Our Story
by Isobel Abulhoul, EAIFL Director
How It Began
The Emirates Airline International Festival of Literature was conceived in Dubai and will be the first festival of its kind for the region.
The
EAIFL Committee at the London Book Fair 2008In May 2007 Bill Samuel (Vice Chairman of Foyles Bookshops, London) was passing through Dubai on his way to India. He called in to Magrudy’s to see me, as he often does, for a chat and one of the things we talked about was how wonderful it would be for Dubai to have a literary festival on its annual calendar.
Normally these lovely ideas end just there, but as fate would have it, later that day I spoke to a dear friend (who happens to be very literary) who then passed the gem of this idea on. In due course it reached the ears of Maurice Flanagan (Vice Chairman of Emirates Airline).
Support From Emirates
Maurice Flanagan and Mike Simon (also of Emirates) then very kindly gave me the opportunity to meet them and the rest is history!
Emirates Airline has taken the world by storm and in a relatively short time has become one of the world’s leading airlines. It is this trail blazing attitude, I believe, that led Emirates to decide that the time was right to sponsor such a festival and they could not have chosen a better opportunity.
Everyone In Dubai is Reading
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the UAE, has recently announced his vision of eradicating illiteracy from the Arab World. Suddenly everyone in Dubai is reading (or at least carrying a book under their arm) and every day we hear how important literacy is, there is active encouragement for budding authors and attractive awards for those involved in the world of books. A festival of literature held in Dubai will heighten everyone’s awareness and enjoyment of anything connected to the written word: books, authors, poetry and debates.
Dubai is a wonderful place, I cannot imagine a more vibrant and alive city to host a festival of literature. All of the authors I have already spoken to, from all corners of the globe, are truly excited and honoured to be invited to EAIFL. They know how important these events are, and as writers recognise the importance of passing on the eternal flame of good literature down the generations.
I know that residents and visitors to Dubai alike will help to make this annual event truly memorable.
