Fajer Bin Rashed, Najla Al Owais, Eqlima Ali Dinar here.

The 16th edition of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature was held in Dubai between January 31st – February 6th, 2024. This annual literature festival invites authors and illustrators from various countries, as well as from the UAE to come and hold sessions, workshops and panels centered around the love of literature.

Upon its inception by HE Isobel Abulhoul 16 years ago, it has been an event that readers eagerly look forward to, year after year (see here for an interview post with HE Isobel Abulhoul). Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoom, Chairman of the Emirates Literature Foundation, stated how literature remains a powerful vessel for understanding and tolerance. This year, the ELF’s director Ahlam Bolooki stated how the festival works towards being the place “Where Stories Happen.”

The program encompasses: author and illustrator sessions, workshops, panels, school visits, awards ceremonies of various writing competitions held by the Emirates Literature Foundation (ELF). Most of the sessions are held in both Arabic and English with simultaneous translation when needed, with worldwide authors and a special highlight on authors coming from the UAE.

We have been privileged to attend quite a number of these sessions this year, with special thanks to our college’s valued partnership and relationship with the Emirates Literature Foundation. Rather than selecting individual sessions to write about, we collectively thought to share our favorite takeaways from attending the sessions. This is because we want you to get a general vibe of how diverse the festival was in its speaker lineup, session types, themes, etc.

More importantly, the criteria for selecting our hot takeaways included:

1. 1. Powerful quotes (that gave us goosebumps),
   2. Ideas relevant to our fields of study and research,
   3. Quotes that lingered (food for thought).

One main takeaway is the powerful role that literature plays in addressing racial injustice in life. It, nevertheless, should start with addressing the misrepresentation of cultural diversity in art itself. This is because oftentimes, artists assume that maintaining cultural diversity could be easily done through brushstrokes, i.e. artists tick a box when painting characters with darker colors, even though such characters remain devoid of authentic cultural attributions.

In light of this, award-winning Filipino author Candy Gourlay is loosely quoted saying that in many instances brown people in picturebooks are in fact white people with brown skin. Gourlay is based in the United Kingdom. Her debut novel Tall Story won the Crystal Kite Award for Europe in 2011 and the National Children’s Book Award of the Philippines in 2012. Relevant to identity, Gourlay also shared that it is perfectly normal to have an accent because deep down, they have a soul, and to writers, she eloquently encourages writing about what one is rather than about what they know.

I, Fajer, purchased the picturebook Is It A Mermaid? A touching and poignant story about accepting others’ choices. Coupled with the vivid illustrations, the picturebook stands as an exceptional example of culturally-responsive literature. Gourlay explains, “I really wanted it [the illustration] to represent the Philippines… I wanted to represent my country. I wanted the world to see the beauty of our islands in the Philippines.”

Another takeaway comes from Claudia Rankine’s session.

“We should not be bullied into silence,” said Rankine when talking about race. A poet, writer, the 8th woman to win the Visionary Leadership Award and the co-founder of The Racial Imaginary Institute (TRII), Rankine is the author of six collections of poetry, including Citizen: An American Lyric.

In her session, she shared about a racist encounter with a white colleague she and her students experienced, but nobody dared to challenge him or his rhetoric. She rightfully noted how institutions could support the invisibility of whiteness; this means whiteness becomes deracialized while continuing the racialization of others. This belief, however, is advantageous to white people, as it perpetuates white supremacy. Rankine accurately explained that race is first constructed, then weaponized, and ultimately used. Through her TRII project, she aims to bring attention to the racial invisibility that exists, by critically analyzing how race influences our lives.

For examples from the institute’s work, visit their website.

https://www.theracialimaginary.org/

Another common takeaway that we found in more than one session was perseverance when it comes to publishing. Racism makes another appearance here in the form of who is allowed to publish, what content makes the cut, and editing one’s material to fit in a preconceived mold.

Authors spoke about being told that no one would want to read the books they have written, or that publishers do not want to be associated with the themes of their publications (with themes that can range from daily situations to religious themes). By staying committed to their manuscripts, these authors found a fit and eventually published their books – in one case, the book is currently in its 10th printing edition.

Breathing in the excitement of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is bound to get your happy hormones dancing with joy. The exhilarating air as you bump into fellow bibliophiles, your favorite authors, and new friends made over a common to-be-read pile is intoxicating. We have discovered new gems that have made their way to our favorite reads and TBR lists of 2024, and the memories made will stay forever.

Also, as some of the festival days fall over the weekend, we do recommend you stay in a close-by hotel if you’re coming from afar. For more information regarding the upcoming Emirates Literature Festival 2025, please visit their link, where you can also suggest names of authors to be invited!

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About the Guest Contributors for #UAEReads:

Fajer M. Bin Rashed is an avid reader and listener of books. One of the earliest childhood memories she has is of going to a bookstore with her mother and siblings in Kuwait. Fajer has a 13-year experience teaching English as a second language at the tertiary level in Kuwait. Her previous teaching posts include Australian University (formerly known as Australian College of Kuwait), Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST), Arab Open University (AOU), and The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET). She has a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature and a master’s degree in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies from Kuwait University and currently serves as a PhD candidate at United Arab Emirates University, specialized in Language and Literacy Studies. She is a published researcher and is an active reviewer for a multi- and interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal based on her expertise. Her research interests include (early) literacy education, language acquisition, language teacher and learner identity, bilingualism, multiculturalism, and social-emotional learning (SEL) in education.

Eqlima Ali Dinar is a PhD Candidate in Education Leadership at the United Arab Emirates University. Within her research, she explores topics such as research self-efficacy, and the wellbeing of teachers. Presently, she serves as a tutor in science and biology, as well as a freelance assessor for a Diploma in Education Studies. Initially embarking on her career as a cardiac nurse, she eventually discovered her true passion in the realm of education. She held a position as an Educational Consultant, providing training to nursery teachers and directors. Prior to that, she had a career as a preschool teacher for nearly a decade. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Sharjah, followed by a Master of Education Management, Leadership & Policy at the British University in Dubai. She enjoys reading books, picture books, and manga. Among her other interests are crocheting amigurumi and origami.

Najla Al Owais is a PhD candidate studying Math Education at UAEU. She has previously worked as a middle school mathematics teacher, and a freelance translator and interpreter. She is passionate about teaching mathematics, and is an avid reader, and loves finding the intersection between both mathematics and reading. She has a Bachelor’s of Science from Zayed University in Math Education and Masters of Arts from the American University of Sharjah in English-Arabic-English Translating and Interpreting. Wherever she goes, books find her. She hopes to one day publish her own book.

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About the Guest Editor/Curator for March 2024 [#UAEReads]:

Myra Garces-Bacsal has served as a teacher educator for 15 years and has led several research projects on reading and social emotional learning, diverse picturebooks and teacher practices, psychology of high creatives and exceptional people, culturally responsive and inclusive education. She is a quintessential lover and creator of booklists (see her Social and Emotional Learning bookshelf here and other publications below). Myra serves as the Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies with the College of Education, UAE University. She is a self-proclaimed nerd who lives and breathes books and enjoys organizing events and festivals where fellow nerds converge and attempt to joyfully change the world.

Publications on booklists:

Garces-Bacsal, R. M., Alhosani, N. M., Elhoweris, H., Tupas, R. (2023). A diverse social and emotional learning booklist for gifted learners and advanced readers. Roeper Review, 45(1), 25-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2022.2145397

Garces-Bacsal, R. M., Alhosani, N. M., Elhoweris, H., Al Ghufli, H. T., AlOwais, N. M., Baja, E. S., & Tupas, R. (2022). Using diverse picturebooks for inclusive practices and transformative pedagogies. In M. Efstratopoulou (Ed.), Rethinking Inclusion and Transformation in Special Education (pp. 72-92). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-4680-5.ch005

Garces-Bacsal, R. M. (2021). Of grit and gumption, sass and verve: What gifted students can learn from multicultural picture book biographies. In S. R. Smith’s Handbook of giftedness and talent development in Australasian Pacific (pp. 431-453). Singapore: Springer International Handbooks of Education. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-981-13-3041-4_18

Garces-Bacsal, R. M. (2020). Diverse books for diverse children: Building an early childhood diverse booklist for social and emotional learning. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 22(1), 66-95. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798420901856