For those unable to attend or preferring to social distance, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, happening from 29 January until 13 February in Dubai, will now be livestreaming some of its top sessions for the first time.
Through a digital pass on offer for AED 100, attendees will gain access to high profile appearances from figures such as 23 year old advocate for girls’ education Malala Yousafzai, who became the youngest winner of the Nobel Prize in history in 2014. Her ‘in conversation’ session will be happening on 6 February at 6 pm.
All the live-streamed sessions, including those with Booker nominees Avni Doshi (Burnt Sugar) and Oyinkan Braithwaite (My Sister the Serial Killer), as well as those with authors including Amin Maalouf, Elif Shafak, Walaa Kamal and panel discussions such as ‘Fighting the Anti-Facts Movement’, and ‘Social Stereotypes’. will be held from 4 – 6 February.
“We have a fantastic programme of live events, but with social distancing measures in place there will be fewer tickets available. We want to make sure that everyone has a chance to get a sprinkling of the wonder of the LitFest, so the digital passes allow those who cannot attend to wander in and out of a range of sessions virtually,” said festival director Ahlam Bolooki.
Tickets are still available to attend the sessions in person as well, with individual session prices starting at AED 60 for adult sessions and AED 40 for children’s sessions.
The in-person festival stretches across three weekends and three venues: Jameel Arts Centre (29-30 January), the big middle weekend at the Festival’s home, the InterContinental Dubai Festival City (4-6 February) and Alserkal Avenue (12-13 February).
The full schedule for the Emirates Festival of Literature’s live-streamed sessions:
Thursday, 04 Feb
Writing the Future – the Cultural Visa for Creatives
HE Hala Badri & HE Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri 11:30 – 12:30
The Future of the Arabic Language
A Panel with Her Excellency Noura Al Kaabi 13:00 – 14:00
Tension & Tragedy
Huda Hamed, Selim Batti & Zayed AlMarzooqi 17:30 – 18:30
Amin Maalouf: Adrift 20:00 – 20:50
Friday, 05 Feb
Fighting the Anti-Facts Movement
Jay Jayamohan, Nafea Alyasi & Rupy Aujla 14:30 – 15:30
Social Stereotypes – How the Digital World is Changing Your Reality
Max of Arabia & Walaa Kamal 18:00 – 19:00
Sridevi: The Eternal Screen Goddess
Satyarth Nayak 20:00 – 21:00
Saturday, 06 Feb
Voices of Future Generations for the Middle East Region
Book Launch 10:00 – 10:30
Are Cats Liquid or Solid? Why Silly Questions Could Save the Planet!
Isabel Thomas 12:30 – 13:30
Why is Everyone an Idiot?
Sherif Arafa & Thomas Erikson 14:30 – 15:30
Elif Shafak
In Conversation 16:00 – 17:00
Malala Yousafzai
In Conversation 18:00 – 19:00
My Days with Cairokee
Walaa Kamal 18:30 – 19:30
Esquire now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit ‘Like’ on our Esquire Facebook page and ‘Follow’ on our @esquiremiddleeast Instagram and Twitter account.
