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Dubai : The winners of the Emirates LitFest Writing Prize have been announced today, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature’s prestigious competition to discover unpublished novelists.
Recognised as one of the most successful writing competitions in the region, the competition has a proven track record in finding new writing talent, producing nine published authors in the last nine years.
This year the process was revamped to include three judges, UK literary agents Luigi Bonomi and Sheila Crowley and UAE based publisher Kira Jean, each choosing their favourite from the entries.
The winners are:
Nicole Asinugo,This Land is Not For Sale chosen by Luigi Bonomi. Nicole Asinugo is currently working on Expo 2020 in Dubai, creating and curating content for the event, and has also written film scripts. Her first novel, This Land is Not For Sale, is an intergenerational story of a mother and daughter fighting to save their home in Nigeria.
Angela Hundal, Honey Tiger chosen by Kira Jean. Originally from South Africa, journalist and editor Angela Hundal has lived in the UAE for 13 years. Honey Tiger is set in Sri Lanka in 2004 and told through the eyes of the protagonist, 11-year-old Mala, but written when grown-up, looking back on a devastating life-changing event.
Zahra Alabandi, Chasing Grasshoppers chosen by Sheila Crowley. A Saudi/American national, who has also lived in the Emirates, Zahra is a health care professional (dentistry), and also an avid reader and writer. Chasing Grasshoppers is the story of a Saudi-born, American raised young woman who is gathering her courage to battle society’s norms and the burden of carrying the family’s honour.
“The LitFest Writing Prize has attracted huge interest from aspiring writers in the UAE, so this year we wanted to open it up to give more entries the opportunity to be recognised,” said Ahlam Bolooki, festival director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. “The fact that so many finalists have won publishing deals in the past shows how high the standard of writing in the region is. I hope that this year’s crop of talent will go on to find that they are the ones who will join our list of published authors.”
Novelists that have never been published are eligible to enter, providing that they are 21 years or older and resident in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman or Saudi Arabia. Entrants had to submit a 400-word synopsis of the book in English and the first 2,000 words of their almost completed manuscript.
Although a publishing deal is not guaranteed, the winners of the Prize wins the chance to discuss their manuscript with each of the three judges.
More information about the Emirates Literature Foundation can be found online and year-round news of #EmiratesLitFest on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. The Foundation also has two podcasts; the Best of the Emirates LitFest, and the Boundless Book Club.
For more information, please contact: emirateslitfest@fourcommunications.com
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About the Judges:
Luigi Bonomi is a literary agent who has launched the careers of many bestselling authors. He is the founder of Luigi Bonomi Associates (LBA), which represents a variety of authors, journalists and writers including the multi-million bestselling authors, Susan Lewis, Simon Scarrow, Fern Britton, and Ben Miller – all of whom are regular top ten Sunday Times Bestsellers.
Kira Jean is the founder and CEO of The Dreamwork Collective, an independent print and digital publishing company that shares the region’s most unique voices and powerful stories.
Sheila Crowley is a literary agent and joint MD of the Curtis Brown book department, representing internationally bestselling authors such as Jojo Moyes, Santa Montefiore, Clare Mackintosh and Louise Candlish.
About the Emirates Literature Foundation:
The Emirates Literature Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation which supports and nurtures a love of literature in the United Arab Emirates and the region, through a programme of varied cultural initiatives.
Established in 2013 by Royal Decree issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Foundation aims to foster a love for literature, with a focus on the Arabic language.
In line with the National Reading Policy of the UAE, the Foundation has implemented several long-term projects including the School Librarian of the Year Award, Kateb Maktub, and From the Inside Out, as well as conducting year-round student education programmes, book clubs and creative writing courses. The Foundation’s previous initiatives included the 2020 International Literary Festivals Conference, 2016 Dubai Translation Conference and the 2017 Dubai International Publishing Conference.
The Foundation is also the governing body of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the UAE’s premier literary festival.
About the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature:
The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is the Arab World’s largest celebration of the written and spoken word, featuring international and regional writers, poets, thinkers and speakers from around the world. Over the last 13 years more than 1,700 authors from over one hundred countries have spoken at the Festival. In 2021 the Festival reached more than 117,000 people, in person and via live streaming. Sessions included Nobel prize winner Malala, Booker Prize nominees Avni Doshi (Burnt Sugar) and Oyinkan Braithwaite (My Sister the Serial Killer), as well as internationally acclaimed authors Elif Shafak, Amin Maalouf and Lemn Sissay. Behavioural expert Thomas Erikson shared a stage with Sherif Arafa, and the Education Programme featured children’s favourites Ali Sparkes, Obada Takla, Sam Copeland, Isabel Thomas, Sanaa Chabbani, and Ben Baily Smith, AKA Doc Brown.
The aim of the Festival is to develop a culture of reading as an enjoyable habit in the UAE, and its efforts have been recognised through many awards over the years. By providing an equal platform for international and locally based talents, the Festival continues to build the literary landscape in the UAE and further afield. Alongside the main programme, the Festival organises an Education programme, reaching students across the seven emirates of the UAE. There are also student competitions, held in Arabic and English, which allow young people to showcase their skills through poetry, short stories and reading.
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Festival is a key part of the Emirates Literature Foundation, which was established in 2013 by Royal Decree. In partnership with Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated authority for heritage, arts, and culture, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature will be back in 2022. For information and updates about the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature visit the website: www.emirateslitfest.com
© Press Release 2022
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