues, and forgotten history at Discovery Talks. As a bonus, these events are free of charge*.
- Tickets: Tickets are free of charge if you have booked multiple events. Otherwise, there is a booking fee of AED 10
- Language: English and Arabic
SPECIAL EVENTS
Special Events offer a variety of marvellous experiences for the attendees. One of these events is the Opening Gala, which kicks off the Emirates Literature Festival 2024.
Three writers, Saud Al Sanousi (The Bamboo Stalk), Ben Okro (Tiger Work), and Claudia Rankine (Just Us), will come together to share their life journeys and their thoughts on the world. Amal Al Sahlawi, Hala Alyan and Ammar Ashkar will share their poetry and perform for the audiences. The 2024 First Chapter ELF Seddiqi Fellows will be announced with performances and talks.
Several special events will happen during the 7-day Literature Festival following the Opening Gala. Look out for the LitFest After Hours, a series of events after 06:00 pm that offers experiences and activities alongside setups like the Artist Souq, Bootleg Griot (a concept public library), games and more.
Other highlights include a workshop on pitching your book by Khalid Alnassiry, Dinner With A Clue, a murder mystery performance, a brunch with 2017 MasterChef winner Saliha Mahmood Ahmed, vocal performances and TikTok book awards. You also have the Desert Stanzas, which takes place in the desert at the Caravanserai in Jebel Ali desert.
Get your hands on the tickets for these events as soon as possible, as these are typically in high demand and garner quite the attention.
- Tickets: Starting from AED 40 for the LitFest AfterHours, up to AED 425
- Language: English and Arabic
FAMILY ACTIVITIES
Literature for children is powerful, as it can shape their creativity and imagination, encouraging them to question the world around them. Family Activities are about events by children’s and YA authors and recognise young talents.
Look out for Fringe Stage and Children Take Over (English and Arabic editions), where child performers and writers take over the stage. There is also Colours & Paper, an interactive session hosted by children’s author and illustrator Ali Al Zaini, where attendees can try painting and sketching. Other events include puppet shows by puppeteer Doha Khassawneh and talks by renowned names in the children’s book world, such as AF Harrold, Julia Johnson, Maitha Al Khayat and more.
- Tickets: AED 50 onwards
- Language: English and Arabic
Visit the Emirates Lit Fest website to learn about the events and the participating authors.
TICKETS
- Every session has a different ticket price ranging from AED 50 to AED 500.
- You must first register on the Emirates Literature Festival website to buy the tickets.
- Once you create your account, add interesting events to your ‘cart’ and save them for purchase later or buy them immediately.
FESTIVAL PASS
Emirates Lit Fest offers three Festival Passes. Available on a limited basis, they can be great if you’re looking to spend a longer stretch of time at the festival. The passes are as follows:
- Youth Day Pass: Access all the events on Youth Day (Thursday, 1 February). Costs AED 125
- Bil Arabi Pass: This multi-day pass allows access to select Arabic sessions throughout the festival. Costs AED 100
- Litfest After Hours Pass: Access all four days of Litfest After Hours. Costs AED 120
FAQS
How to get Emirates Literature Festival Tickets for 2024?
Want to book tickets for the festival? Tickets for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in 2024 are available on their website.
‘Foundation Friends’ members receive 15% off on tickets and other discounts. For any ticket-related query, email tickets@emirateslitfest.com.
What is the festival contact number?
If you have any queries regarding the Emirates Lit Fest 2024, contact the organisers at +971-4-355-9844. Alternatively, you can email them at info@elfdubai.org.
The Emirates Airline Festival for Literature brings something for everyone with its impressive author line-up. It’s the perfect retreat for bibliophiles, aspiring writers, journalists, intellectuals, and anyone with an eye for looking at things differently.
Don’t miss out on your chance to experience this fantastic celebration of science, poetry, books, learning, and meeting like-minded people. Speaking of like-minded people, book lovers can find them at any of the wonderful public libraries in Dubai.
You can also meet fellow bibliophiles at famous book clubs in Dubai, including the Emirates Literature Foundation Book Club. Also called the Foundation Book Club, they organise monthly meet-ups and discuss books whose authors will attend the next Literature Festival.
If you’re a poetry enthusiast, you should check out Nabati poetry in the UAE, a style from this country that has stolen several hearts!
Are you looking for a new book to read? Check out Dubai’s best bookstore shops for anything from best-selling biographies to fiction. Also, there are many libraries where you can get second-hand books in Dubai.
Note: The featured image collage is courtesy of the official website of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.
