Best of the Emirates LitFest

For many years, people have been talking about the decline of the book, with shorter attention spans and a general thirst for instant gratification. But we have seen reading and books make a major mainstream come-back since the start of the pandemic.  So instead of interviewing an author or recommending books, today, we dive into the results of a study we have just published about trends in literature with our partners and friends from Four Communications. The Emirates Literature Foundation team are joined by Natalie Amos, Managing Director Lifestyle MENA, and dialling in from London is Truda Spruyt, Managing director Culture at Four Communications, where her clients include the International Booker Prize, and the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. Download the white paper: https://www.elfdubai.org/en/white-paper-read-between-the-lines (https://www.elfdubai.org/en/white-paper-read-between-the-lines ) Click here to take the test and find out what kind of reader you are!

Lemn Sissay knows more than most what it takes to change the story. Until he was seventeen he didn't even know his real name, having been brought up in a succession of foster families and care homes against his mother's wishes. In his memoir My Name is Why, the award-winning writer and poet tells the story of his fight for justice and finding hope and creativity while caught in an uncaring and dangerous bureaucracy. In this wide-ranging and inspiring conversation, Lemn reflects on the response to his powerful book, his writing life and his discoveries about life and culture in difficult times.

For all of women's advances in recent years, feminism remains a fraught topic and women still have to find creative ways to assert themselves in different areas. Hafsa Lodi and Houriya Altaheri, trailblazers in fashion and football respectively, discuss their careers and the recent events and ongoing trends that have affected women's prospects. American journalist Hafsa Lodi has covered fashion in the Middle East for the past decade. Her book Modesty: A Fashion Paradox has enjoyed critical praise, with Harper's Bazaar calling it “a well-researched and tender portrait of the politics and people behind a movement.” Houriya Altaheri is an Emirati sportsperson, FIFA coach and instructor, and businesswoman, currently Head Coach for the UAE Women's National Football Team. Her book Becoming a Legend tells the story of how she contended with both a traditional culture and a male-dominated sport in pursuing her dreams.

Fearmongering and disinformation are serious problems today, and the medical world, in particular, is plagued by junk science, outdated theories and highly contested data presented as fact – not to mention dangerous conspiracy theories such as the one driving the anti-vaccine movement. Our panel of medical experts takes a scalpel to the mass of confusing data on topics from fad diets to the coronavirus outbreak. Send your questions ahead of time for a chance to have the panel discuss them! Jay Jayamohan is a Consultant Paediatric Neurosurgeon and author of Everything That Makes Us Human: Case Notes of a Children's Brain Surgeon. He has been the star of two BBC documentaries following the work of neurosurgeons and has advised on head-related court cases. Dr Rupy Aujla MBBS, BSc, MRCGP, is a GP and Sunday Times bestselling author of three books: The Doctor's Kitchen, Eat to Beat Illness and Doctor's Kitchen 3-2-1. He is founder of “The Doctor's Kitchen”, promoting the medicinal benefits of eating well, creating healthy recipes and explaining the clinical research behind them and regularly appears on TV and in the media. Nafea Alyasi is a doctor and writer from the United Arab Emirates. He holds a BA in general surgery from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences – UAE University, and is one of the medical care officials for isolation patients infected with Covid-19.

Do you feel like you are surrounded by idiots? What is going on in the head of that one colleague you just can't work with? How do meetings always end up over-length and off-topic? Our panel brings together two authors who have tackled these questions and more in their books on business, cross-cultural communication and the always-challenging art of getting on with people. Thomas Erikson is an internationally bestselling behavioural expert whose instantly accessible “four colour” system underlies his books Surrounded by Idiots, Surrounded by Psychopaths and the upcoming Surrounded by Bad Bosses. Sherif Arafa is a self-development author, editorial cartoonist and public speaker. His book which translates as Why are People Around You Idiots? addresses the challenges of cross-cultural communication.

Elif Shafak's remarkable career has seen her use the power of story to bring people together. Perhaps most famous for her fiction, which includes bestsellers The Forty Rules of Love and 10 minutes 38 seconds in This Strange World, she is also the author of reflective and insightful non-fiction. Intellectual and entertaining, universal and personal, Elif's stories have the rare quality of appealing to every reader. With eighteen books published and translated into fifty-four languages, she is the most widely read female author in Turkey and acclaimed across the globe. Watch now the exploration of Elif's writing, the challenges of conscious optimism, and the importance of bridging the gap between the East and West. Session moderated by Ahlam Bolooki, Festival Director of Emirates Airline Festival of Literature Also tune in to the Boundless Book Club, the book club podcast from the Emirates Literature Foundation: https://the-boundless-book-club.captivate.fm/listen (https://the-boundless-book-club.captivate.fm/listen )

Youngest Nobel laureate and Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai has never stopped advocating for girls' right to education, despite the attempt on her life by the Taliban in 2012 in her home, Pakistan's Swat Valley. Join the conversation with Malala, now a fresh graduate from Oxford in politics, philosophy, and economics, as she delves into her life and her never-ending endeavor for the eradication of systematic exclusion of children and girls from education. Malala is an example that all it takes is courage to muster a voice — a revolutionary voice. This session was recorded in front of a live audience at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2021. Moderated by Alia Al Mansoori Also tune in to the Boundless Book Club, the book club podcast from the Emirates Literature Foundation: https://the-boundless-book-club.captivate.fm/listen (https://the-boundless-book-club.captivate.fm/listen )

Among today's upheavals in the Middle East, a global pandemic and economic recessions, the timely release of Adrift by world-renowned scholar and bestselling author Amin Maalouf is his attempt at making sense of our world as it is today. Expertly weaving in his life story while mapping turning points in the Middle East's geopolitics, Maalouf addresses global threats to humankind with division at the heart of its adversity. Join Maalouf as he seeks to raise awareness and pursue a new human solidarity by facing the history that has led to worldwide political instability and social inequality. This session was recorded in front of a live audience at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2021. Moderated by Sally Mousa Also tune in to the Boundless Book Club, the book club podcast from the Emirates Literature Foundation: https://the-boundless-book-club.captivate.fm/listen (https://the-boundless-book-club.captivate.fm/listen )

As firm believers in the redemption and enlightenment that can be found in a book, the Emirates Literature Foundation has been working for more than two years with Dubai Penal and Correctional Institutions and Dubai Police to organise visits from Dubai-based and international authors to help inmates engage with books and the writing process. After visiting the prison as part of this programme, two authors, Clare Mackintosh and Annabel Kantaria, saw an opportunity to develop this initiative into something more. They wanted to help the prisoners find their voices and tell their stories, and so the writer in residence project was born. The authors spent a week visiting the inmates to help them find their voices. The result was published in a book called Tomorrow, I Will Fly, a collection of essays and personal reflections, written entirely by the men and women in Dubai Central Jail. This book was launched at the 2020 Emirates Airline Festival of Literature and simultaneously at the Dubai Central Jail.

Detective John Rebus may have retired, but bestselling crime author, Ian Rankin, certainly has not! The latest instalment continues the story of Rebus's post-retirement meddling in the changing landscape of Scottish policing, as his protégé Siobhan Clarke investigates how the body of a long-missing private investigator was found on land that had been searched years ago. Every officer involved must be questioned. But there is one man who knows where the trail may lead – and that it could be the end of him: John Rebus.

What makes going from A to B an adventure, not a destination? A map can show you the layout of a place, but its emotional geography is something that takes a bit more time and skill to uncover. Leon McCarron is a Northern Irish adventurer, filmmaker, writer and motivational speaker, who believes in the importance of a slower pace to truly understand the world and its people, whether walking 3000 miles across China or trekking 1000 miles across the Empty Quarter. Malachy Tallack is a writer, editor and singer-songwriter from Scotland whose non-fiction books Sixty Degrees North and The Un-Discovered Islands both fuse nature writing, history and memoir. The discuss their adventures at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2019.

For any woman who has ever looked at her Instagram feed and thought, 'Who are these women, and how the hell do they do it?' The internet has set destructive standards of flawlessness and comparison. Katherine Ormerod, journalist and social media mogul, explodes our social-media-addled ideas about body image, money, relationships, motherhood, careers, politics and more and gives us the tools we need to control our own online lives, rather than being controlled by them. This session was recorded at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in 2019.

A former British police officer, Clare Mackintosh is now a Sunday Times bestselling author. Her debut novel I Let You Go was a Richard & Judy book club pick and won Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award in 2016. In 2017, it was announced that she had sold over one million copies worldwide. Her second novel I See You reached number 1 in the Sunday Times original fiction list and was shortlisted for Crime and Thriller Book of the Year in the British Book Awards. Her latest novel Let Me Lie also became a number one Sunday Times bestseller and garnered a lot of praise from readers and other thriller writers.

Keith Stuart is an author and journalist. His debut novel, A Boy Made of Blocks, was a Richard and Judy Book club pick and a bestseller, inspired by Keith's real-life relationship with his autistic son. His second novel, Days of Wonder, is a story about story about family, love and finding magic in everyday life. He has written for publications including Empire and Esquire magazine and was the former games editor of the Guardian. Here he speaks to Emirates ICE about his novels at the Emirates LitFest in 2019.

Leon McCarron is a Northern Irish storyteller and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Leon walked 3,000 miles across China which took him six months while filming for a National Geographic TV show. He also cycled 14,000 miles from New York to Hong Kong and trekked 1,000 miles through the Empty Quarter desert in Oman which became a feature length film, Into the Empty Quarter, and was premiered at the Royal Geographical Society in London. His first book, The Road Headed West, is an Amazon Top 10 Bestseller. His latest book is The Land Beyond: A Thousand Miles on Foot Through the Heart of the Middle East. He speaks to Emirates ICE ahead of his appearance at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in 2019.

Sue Nelson is an award-winning science journalist and broadcaster, formerly a BBC TV science correspondent and Radio 4 presenter. Sue was a presenter of The Material World on BBC Radio 4 and has presented a number of science series on Radio 4 including Britain's Modern Brunels and Citizen Scientist in 2006. She was also the co-author of How To Clone the Perfect Blonde alongside Richard Hollingham. Her award-winning 2016 documentary Women with the Right Stuff was one of BBC World Service's most-listened-to podcasts. She came to Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in 2019 to talk about her latest book, Wally Funk's Race to Space

Lewis Dartnell is an author, presenter and Professor of Science Communication at the University of Westminster. He's well known for his work, The Knowledge: How to Rebuild our World from Scratch. Lewis has written science articles for popular magazines like New Scientist and written books such as Life in the Universe and has contributed an essay on extra-terrestrial life edited by Jim Al-Khalili to critical acclaim. His new book, Origins: How the Earth Made Us, looks at the human story from the perspective of the planetary forces that shaped our biology and history. Lewis speaks to Emirates ICE ahead of Emirates LitFest in 2019.

Historian and travel writer, best known for his critically acclaimed 'White Mughals' and 'Return of a King', William Dalrymple is interviewed for the Emirates ICE channel at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.

What's it like to see your life unfold on the big screen? Authors Saroo Brierley and Cheryl Strayed know, having seen their bestselling memoirs adapted as major motion pictures. Together they discuss the excitement and stress of seeing their deeply personal stories retold by movie studios and released to a whole new audience. Saroo Brierley is the author of A Long Way Home, the tale of his search for his birth family which became the BAFTA-winning movie Lion starring Dev Patel. Cheryl Strayed is the author of the number 1 New York Times bestselling memoir Wild. They came together on a stage at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in 2018 to share their extraordinary stories.

Bestselling horror writer Joe Hill, best known for his novels 'Horns', 'The Fireman' and the horror comic series 'Locke and Key'. Son of prolific horror writer, Stephen King, here he is interviewed for Emirates ICE.

Curry queen, recognised as the foremost authority on Indian food; author of several bestselling cookbooks. Here she is interviewed for Emirates ICE at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in 2018.

The biggest selling English-language author in India's history, Chetan Bhagat's novels and non-fiction alike provoke discussion on a wide range of social problems while entertaining millions of readers. His seventh novel One Indian Girl explores the demands placed on young women caught between family, career and love, while the advice collected in Make India Awesome offers solutions to issues from religious fundamentalism to discrimination against women. This full session was recorded at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2018.

The Eisner Award-winning Locke and Key comic series has sold more than a million copies and is already considered a modern comics classic, pitting a grieving family against the forces of evil and their own buried secrets. For the first time in Dubai, the creators appear together on stage to discuss their work, an upcoming TV adaptation, and their reunion in Tales from the Darkside. This full session recorded at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in 2018.

Nobel Peace Prize winner and microfinance innovator Muhammad Yunus has a vision of a new economic system that unleashes altruism as a creative force just as powerful as self-interest. In his new book A World of Three Zeros he describes a world of zero poverty, zero unemployment and zero net emissions – and introduces the innovative social businesses who are changing their practices to make this possible. This session was recorded at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2018

Stephen Ritz's seeds of motivation have blossomed into an international movement – come and discover The Power of a Plant! ‘America's favourite teacher' turned around his struggling New York school by changing its grounds into urban gardens. His students' health, grades and community spirit, previously some of the worst in the country, completely transformed. He has since pioneered ways for schools around the globe to start farms that require little in the way of space, dirt or water – just enthusiastic children! This festival session was recorded at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in 2018.

Discover a powerful story of love, rebellion and magical destiny set in post-apocalyptic Africa. Nnedi Okorafor's Who Fears Death is being adapted for television by HBO and George RR Martin, and follows the journey of Onye – a woman on a quest for vengeance against her sorcerous father. A winner of the Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Awards as well as the Wole Soyinka Prize for African Literature, Nnedi's recent work also includes the Binti trilogy, Lagoon, a story in a new Star Wars anthology and a comic starring pre-Islamic Arab hero Antar the Black Knight.

The Little Book of Hygge was a runaway success and redefined ‘contentment' for the world. Author Meik Wiking, CEO of the Happiness Research Institute, has been called ‘the Indiana Jones of smiles' – and now he's back on a new quest to unlock the doors to happiness (or lykke) for us all! Wiking's native Denmark is considered the happiest country in the world, but he believes that the secrets of happiness are hidden around the globe. This full festival session was recorded at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in 2018.

Join us for an hour of mischief, laughter and master storytelling with one of the world's most prolific and best-loved writers, Alexander McCall Smith. Author of more than 100 books including the internationally bestselling No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, 44 Scotland Street and Corduroy Mansions series, McCall Smith was recently awarded the prestigious Medal of Honor for Achievement in Literature by The National Arts Club of America. This full festival session was recorded at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in 2018.

Westeros wouldn't last a week without someone keeping the ravens in order – and that's the job of animal trainer Julie Tottman. Julie is a vital part of the Game of Thrones team, with the difficult but rewarding job of training ravens, wolves, man-eating hounds and (occasionally) over-ambitious directors for their turn in the spotlight. She has also worked on the Harry Potter films, The Dark Knight and many other major film and TV projects. This full Festival session was recorded at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in 2018.

Number one bestselling children's author, talent show judge and actor David Walliams returns to Dubai to reveal all about his latest laugh-out-loud books! The author of The Midnight Gang, Grandpa's Great Escape and new book Bad Dad (about a wild scheme to return stolen loot!) will be talking to his friend and fellow author Andy Riley about hilariously horrible kids, gangsta grannies and ssspectacularly surprising snakes. This session was recorded at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2018.

‘Good people bring out the good in other people', says leadership expert Francis Kong. But how do you put this to practice in a challenging workplace or when serious problems arise? An entrepreneur and business consultant with decades of experience, Kong is here to reveal the power of a simple trait: having the right attitude. This entertaining talk shows how maintaining your own optimism and determined attitude – no matter the challenges – will inspire those around you. This full festival session was recorded at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in 2018.

Award-winning game scriptwriter and narrative designer, best known for the immensely popular reimagining of Tomb Raider. Daughter of Terry Pratchett -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors.

One of Britain's most prolific and best-loved poets for both adults and children; he has been called 'the patron saint of poetry' by Carol Ann Duffy -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors.

Award-winning illustrator of over 800 books including the immensely successful 'Horrid Henry' and 'Little Princess' series -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors.

CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen and one of the leading experts in global happiness. Author of Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!

Crime writer best known for his detective Tom Thorne series; has also written children's thrillers 'Triskelion' -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!

Photographer, adventurer and author of award-winning books about his experience walking the length of the Nile, crossing the Himalayas and his 1800 mile trek around America -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!

Explosive performance poet and current chancellor of Manchester University; was the official poet of the 2012 Olympics -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!

Celebrity chef and author of nearly 40 cookbooks who popularised Chinese cooking around the world -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!

Author, broadcaster and playwright; best known for her Languedoc Trilogy including 'Labyrinth', 'Sepulchre' and 'Citadel' -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!

Renowned British reporter and author of non-fiction including 'The Kindness of Strangers', 'Into Danger' and 'Fighting on the Home Front' -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!

Richard & Judy are one of British TV's most popular presenting couples, dominating daytime television in the 90s. They co-founded Richard & Judy's Book Club and are both authors in their own right -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!

CEO of the Emirates Literature Foundation, Isobel Abulhoul, founded the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature which brings people of all ages together with authors from across the world to promote education, debate and, above all else, a love of reading. - Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!

Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!

Actor, TV Broadcaster and produce and author of 20 books for children including the powerful and influential ‘Coming to England.' She is known as presenter of children's programmes such as Play School, Play Away and Fast Forward -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!

Food writer and multi-award-winning author of numerous Middle Eastern cookbooks – and is often credited with changing Britain's food habits -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!

Author and comedy writer, best known for the book series 'Young Bond' and 'The Enemy' and TV shows including 'The Fast Show' -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!

World-renowned biographer whose subjects have included Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and Princess Diana; in '17 Carnations' he examines the cover-up of Edward VIII's Nazi connections. -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!

Internationally-acclaimed young adult author of over 40 books, including the COLA series and The Shapeshifter series -- Rolling back the years…. It's vintage LitFest! Since 2009, the Festival has had its own podcast channel on board Emirates flights, featuring interviews from some of the Festival's top authors. Now, curated for your enjoyment, is a selection from the archive!