The Emirates Airline International Festival of Literature (EAIFL) set an important precedent by holding the first literary festival of this stature and size in the Middle East in February 2009.

It was declared a triumph, having bought together 65 internationally esteemed authors from 20 countries to speak to packed audiences.  The InterContinental Hotel was home to the festival, with the stunning creek views and the ever changing skyline forming the perfect backdrop for this annual event.  It created a wonderful opportunity for UAE nationals, visitors and residents to meet their favourite writers; listen to their words and thoughts; take in the festival atmosphere and leave inspired. It featured seminars, discussions, debates and poetry readings from the world’s leading authors, as well as exciting fringe events around the Festival Centre.

The festival was able to present an international forum for an integrated expression of contemporary literary culture. It highlighted the significance of reading and literature in the UAE, where interest in the arts is growing rapidly, and enabled people of all nationalities to celebrate literature together in its many forms.  A post festival survey has revealed that 72% of festival-goers felt they were more likely to pick up a book and read; a huge endorsement for the positive effects of EAIFL. A broad range of speakers awakened the imagination whilst providing tangible educational benefits to the younger generation.

The festival was also an opportunity for authors – fiction and non-fiction, commercial and literary, local and international – to encounter, explore and enrich the city’s cultural scene.  The founding authors who attended in 2009 came as pioneers and left as ambassadors.

 In 2010 we hope to:

• Bring more than 60 internationally acclaimed authors to the festival
• Provide a platform for Middle East authors and translators
• Encourage home grown talent in Arabic and English
• Create a family friendly atmosphere with events for all ages, involving well-known children’s authors
• Dedicate a day to education and emphasise the intrinsic link between reading and educational success.

We believe:

• Literacy is the key to all knowledge
• Literature is a unique and exciting mode of cross-cultural communication 
• Imagination, innovation, and talent should be nurtured
• Education should be universal, stimulating and relevant
• A wider awareness of Arabic language and culture will contribute to the future development of the region