Some of the world’s most creative literary talents will write a new chapter in the inspirational story of Dubai when the city hosts the inaugural Emirates Airline International Festival of Literature (EAIFL).

Authors confirmed to speak at the festival include celebrated writer Paolo Coelho, English adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Second Children’s Laureate Anne Fine, with acclaimed children’s writers Lynne Truss, Jeremy Strong and Lauren Child.

Other participating authors will be household names in genres such as fiction, children’s, lifestyle and sport.

Dubai Cultural Council is supporting the festival and will help attract leading authors, poets and translators from the Arab world.

The inaugural festival will take place in Dubai from February 25 and March 1, 2009. The first event of its kind on this scale to be held in the Middle East. EAIFL will be an annual event, bringing together people of all nationalities and cultures to celebrate literature and reading in all its forms.

EAIFL is directed by Isobel Abulhoul, director of Magrudy’s, the region’s leading chain of bookshops, and vice-chairman of London bookshop Foyles Bill Samuel.

“This festival is the first of its kind in the Middle East to provide a showcase for authors from the region, as well as bringing internationally best-selling writers to a new audience,” said Abulhoul.

Headline sponsor Emirates Airline has recognised the benefits of attracting a literary audience to Dubai by adding another important, cultural event to Dubai’s burgeoning arts calendar.

'One of the roles of the airline, from its start-up, has been to promote Dubai as a tourist and commercial destination; we believe EAIFL will help strengthen the literary scene in Dubai, as well as attract visitors from all over the world,' said Emirates’ divisional senior vice-president, Corporate Communications, Mike Simon.

A key part of the festival will be Education Day. Some of the authors attending the festival are expected to give lectures or talks to students at universities, colleges and schools in Dubai. – TradeArabia News Service