The UAE\u2019s biggest and best literary event is back, with the usual cornucopia of writers, creators and thought leaders \u2013 a total of around 160 events at Festival City from 31 January to 6 February.<\/p>\n
The line-up includes the 2023 Booker Prize-winner Paul Lynch<\/strong>; a past Booker winner and current President of the Royal Society of Literature, Bernardine Evaristo<\/strong>; BookTok sensation Curtis Sittenfeld<\/strong>; shoe and accessories designer and author of Oh My Gosh, I Love Your Shoes!<\/em> Sophia Webster<\/strong>; gender equality and arts advocate\u00a0Eliza Reid<\/strong>, the First Lady of Iceland; Emirati artist and cultural envoy,\u00a0Fatma Lootah<\/strong>; and the Egyptian graphic novelist and illustrator Deena Mohamed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Festival will be hosting a series of book launches including\u00a0Out of This World<\/em>\u00a0by\u00a0Dr Sultan Al Neyadi<\/strong>, a photo journal of the recently appointed Minister of Youth\u2019s six-month visit to the International Space Station<\/p>\n This year there’s an evening programme under the title LitFest After Hours, <\/strong>running Thursday to Sunday with “a feast of performances, games, activities, and food”. There’s also Discovery Talks<\/strong>, a series of free-to-attend lectures on topics ranging from the Spiderverse and AI to Chinese mythology. And there’s a special focus of children at LitFest Families<\/strong>,\u00a0 “an action-packed weekend perfect for tiny bookworms”; and for older students there’s Youth Day<\/strong>, “a day of specially curated events for curious minds … all with an anchoring focus on Arabic culture”.<\/p>\n The full programme is here<\/a>, including prices, and it’s worth downloading the Festival Grid<\/a> to check for clashes among your preferences. The days usually start at 10am and most sessions should be done by 6pm, though a few don’t start till 7 or 8pm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"