البرنامـــج الثقافي

CULTURAL PROGRAMME

25 أبريل - 1 مايو 2018 25 April - 1 May 2018

Official Media PartnerGuest of Honour

CONTENTS

Introduction5

19

95

7

Guests

Programme

Guest of Honour

Welcome to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF). This new edition is rich in the treasures of literature, arts, science, and knowledge, which you will find on the stands of publishers, many of whom have travelled from around the world to showcase their new, rare, and important books, and in the halls of our diversified cultural, intellectual, and artistic programme. At this year’s edition of ADIBF we honour the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God bless his soul, as Personality of the Year. Sheikh Zayed was the first figure in the history of the United Arab Emirates, par excellence, and culture was an essential part of his strategy in building a knowledge-based society. He always strived to achieve a balance preserving local customs and traditions and building a bright future that would be open to other cultures. This year’s guest of honour is Poland. Interestingly, it was an Arab, Ibrahim ibn Yaqub, who gave the world the first reliable written descriptions of the European nation a thousand years ago. In this spirit of cultural exchange, we warmly welcome our Polish guests to this year’s edition of ADIBF, and we hope to show them our hospitality, share the traditional Arabic coffee of Abu Dhabi, and learn more closely about their culture, history, arts, fashion, and food. As is customary, at this year’s edition of ADIBF our honourable guests will have an opportunity to meet with a wide range of elite writers from around the world. Attendees will include laureates of the Sheikh Zayed Book Awards, the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, known as the Arabic Booker, and the Ibn Battuta Award for Travel Literature, as well as other intellectual, literary, and scientific figures. They will participate in a full programme of interesting seminars and discussion sessions. At this year’s edition of ADIBF we will celebrate the book and its makers with a variety of activities, including book signings of the most recent Arabic titles, intellectual meetings and discussion seminars on the most important cultural and intellectual issues, as well as artistic, 2 educational, and recreational activities. We hope our book fair, the region’s most famous and fastest growing, will show that culture can be both intellectual and a pleasure.

Introduction

Guest of Honour

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Is a literary critic, historian of Polish literature, editor, and researcher at the Jagiellonian University’s Department of Polish Studies, specialising in Polish literature of the 20th and 21st centuries. He has published seven books. He has also edited an anthology 20th Century Polish writers’ visions of Europe (2011), a collection of correspondence between Andrzej Bobkowski and Jerzy Turowicz (2013), and critical studies of works by Stanisław Brzozowski, Florian Czarnyszewicz, and Ferdynand Goetel. He is on the jury for the Józef Mackiewicz Literary Prize, the Identitas Award and the Angelus Central European Literary Award.

Jacek KopcinskiMaciej UrbanowskiIs a literary historian, theatre critic, and editor-in-chief of Teatr monthly. He has written a textbook of 20th century literature. He is also a co-editor of the series Dramat polski. Reaktywacja, in which the works of contemporary Polish playwrights are presented from new critical perspectives. Since 1990 he has worked at the Institute of Literary Research, and since 2001 at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, where he is the director of the Department of Theatre and Film Studies. He lectures at the National Academy of Dramatic Art and the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Warsaw.

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Mateusz Werner Marcin TrzesiokIs a humanities scholar and a cultural philosopher, essayist, and film critic. His works include a book about Witold Gombrowicz and Stanisław Ignacy , an edition of essays by Pier Paolo Passolini, as well as two edited antologies about cinema. He has been a guest lecturer at the National Film School in Łódz and the University of Warsaw. He was the vice-director of the National Centre for Culture. He is currently an associate in the Department of Humanities at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw. He is an editor of “Kronos”, a philosophical quartetly.

(PhD) graduated from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice in 1998 with a specialisation in music theory, and is now a professor at the Academy. In 1999-2000 he studied at the University of Vienna. He earned a PhD from the Jagiellonian University and a the habilitation PhD in 2015. He received the Hieronim Feicht Award (2011) and the Polish Composers’ Association Award (2015). From 2012 to 2016 he led the “Warsaw Autumn” Music Criticism Seminar. He is the author of several books and has translated texts on music theory into English, French, and German.

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Klara KantorowiczAndrzej SzczerskiIs an associate professor at the Jagiellonian University’s Institute of Art History and the director of academic affairs at the National Museum in Kraków. He has lectured at the Goethe University in Frankfurt and the University of St Andrews in Scotland. From 2009 to 2017 he served as chairman of the Polish Section of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA). He has written books on art and architecture in Poland and Central-Eastern Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. He has curated numerous exhibitions in Poland and abroad.

Is an architect who works as a specialist in cataloguing monuments for the National Heritage Institute. She is a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology, where she was an active member of the Domestic Architecture Student Research Group. She is currently pursuing PhD in the Department of Polish Architecture at the Warsaw of Technology. The topic of her PhD thesis is the architecture of Baroque colleges and Jesuit schools in Poland. She has catalogued and studied historical buildings in Poland and abroad.

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Jarosław Dumanowski Krzysztof KoehlerIs a professor of history specialising in food history and ancient culinary texts. He is the head of the Centre for Culinary Heritage at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun and a member of the research council of the European Institute for the History and Culture of Food. As a visiting professor he has worked at the University of Bordeaux, the European Institute for the History and Culture of Food and École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Marseilles. He is the creator of the Monumenta Poloniae Culinaria series published by the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów (Warsaw).

Is a poet, essayist, scriptwriter, and at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw. He was the director of TVP Kultura from 2006 to 2011 and has been the deputy director of the Polish Book Institute since 2017. He has written 10 volumes of poetry, a novel, and a libretto for an opera by E. Knapik titled Moby Dick: Misterium, which premiered at Warsaw’s Grand Theatre of the National Opera House in 2014. He has worked on documentary films and television programmes. He received the Identitas Award in 2017 for his collection of essays.

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Wioletta GrzegorzewskaWojciech ChmielarzIs one of the most popular crime novelists of the younger generation. His works include four crime novels in the Commissioner Mortka series and a novel entitled The Vampire. He has been listed several times for the High Calibre Prize, Poland’s top crime writing award, which he won in 2015 for his novel The Takeover.

Is a Polish poet and novelist who publishes in English under the pen name Wioletta Greg. Born in a small village in southern Poland, she left her country in 2006 for England, where she now lives. Her publications include eight volumes of poetry and two novels: Swallowing Mercury and Lodgings. Grzegorzewska’s work has been shortlisted for several major prizes, including the Nike Literary Award, the Gdynia Prize in Poland, as well as longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize. Her works have been translated into seven languages.

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Rafał Kosik Małgorzata LebdaIs an author of science fiction, screen plays, and features. He combines social-science fiction with elements of thriller and horror. Kosik’s interests include sociology, the philosophy of history, and the significance of the individual for the fate of the entire world. Kosik has published numerous works of science fiction for adults, including Mars (2003), Vertical (2006), Chameleon (2008), and Chaplet (2017). He has also published two series of novels, one for young adults — Felix, Net & Nika (14 books, over 800,000 copies sold)

— and one for children — Amelia & Kuba (4 books).

Grew up in a village in the Beskid Mountains in southern Poland. She is an academic specialising in the theory of literature and audio-visual arts. She has published four volumes of poetry, the most recent of which is Lair, which was published by WBPiCAK, Poznan in 2016. The book won Kraków’s Book of the Month, the Stanisław Baranczak Scholarship (as part of the Poznan Award), and the K. I. Gałczynski Award. She is a marathon runner, a mountaineer, and a photographer. She lives in Kraków.

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Jakub MałeckiAntoni LiberaIs a novelist, essayist, translator, and world-class expert on the work of Samuel Beckett, whose plays he has directed and staged in Poland and abroad. His first novel, Madame (1998), has been translated into Catalan, Czech, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish. His most recent novel Be well, Good Sir (2013), which encompasses sensation, mystery and melancholy, is a homogeneous triptych contemplating the question of time, coincidence and destiny. Libera’s incredible musical intuition permeates his literary works.

Is a Polish novelist and translator. He has published eight books, including the well-received Tremor, which won the Jerzy zuławski Award and has been shortlisted for several other major prizes including the Angelus Central European Literature Award and the Janusz A. Award. His most recent book, Tracks, was nominated for the 2017 Nike Award.

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Andrzej Sapkowski Wojciech TomczykIs one of Poland’s most popular fantasy authors and a multiple winner of all prizes for works of literary fantasy. In 1997, he won the Polityka Passport prize, awarded by Polityka, the leading magazine, to Polish artists with for international success. Sapkowski is best known for his book series The Witcher. He is the only Polish fantasy writer to have succeeded in crossing the boundaries of popular literature and catching the interest of not just newspaper reviewers, but also serious critics. His books have been translated into 19 languages.

Is a playwright, screenwriter, and film producer. His best.known plays include: The Vampire, Nurnberg, The Interregnum, Breakout, Marshall, and The Engagement. The most highly regarded is Nurnberg, written in 2006, which has been staged several times in Poland and abroad. In 2007 a television adaptation of the play was broadcasted in Poland, and in 2009 in Estonia. Nurnberg won a Ministry of Culture Award (2007), Polish and International Theater Festivals Awards (2007 and 2008), and the Grand Prix at the International Independent Theatre Festival held in Belarus (2008/2009).

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George Yacoub Dariusz KarłowiczIs an assistant professor at the department of Arabic and Islamic studies in the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of Oriental Studies, where he currently teaches ideological controversies in Islam in the 20th and 21st centuries. He is also the author and co-author of crucial works in the field of Arabic language teaching. Yacoub is also a translator of Polish literature into Arabic (The Marriage by Witold Gombrowicz) and Arabic literature into Polish (Harafish, Miramar and Karnak by Nagib Mahfuz, together with Jolanta Kozłowska). He holds a PhD from the department of Mediterranean archaeology at the University of Warsaw.

Is a philosopher, historian of ideas, essayist, and journalist. He is a proponent of the traditional Polish school of the philosophy of civilization, in which cultural phenomena are described as particular forms of the universal human condition. He is the author of three books, well regarded for their depth and insight, and for their clear and sophisticated style that no moral gravity.

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Tomasz Makowski Janusz Danecki(PhD) is the director general of the National Library of Poland, chairman of the National Council for Libraries, and head of the National Reserve of Library Collections Committee at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. He is the chairman of the Central Agricultural Library in Warsaw and a board member of many organisations and institutions in Poland and abroad, including UNESCO’s Memory of the World National Committee. He was a co-chairman of the National Committee of the 83rd World Library and Information Congress in Wrocław (IFLA 2017). He has written four books and numerous articles.

Is a professor at the department of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Warsaw. He specialises in Arabic linguistics and Islam, especially Islam in the Arab world. His 1969 Master’s thesis was titled Arabic Elements in the Urdu Language; his doctoral dissertation on the Indian influence on the phonetic theories of Sibawayhi was defended in 1976 at the University of Warsaw. He has been held a professorship since 1989 and has supervised over 20 PhD theses and over 150 MA’s.

Guests

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Dr. Abdulnabi ZakerDr. Abdalrahman BsaisoIs a Palestinian writer, literary critic, academic researcher and poet. He has published profound critical studies about folklore, poetry and novels, and has written his own poetry and drama, which have been published in books, newspapers and journals. He is currently the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the Slovak Republic. He continues to write weekly and monthly cultural articles in Al Arab newspaper, Palestinian Affairs magazine and other newspapers and magazines. He is also is an advisor to Al Jadeed magazine.

Is a comparative literature scholar, translator, professor in the faculty of arts and humanities at Ibn Zohr in Agadir, and the writer of over 20 titles in poetry, criticism, comparative literature, and translation. He is the current director of the Morocco Centre of Documentation and Research in Travel Literature. He works with groups concerned with research in Arab universities including Ibn Zohr University and Kenitra. Zaker is also on the advisory board for Mutarjem magazine at the University of Oran in Algeria and Qaf-Sadh magazine, published by the Research Group on Short Story Writing in Morocco.

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Adel Khuzam Ghalia BenaliIs a poet and man of letters of the Emirati 1980s generation who is heavily involved in the UAE literary scene. His poetry, novels, essays and studies, include Under my Tongue, The Heir, Under the Light and Shadow, and Life In Between — Studies in Optical Arts Evolution in the UAE 2000. He also wrote two novels entitled White Shadow and Life in a Third Eye. His poems have been translated into various languages, including a complete poetry collection translated into German. He also wrote and produced musical arrangements and songs for theatre and TV. Khuzam won the Sharjah Festival for Children’s Theatre Award for Best Music and the Gulf Cooperation Council Festival for Children’s Theatre’s Best Music Award.

Is an artist and singer from Tunisia who held her first concert in 1996. In 2000, she made her acting debut playing Mariam in Moufida Tlatli’s movie A Season of Men. She has been able to combine a European mind with Eastern mysticism in her work. Her debut album, Wild Harissa, was released in 2001, followed by Romeo and Leila (2006) and Al Palna (2009). She sang for Umm Kulthum and collaborated with many international bands and musicians throughout her musical career. She won the World of Music Award for best world music song, presented by the independent British organisation We Are Listening. Benali was born in Brussels, where she studied art at Saint-Luc College.

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Dr. Said TawfiqNouri Al JarrahIs a modernist-humanist Syrian poet. His career was at its height in the mid 1990s with the successive publication of his collections, which had begun in 1982. He founded a number of cultural magazines that played an influential role in the Arabic literary scene in exile. Together with fellow poet Mohammed Ahmed Al Suwaidi, he played a key role in reviving the literature of travel and exploration in Arabic culture by establishing in 2000 the Arab Centre for Geographical Literature and creating the Ibn Battuta Prize for Contemporary Travel Literature. He is also the author of numerous collections of poetry published in French, Spanish, and Persian as well as books on travel literature and the issues of culture and authority.

Is a professor of contemporary philosophy, Faculty of Letters, at Cairo University. Most of his aesthetic writings are influenced by the philosophy of interpretation, and he is working on consolidating this trend in the reality of Arab culture through many theoretical studies and practical applications. Tawfiq served as secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Culture in Egypt from 2012-2014 and is a member of many scientific and literary bodies and societies. Some of Tawfiq’s works include Aesthetic Experience, The Meaning of Beauty in Art, Our Identity in a Changing World and The Interpretation of Art and Religion. He has also authored dozens of studies published in Arab and international peer-reviewed journals and translated many classics, including Gadamer’s The Relevance of the Beautiful and Other Essays and Schopenhauer’s The World as Will and Representation.

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Dr. Saddik Gohar Dr. Dana SajdiIs a poet, critic, academic, and of and criticism at UAE . He served as a judge for prominent awards such as the Award and The Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Art and Literature and won the Rashid bin Humaid Award for culture and in 2012 and 2015. He has translated more than 40 books from English to Arabic, and has translated collections of Emirati poetry and short stories into English. Most of his work has been published by European publishing houses, and two of his books of criticism have been published by the Emirates Writers Union: Habib Al Sayegh’s Poems between and Myth and Language Rebellion and Sound Restoration.

Is an associate professor of history at Boston College. She is the author of The Barber of Damascus: Nouveau in the Eighteenth-Century Ottoman (2013, in Turkish 2018), editor of Ottoman Tulips, Ottoman Coffee: Leisure and Lifestyle in the Eighteenth Century (2008, in 2014), and coeditor of Transforming Loss into Beauty: Essays in Arabic and Culture in Memory of Magda Al Nowaihi (2008). She has recently received a fellowship from Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, where she will spend the next academic year writing her new project In Defense of Damascus: Arabic Prose Cityscapes, 12th-20th Centuries. She earned her PhD from Columbia in 2002.

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Mehmed Ali ÇalışkanDr. Khairy DoumaIs an Egyptian critic and academic. He is a professor of modern Arabic literature at Cairo University and the director of the Cairo University Centre of Arabic and Culture since 2013. Before that he in Arabic literature and language in Egypt and served as visiting professor of at the Osaka University of Studies from 2000-2004. He was the deputy director at Egypt’s National Centre for Translation Egypt from 2011-2013, and deputy -in-chief of Fossoul and the Egyptian Journal of Literary Criticism from 2014-2015. He is also a co- of The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism.

Is currently working as an executive engineer for the private sector. He also teaches at Istanbul şehir University and manages various cultural initiatives such as publishing houses and. He is one of the coordinators of the Jazari Museum initiative. He has engineering software and has worked on artificial intelligence as a software engineer. His published works include a book entitled Coincidence in the Midst of Philosophy and Science. He has also various and published articles about Al Jazari. Born in 1975, he followed his mechanical engineering education, with a Master degree and a PhD in philosophy.

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Abderazzak Boukeba Michael KumpfmüllerIs a poet and novelist who has published 11 books of poetry, short stories, novels, biography, and cultural media, some of which have been translated into. He is the winner of the Beirut 39 for the most-important 40 young Arab writers, and was awarded the Shield of Arab Leadership in TV Activation from the League of Arab States in 2010. He is also a theatre activist and the director of the publishing house Aljazair Taqraa (Algeria Reads). He has been a regular contributor to the Arabic press since 2007.

Is a Berlin-based freelance writer, born in Munich in 1961. His first great success was the novel The Adventures of a Bed Salesman (2000). He later published his second novel, Durst (Thirst), in 2003. His novel Nachricht an alle (Message to All) was awarded the Döblin Prize before its publication in 2008. His novel The Glory of Life became a bestseller on publication in 2011 and was shortlisted for the Wilhelm Raabe Prize 2011; it has now been translated into 25 languages. His last novel, Die Erziehung des Mannes (The Education of a Man) was longlisted for the German Book Award 2016.

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Ali Abu RishAisha AldarmakiServes as an assistant professor of linguistics semiotics and head of the department of linguistic and general studies at the Arab Open University in Oman. She has also served as the of the Cultural Club of Oman, the director of the Strategic Programme for Omani Cultural Heritage at the Scientific , and as a board member of Sultan Qaboos University. Her published works include The Mute Authority, The Semiotics of Places in Autobiography and The of Oral Text in Oman. She has participated in many events, seminars and scientific conferences, and was a member of the jury for various science and cultural awards. She holds a PhD in Arabic ( of communication).

Is an Emirati writer and journalist who was executive editor of Al Ittihad newspaper until 2008 and served as the director of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture (now DCT Abu Dhabi’s) Pen project. He began publishing in 1979 and has written a, of articles in newspapers, and 30 books, including Zayed: An Exceptional Character, which was included in the official Grade Eight curriculum. He won the Taryam Omran Journalism Award for journalism in 2000, and in 2002 he received The Festival of Arab Pioneers Award, which was sponsored by the Arab League. He has participated in many cultural and literary seminars, conferences and. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in from the faculty of arts at Ain Shams University in Egypt.

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Ammar Ali Hasan Awad AliIs an Egyptian novelist and political thinker whose published works include 20 books about political science and literary criticism, including Political and Text, Power and Society: Political Values in the Arabic Novel. He has also written 10 novels, including The Tree and The Mount of Birds. He has received awards, including The Sheikh Zayed Book Award, and has supervised several Master’s and PhD theses. He has lectured at Arab and, and dozens of critical studies have examined his works. He graduated from Cairo University’s faculty of economics and political science in 1989 and a PhD in political science in 2001.

Is an Iraqi theatre critic, researcher and novelist. He has written 18 books The and Extraordinary in Iraq Theatre, The Encodes of the Body: The Dialectics of Presence and Absence in Theatre, The Temptation of Theatrical , and Knowledge and : Readings in the Arab Theatrical Discourse. His latest book, Theatre and Free Imagination, was published by the Department of Culture and Information Sharjah in 2016. Ali has participated in many Arab and international theatre festivals as a researcher, critic and jury member. He completed his graduate studies in the department of dramatic arts in Baghdad in 1990.

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Ghaith HassanDjamal ChallalIs an Algerian journalist who began his career in print journalism before to radio. In 1995, he helped found the cultural radio station, and he was of in 2008. He was also the director of production at the radio station and has produced and presented a number of Algerian and programmes. He is a member of the International Book Fair of Algiers (SILA) and president of the Amateur Society in Algeria. He is also involved in , the development of capacities and efficiencies in the field of information and communication, and translation from French into Arabic.

Is an Emirati citizen who started work in Dubai’s government sector. He with a group of friends various reading clubs through social media, including the Club in 2014 and Nobel Friends in 2015. This year he launched Booker Café, a new reading club. Born in Khorfaka, he is fond of learning about the cultures of other peoples and seeks to become an international Emirati citizen. He has graduated from the College of Islamic Studies in Dubai with a major in Arabic language and literature.

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Hassan Hamad Homoud Al-shayjiIs a professor in the philosophy at, a member of the Egypt Writers Union, and president of the Association of Arts and Literature. His prominent works include The Mentality of Takfir: Islamic and Holy Violence, Circles of Prohibition: The , the Body and the Sacred, and Herbert. He won the Zagazig University Award Prize in 2006 and the State Appreciation and Encouragement Award in 2014 for in the Absurd and the Search for: An Reading of the Novels of Naguib Mahfouz.

Is a poet, novelist and former diplomat. He works as an editor at the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) and is a regular for Al-Qabas, a Kuwaiti newspaper. His published works include the poetry and Eshq-Love and the novels Al-Azf Al-Thamin — The Eighth Playing and Sheikh Al-Khatatin — The Calligraphers’ Master. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy from Kuwait University.

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Maher AlkayyaliMahdi ElghaliIs a professor at Ibn Zohr University in Morocco. He has attended and papers at national and international conferences and seminars and was a member of the Moroccan Association of Historic and the Moroccan manuscript research group from the faculty of in Agadir. He is also a recipient of the 2017-2018 Ibn Battuta Award in travel literature for text authentication. He holds a PhD in from Mohamed V University in Rabat.

Joined the Arab Institute for Research and Publishing in Beirut in 1973 and founded Dar Al Faris Publishing & in in 1988. He was elected assistant - of the Arab Publishers Association in 1983, and is a founding member of the Union of Jordanian Publishers. He has a of books The Non-Jewish Jew and Guevara, by the Arab Institute for Research and. His writing includes — , The Political Encyclopedia, The Military , and I See a Beautiful Book — Letters with Jabra Ibrahim Jabra. Has a BSc in and, and an MBA. He was born in Ramla, Palestine in 1948.

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Mahmoud Traore Manal Abdel AhadTraore is head of the cultural section of Al Watan newspaper. He has published three story collections (The Narrators’ Statement on the Death of Dima, Bath Feathers, and Recent Alley Calls) and three novels (Maymouna, Green O Oud El Qana and Zamzam Neighbors.) He won the Abha Short Story Award in 1992, the Janadriya Festival’s award for text in 1997, and the Arab Creativity Award of Sharjah in 2002. Born in Taif, Saudi Arabia in 1967, he grew up and was in Mecca, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in radio and television journalism from Umm Al-Qura University.

Is a Lebanese writer and journalist who has contributed to Lebanese and Arab media since 2002. She writes, art, and media criticism. Her critiques aim to promote creativity and innovation, and capture the readers and stimulate their interaction with what she writes. Born in Beirut in 1983, she graduated from the faculty of information and with a double major in journalism and radio/TV/film from Lebanese University.

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Mohammed Abd-Elbaset EidMofeed NegimIs a writer, critic and novelist. He began his literary career in 1975 in the Syrian cultural press, and in 1977 he won the first Poetry Award at the Youth Poetry Festival in Syria. His first book, Studies in Contemporary Syrian Poetry, was published by the Syrian Ministry of in 2003. His other published works include the books My Black Spring Book: Studies in the World of Zakaria Tamer, Shahrazad Tale: A Reading of the Structure of the UAE Narrative, The Open Book of Openness and the Place in the UAE Narrative and A Bird with More than One Wing. He won the 2015 Ibn Battuta Prize for journalism for his book Wings in the Cell.

Is a member of the literary studies committee for the supreme Council of Culture and has published numerous research studies and articles in cultural and specialised magazines. His books include Text and Discourse, A Reading in the Sciences of the Qu’ran, In Argument of Poetry, and Novel and Narrative. He has won many awards, including the Al Tayeb Salih Creative Writing Award for critical studies. He earned his PhD in Arabic literature from Cairo University in 2008.

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Ute Krause Mohammed AbdelouahabHas been working as a children’s book writer and illustrator for the past 30 years. She has illustrated around 400 books and written 30. Her work has been turned into films for children’s TV and radio plays and has been translated into many different languages. Six of her books have been translated by, the Abu Dhabi translation initiative, into Arabic. Her picture book Oscar and the Very Hungry Dragon (also translated into Arabic) was nominated for the Florida Reading Association Award, the Montana Treasure State Picture Book Award, and the Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book Award in 2012.

Is a researcher in Islamic Studies and head of the Al Mezan Center for, Studies and Media. He is an opinion writer in a number of newspapers, magazines and websites and has participated in a number of collective works on rights. He is supervisor of a project that is political terminology in, and he hosts the weekly television program Istafti Qalbak on Tele Maroc. He is also an advisor to a number of local and international organisations, including Córdoba in Geneva, Search for Common Ground in Washington, and the Carter International Institute. He is a graduate of the Islamic University in Madinah, and holds a Master’s degree in the faculty of Sharia.

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Christoph PetersMohamed HabibiIs a Saudi poet and critic. His published poetry collections include (Lonely), (I Turn off My Heart Lantern), and his visual poetic works include Scene, (Eye Tells and Vision of Hope). He has taken part in numerous poetry events, including the first Sana Festival for young Arab poets in 2005, the third Arab Poetry Festival in Raqqa in 2007, and the 2014 poetry festival in France. In 1999 he created his own website, which was one of the first private poetry sites devoted to the work of Saudi poets. He holds a PhD in Arabic language and literature from the faculty of arts at King Saud University in Riyadh, and he is an associate professor of literature and criticism in the arts and humanities at Jazan University.

Is a Berlin-based German author of and short stories. His most recent novel was Der Arm des Kraken (The Arm of the), and his published works include the 2016 book Diese Bitterkeit — Leben mit Tee (This Wonderful Bitterness — Life with Tea) and the 2017 short-story collection Selfie mit Sheikh (Selfie with Sheikh). His books have been translated into six different languages, and he has received numerous awards, including the annual Best Foreign Novels of the 21st Century Award in 2004 in Beijing. He was born in 1966 in Kalkar, Germany, and studied painting at the National Academy of Arts in Karlsruhe.

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Sada’a Al Da’as Saeed AlsyabiIs a professor of criticism and writing at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Kuwait. She has written the short-story collection, What You Don’t Know About Princesses, a collection of edited plays written by students, Isolated, Film and Dress, and the novel Because I’m Black. She received numerous awards, the State appreciation and award in 2013 and the 2012 Nazik Al Malaika Prize in the short-story category in Baghdad. She has directed plays for the Center of Creativity in Cairo, including Their (2008) and The Storm (2007) and has supervised several workshops on criticism, the art of writing, and school theatre. She holds a PhD in the of arts.

Is an Omani writer and vice chairman of the Cultural Club. He received his PhD degree in drama and folk culture from the University of Griffith Australia. He was awarded the Arab Prize for Cultural Creativity in Baghdad, the Arab capital of culture, in 2013. He has written film scripts, radio programmes, and and drama scripts, including Departure, A Bana Shall Never Sing and The Winds of Love written. His published works include a book entitled The Employment of Popular Literature in the Gulf Theater Text (2006), a novel entitled Gebrin and Destined Love (2016), three short-story collections, and many newspaper and scientific and critical studies.

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Dr. Sulaiman Al-QurashiSaid CheffajWas born in 1969 in Casablanca. He holds a Bachelor’s degree and PhD in Arabic literature and language from Mohammed V University in Rabat. He has also obtained various certificates, including the certificate of from the Academy of Research. His published works include Makamat, a co-authored poetry collection in 1997, Biography: The Trail of the Maqees in 2015, and The Love of Princesses, a novel, in 2018.

Is a writer and researcher of Western literature and a specialist in literature. He has published dozens of articles and research studies in a number of magazines and peer-reviewed journals. His published works include: A Week in Paris, Al - Ayyashiyah Journey (in with Said Al-Fadili), A Trip to Hejaz, Egypt and Al-Sham, Abu Madyan Al-Ghaouth Poetry, Laqat Alfarayid Min Maa’ Almawayid, and Rabat in Travel Literature.

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Elhaddaoui Tai Taissier KhalafIs a professor of semiotics, discourse analysis and modern literature at the University of Hassan II in Casablanca. His published works include: The of Reading: a Readings in Comprehension of Texts, The Travels Journey: The of and Logic of Objects, Semiotics of Production and Logic of Evidence, and The Text and the Concept. He was awarded the Ibn Battuta Award for Travel Literature for Research in 2005 and is a member of Abu Dhabi’s The Centre for Arabic - and its jury committee.

Is a Syrian writer, researcher and born in 1967. He is the author of more than 40 books of literary criticism, historical research, and travel writing. His novels include Moviola (2013), The Slaughter of the Philosophers (2016), and Darwin’s Finches (2018).

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Yassin AdnanTarek EltayebIs a writer and man of letters, born to Sudanese parents in Cairo in 1959. He completed the study of philosophy of economics in Vienna, where he currently teaches at the University of Vienna, the University of Graz, and the University of Krems. He has published four novels, two collections of short stories, five collections of poems, one play in Arabic, one autobiography, and one book of essays. His books have been translated into various languages. He has participated in many international literary festivals in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and South America. He has received numerous annual fellowships and awards, including the Elias Cannetti Fellowship from the City of Vienna in 2005 and the Grand Prize of Poetry in Romania in 2007.

Is a Moroccan writer and journalist, born in 1970. He published Poetry Raid magazine, which embodied the new poetic sensibility prevalent in Morocco in the early 1990s. He has been working in cultural journalism for two decades. Since 2006, he has researched and presented his weekly cultural TV programme Masharef on Moroccan TV. His published works include Mannequins, a poetry collection, Who Believes in Letters?, a short story collection, and Hot Maroc, his first novel, which was nominated for The International Prize for Arabic Fiction “the Arab Booker” in 2017.

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Hossam Abdulqader Pang JieleiIs currently a media advisor at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and supervisor of cultural activity at The Alexandria International Book Fair. He was a member of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, a deputy editor-in-chief of October magazine, and secretary-general of the Arab Union for Internet Writers. He has extensive experience in publishing and managing newspapers and a long history in electronic and digital journalism. He established the first Egyptian electronic newspaper and other forums on the Internet. He has participated in many conferences and workshops, and was awarded several prizes and honours. He has a BA in media studies from the University of Alexandria.

Is a member of the Shanghai Writers’ Association. She has published over 20 children’s books, including Molly’s Holiday and Summer with a Smell of Tangerine. She won the Bing Xin Children’s Literature Award and the Chen Bochui Children’s Literature Award. Her work has been on the list of best-selling Chinese children’s books many times.

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Ehab AlmallahIman Al MukhailedHolds an MA in modern Arabic literature from the Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University. She is presently preparing her PhD dissertation at Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz University, where she lectures. Her published studies include Polyphony in Shahd Algalaoin’s novel Nashooq and Poetry of the World, Poetry of the Language at Ultimate Sufficiency. She was president of the jury for the female student rhetoric committee at Prince Sultan University, and participated in the 7th scientific conference for higher education for female students in 2016. She is a member of the general science department’s book committee and was a social committee member at Prince Sultan University from 2015- 2016. She has attended many conferences, workshops, and courses in education, learning, and self-development.

Is an Egyptian journalist, critic, and researcher in cultural heritage. He is head of the cultural section of October magazine, the assistant editor-in-chief, and columnist of Egypt’s Al Shorouk newspaper, and the editor-in-chief of the Turath series, published by the General Egyptian Book Organisation. He has published several books of criticism and cultural history, including Rioting with Books, The History of Dar al-Maaref 125 years of Culture, and Professor Hussein Nassar, Seventy Years of Giving. The Sharjah Institute for Heritage honoured him at the 2017 Sharjah International Narrators Forum, one of many such honours he has received in Egypt and the Arab world.

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Ahmad Barqawi Moumen SamirPHD, is a Palestinian national who has written articles and essays for Arab journals. His works include An Attempt at Reading the Reconnaissance, Arabs between Ideology and History, Arabs and Secularism, Prisoners of Illusion, Arabs and the Return of Philosophy, and the poetry collection The Game of Life. A former professor of philosophy at the University of Damascus, he was the deputy chairman for the Arab Society of Philosophy, academic director of the Orient Research Centre, and a researcher at The Center for Strategic Studies at Damascus University. He has received many awards and attended various seminars in the Arab world.

Is a member of the Union of Egyptian Writers and the General Syndicate of Workers in the public prosecutors office in Egypt. He was also a member of the general secretariat of the Egyptian Writers Conference and has been honoured by many institutions, including the General Authority for Culture Palaces and the Secrets of the Week Foundation. He is the author of numerous books, including The Nap of the Blind Woodcutter, Sinful Space and No Bread Nor Wine. He has received numerous awards, including the Beni Suef Cultural Competition for Criticism in 2001 and 2003 and second prize in the Suad Al Sabah Competition for one-act plays in 2002. He has been the subject of articles in Akhbar al’Adab, Sutur, Almuhit Althaqafi, and other periodicals.

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Hamzeh KinaweBachir MeftiIs an Algerian novelist and writer, born in 1969. He is a graduate of the faculty of Arabic language and literature at the University of Algiers and worked in the Algerian press and television. His published work includes the short story collections Night Rain, Shadow and Absence and Winter of All Times and the novels Ceremonies and Funerals, Archipelago of Flies and Perfumes of the Mirage. His novels have been translated into various languages. His other published works include: Biography of the Night Bird, Articles and Testimonies (Manshurat difaf alaikhtilaf, 2015), and Earth Burns Lyrics (Manshurat lizihariin libitar aljazayir, 2015).

Was ranked among the top 100 Arab writers at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2009. His poetry collection, Lie of Departing Happiness, won the Suad Al-Sabah prize for literary excellence in 2000, and he has published two other collections: Thirsty Questions and Autumn’s Last Songs. His poetry and criticism receive space in most prominent literary journals and cultural periodicals, and he has participated in several poetry festivals. He is a lecturer in media at the University of Jazeera in Dubai, and a member of the Egypt Writers Union, the UAE Journalists Association and The International Federation of Journalists. He holds an MA and is preparing for his PhD at Ain Shams University.

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Hassan Zaki Najeeb AlshamsiIs a teacher at the Arab Calligraphy Institute and participated in Cairo’s First Assembly for Calligraphy in 2015. He was a singer at the Cairo Opera House until 2006, and is an instructor in lute and Arab melodies. He also contributes to plastic arts, and had an exhibition, Shades, at the Cairo Opera House in 2014. He actively participates in theatrical and musical events. His works include Collection: Hadra in Honour of Speech. He is published widely in literary journals and periodicals. He also founded two bands: Nouassi in 2005, and Eish & Malh in 2009. He received the Ibda’a 3 award in 2015 in Sharjah.

Is an economic consultant for the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He has a strong presence in the local and Gulf arena as the founder and owner of the AlMasar Corporation for Economic Studies and Publishing. He is a founding member of the Emirates Writers Union, a member of the Arab Publishers Union, and a member of the General Secretariat of the Arab Writers Union. He has authored The Emirates in the Past, Folk Games and Puzzles in the Emirates, Money in the United Arab Emirates, and the play Check Mate. His latest book, Zayed and Rashid ... Challenge and Achievement was released this year. He has written weekly economic articles for many Arab newspapers, magazines and been interviewed by radio and television stations on various economic, social and cultural issues. He has participated in several economic conferences and seminars in the UAE, Gulf states and foreign countries, where he presented several work papers that were well received. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in economics from United Arab Emirates University in 1981

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Howaida SalehInes AbassiIs a Tunisian poet, writer and translator. Her published works include the poetry collections Secrets of the Wind and Archive of the Blind, the short-story collections Tales of the Korean Scheherezade and Fragility, and the children’s books Where Did my Tooth Go? and My Adventure with Shoes. She has received numerous awards, including the Tunisian Poetry Prize of 2004 for Secrets of the Wind. She has conducted storytelling sessions and creative writing workshops for children in Tunisia, the UAE, and Oman. She has also participated in a number of international cultural festivals and international exhibitions.

Is the editor-in-chief of the Egyptian magazine Al Mahrousa, published by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, and assistant professor of modern Arabic literature, at Egypt International University. She was assistant professor of literary criticism at Taif University and director of the media centre at the Academy of Arts. She is the author of many books on literary criticism, including The Image of the Intellectual in the New Novel, Criticism of The Differences Discourse: Feminist Narratives between Theory and Practice, Social Margin in the Novel, Cultural Reading in Ancient Egyptian Literature, and Approaches to Artistic Criticism. Her other literary works include the novels Umrat al-Dar and A Tight Body, the short-story collection Chamber 13, and the collection of children’s stories The Princess of Colored Dreams.

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Mohamed Afifi Dr. Shaker Abd AlhamidIs the chairman of the department of history at Cairo University and the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Culture and Chairman of the Cairo International Children’s Film Festival. His published works include: Arabs and Ottomans, Different Views, Fifty Years Since the Tripartite Aggression, The Just Oppressor, A Study in Arab Leadership in the Twentieth Century, and Shubra: A Small Alexandria in Cairo. He received the State Award for Excellence in Social Sciences in 2009.

Is a former Egyptian Minister of Culture. He served as secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Culture, dean of the Higher Institute of Art Criticism, and vice president of the Academy of Arts, where he is currently professor of creative psychology. His works include The Creative Process in the Art of Photography, The Arrow and the Meteor (Studies in the Arabic Story and Novel), and Childhood and Creativity. Translations include: Genius, Creativity and Leadership, The Psychological Study of Literature: Limitations, Possibilities, and Accomplishments, The Psychology of Performing Arts and Three Seductive Ideas.

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Dr. Shawkat ElmasryDr. Ali al-AneziIs a faculty member and former head of the department of criticism and literature at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Art. He holds a PhD in criticism and literature from the UK in 2006. His published works include Possibilities (in translation), Reflections, a theatrical text, and The Books of Death and Resistance, a play. He is also a lecturer in modern literature, applied criticism and modern Arabic theatre. He was a member of the editorial board of an international creations series published by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters in Kuwait, and since 2009 he has been a peer-reviewer of research and literary studies for various prestigious academic journals. He also writes a weekly article for the cultural page of the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai. He has worked for more than 20 years in Kuwaiti press.

Holds a PhD in modern literary criticism and is a lecturer on literature and literary criticism at the Academy of Arts in Cairo, where he has worked since 2008. His published works include Manifestations of Narrative in Modern Arab Poetry, Poetry of the Body, a contribution to the anthology Declared Chaos, and the short-story collection, Temporary Arrest. He has participated in several literary and scientific seminars, including the Supreme Council of Culture in 2017, and has contributed to many cultural events.

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Dr. Zhang Hong Amir Al OmariHas been a professor, rector, and dean at the School of Arab Studies, part of the University of Foreign Studies in Peking. He is the director of the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Centre for Arabic Language and Islamic Studies and was the chairman of the Arab Academy from 2001-2007. He has contributed to the China-Arab Cooperation Forum and the China-Arab Friendship Conference and received numerous prizes including Distinguished Teaching Faculty in 2008 at the University of Foreign Studies. His published research includes International Status of Egypt and China-Egypt Relations, Arab Politics Towards China, and Gulf Cooperation Council: Role and Influence. He has provided instant translation for international conferences in China since the 1980s.

Is a famous Egyptian film critic who often serves on jury committees for film festivals, both Arab and international. He has worked for several television channels and is a prolific writer of essays and studies, which have been published in various Arab journalism outlets. His 16 books include film criticism, memoirs, autobiography, travel literature, and a book on Sheikh Imam as a phenomenon. His awards include best article at the 2009 Oran International Arabic Film Festival, and the Centre for Arabic Geographical Literature-Exploration Prospects’ best travelogue book for his Modern Sinbad series. He graduated from the school of medicine at Ain Shams University in 1976 and studied journalism and TV production at BBC World Service in London.

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Badr-Eddine ArodakyKhaldoun ShamaaIs a Damascene writer, literary critic and independent academician. His trilogy on modern Arabic literary criticism — The Sun and The Phoenix, Criticism and Freedom, and Methodology and Terminology — has been well received by critics and is a standard reference book for students of literature. His other published works include: The Different and The Familiar: Assimilation of the Western Centre, Arab Margin and Demonization of the Other, Modernization and Beyond: Theory of Modernization from Literary Criticism to Cultural Criticism (in English). He has founded literary and cultural journals and serves on the editorial board of the London based Al Jadeed magazine, and as an executive member of the Syrian Writers’ Union. Shamaa holds a bachelor’s degree from Damascus University and a PhD in competitive literature from the University of London, where he has been based since 1980.

Is a Syrian writer and translator, based in Paris since 1972. His over 500 articles cover such areas as sociology of culture, literary criticism, cinematography, drama, music and art, as well as political and sociological thought. In translation, his contribution amounts to over 30 books in such areas as sociology, history, philosophy and literature. He served at the Arab World Institute for a period of 30 years, and in various capacities. He has translated Philippe Buc’s Holy War, Martyrdom, and Terror: Christianity, Violence, and the West and Suzanne Taha Hussein’s Avec toi. Arodaky studied law and philosophy at Damascus University, and received his PhD in sociology at the University of Paris in 1981.

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Dr. Sa’d Al Baze’i Osama BadrIs a researcher, critic and translator. A former member of the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia, he has also worked as a professor of English and comparative literature at King Saud University for nearly 25 years. He has written in the Saudi press and for national and foreign magazines and periodicals. He has published numerous articles and research studies in both Arabic and English and has participated in many national, Arab, and international conferences and seminars. He has previously served as editor-in-chief of the English newspaper Riyadh Daily and editor of the second edition of The World Arabic Encyclopedia. He also served as chairman of the Literary Club in Riyadh. His major fields of interest are literary and intellectual studies, philosophy, and translation. His books include A Guide for the Literary Critic, Opening a Door: A Reading of Trends in Arabic Poetry and The Jewish Component in Western Civilization. His translated works include Jerald F. Dirks’ Muslims in American History and Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Controversies in Globalization (2014).

Is a poet whose anthologies include Moon Risking his Roundness, You Cannot Hide from the Dead, and Favourite Places to a Corpse Singing. Since 1996, his work has been published in cultural and literary periodicals such as Akhbar Al Adab, Althakafa Al Jadeda, Majalet She’er, Ibda’a, and Alkahera and many literary electronic sites concerned with poetry. He also contributes to many writers conferences held across Egypt and to the Arabic Prose Poem conference.

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Dr. Soheir Al MosadfaZuhair Abu ShayebIs the editor-in-chief of Rozana, a feminist intellectual magazine published by The Jordanian Women’s Union. His published works include: Geography of the Wind and Questions (poetry), 1986; Family Record Book and Maqamat (poetry), 1987; Blind White (play), 1993; The Biography of the Grass (poetry), 1997; ‘The Fruits of the Hard Walnut (articles), 2007; The Shadow of the Night (poetry) and Secret Rain (poetry), 2016. He has also won numerous awards, including the third Mahmoud Darwish Award for Creativity in 2012.

Is a writer whose works include the collections (Timid Offence) and (A Girl Trying her Own Death) and (The novels The Devils’ Pastime), (Miss Egypt), and (Hynas’ Journey). She has also translated stories from Russian about Tutankhamun, Bakhish Babayev, Pushkin, and Afanasyev the most prominent Russian children’s writer. Al Mosadfa has received many awards, including the Sharjah Ladies Club award for poetry and the Egypt Writers Union prize in 2005. She has served as president of the central administration of publishing at the General Egyptian Book Organisation, and was a member of Egypt Writers Union. She frequently attends international conferences and exhibitions, and literary evenings in Egypt and abroad.

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Nada Al Shabrawi Mohammed ShadyIs the marketing and publishing officer at Dar Tanmiyat bookshop and publishing house. On her channel on YouTube, Dudet Kutub, she presents weekly reviews of books she has read.

Is a BookTuber who has owned the channel Bitaa’ el-Kutub since 2017. He is also responsible for managing the electronic pages and social media accounts of Dar Tanmia bookshop and publishing house. He has worked as the director of Library of Cairo’s faculty of medicine department from 2013 to 2015. Shady is one of the most popular book reviewers on the Goodreads website, where he has published since 2014, and is the author of Dear Eva, a successful e-book. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in medicine and general surgery from Cairo University in 2017.

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Dr. Abdulatif AlaziaziNasser IraqIs an Egyptian novelist and writer who is currently the editor-in-chief of Huroof Arabia, a journal released by The Cultural & Scientific Association in Dubai. He has written eight novels including Times of Dust and Intensely Enamored and won the Katara Prize for Arabic Novels in 2016 for his novel Ezbekieh. His book History of Journalist Drawing in Egypt won the first-ever Ahmad Baha Eddin Prize in 2000. He is a founding member of Dubai Cultural Magazine, and was its first editor-in-chief. He is also a founder of the Bahrain Press Freedom Award, and was the award’s first general coordinator in 2010. The Ministry of Culture and Development Knowledge in Abu Dhabi chose Iraq to oversee Preparing Young Authors, its novel-writing training programme, which launched in April of 2017. He graduated from the faculty of fine arts at Zamalek in 1984.

Is the vice president of an oil company in Abu Dhabi and the chairman of the board and CEO of the Centre of Excellence for Management Consulting and Development and Al Diaa for Publishing and Distribution in Abu Dhabi. He has conducted 20 research studies, 11 field studies, and written 20 books covering various fields. He has also published more than 160 articles in numerous national and Arab newspapers and magazines and released seven CDs. He has written a weekly column, “A Glance at Development,” for Al-Ittihad’s Donia supplement and hosted the programmes Positives and Ramadaniyat on Emirates FM. He has made an appearance on 18 national and Gulf satellite channels, as well as 10 national and Gulf radio stations. He holds a PhD in economics from Omdurman Islamic University.

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Rasha Abdel Fattah Jamal Al ShehhiIs a teacher and educator for kindergarten. She holds a Bachelor of kindergarten from the faculty of qualitative education, at Tanta University, completed her postgraduate studies at the University of Alexandria, and obtained a Diploma in vocational education. She has nearly 20 years of experience teaching first and second kindergarten classes in different cultural and social settings. She has completed a series of special-ised education and creativity training courses in such topics as how to raise a creative child, the story bag, classroom questions (creative and probing), class interaction, motivation and educational planning, motivation for achievement, modern methods of teaching, and behaviour modification skills.

Is an author and publisher from the UAE. He is the general manager of Kuttab Publishing House, the secretary-general of the Emirates Novel award and the former executive director of the Arab Child programme at the Mohammed bin Rashid Foundation. Al Shehhi opened Kuttab Café, a one-of-a-kind bookstore and cultural salon, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. He is the author of Mufakaret Gasel Al Mawta as well as a short-story collection for children. He is a columnist at Al-Ittihad newspaper and writes for Gulf News. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in human sciences from the United States and a Master’s degree from Wisconsin-La Crosse.

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Dr. Youssef AyedabeeDr. Mohamed AbdelhafizIs the academic director of the Sharjah Heritage Institute, a faculty member of the Cairo Academy of Arts, and a member of the Egyptian Writers’ Union. He received his doctorate degree in arts in 2014. His authored works include Memory of Children Born After (2004), Sirat Bani Hilal, Novels from South Assiut, Civilization of Culture and its Popular Referentiality, and Semiotics of Sirat Bani Hilal. He has worked as the editor of a literary studies series and a literary critics series before serving as editor-in-chief of the Folk Arts Journal. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Arab Narrative Award and the Bahr Culture Foundation Award, which he won in 2016. The Centre of Anthropological Studies at the University of Palermo gave him the Sicilian Anthropologist Salomoni Marino Medal for his book Sirat Bani Hilal in 2010, when he also won the Sharjah Prize for Arab Creativity in the Children’s Literature Branch for his play The Marble Game.

Is the cultural adviser to His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah, and an advisor to the Arab Authority for Theatre. He holds a PhD in history and theory of drama (comparative studies) from the University of Bucharest, and as a specialist in drama and the cinema, he has worked as a university professor in Sudan, Romania, and the UAE. He has also worked in the press, publishing and translation, and was the founder, co-founder and editor of s everal magazines and cultural supplements in Sudan and the UAE. His authored plays include The She-Bird and Players, Horse of al-Bayaha, The Disfigured and The Obsessed. He won the UAE’s Pioneers of the Stage Award in 1999, the Sharjah Key Award in 2009, and a certificate of recognition and honour from the Damascus Arts Festival in 2010. Dr. Ayedabee is also an active member of the plastic arts movement.

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Mohamed El-Baaly Dr. Majed BushlaibiOrganises literary and artistic festivals with content that is resistant to the prevailing commercial forms. The International Cairo Literature Festival and the Egypt Comix Week, both of which are in their fourth season, are two of his accomplishments. Born in Cairo in 1976, El-Baaly earned a Bachelor’s degree in Arabic from Cairo University in 1998.

Has 30 years of experience in culture and development administration. He has held various positions in the Sharjah government, including secretary-general of Al Muntada Al Islami, director-general of Islamic Affairs and Awqaf, and director-general of the Department of Culture and Information. His weekly column appears in Al-Khaleej newspaper, and his published works include Our Culture: Is It Like Us?, Writing on Air, Dust of Writing, Internet Culture in the United Arab Emirates and the play Hamdous. He has worked in print, broadcast, and theatre, and has present-ed, lectured, and participated at multiple cultural, educational, social, and literary venues within the UAE and abroad. He holds a PhD in political science.

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Dr. Talal Al JunaibiKyra Dupont TroubetzkoyIs a Geneva-born Swiss-French author based in Dubai. She obtained her MA in international relations at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and completed a second Master’s degree in journalism at City University in London. She started her professional life as a volunteer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in northern Kenya in 1995. She then worked as a reporter before embarking on numerous press and television collaborations in Switzerland, France, and the United States. From 2003 to 2005, she directed the international section of the daily 24 Heures in Lausanne.

Is an Emirati poet and academic who has received dozens of awards and honours, including the Khalifa Al Fakhr (UAE President’s Honour Award), the Abu Dhabi Award for Cultural and Community Achievement in 2015, and the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Shield of Poetry Excellence Award. His published works include the poetry collections On the Banks of Revelation and A Restraint Moment, and three audio and written poetry collections, which will soon be released sequentially. His poetry is known for its innovative “Voice Signature”.

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Dr. Amina Thiban Dr. Fatima Al MazroueiIs a UAE academic who specialises in literature and narrative sciences. She is also a critic, researcher and poet, who has worked in the media and journalism whose published works include research papers as well as Modernization and Transformation in the Desert: The Tribal Epic in the Salt Cities, which is written in English, The Paradox of Irony in the Works of Emil Habibi, and the poetry collection Flower of Blood. She chaired the jury for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2016. She holds a Master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies, and a doctorate in modern Arabic literature and narrative science from the University of London.

Is a former assistant professor at UAE University, a former member of the UAE’s Federal National Council, and general manager of Hekayat Books and Stationery. She has received numerous awards and honours, participated in a number of conferences and seminars, and conducted writing workshops and story readings. Her published works include the Sheikh Zayed Trilogy, The Model Book, Folk Songs, Reem’s Duck, Ahmed’s Bicycle, Reem’s Copybook, Ahmed’s Copybook, Mariam’s Healthy Dish, How to Hunt an Idea, The Monkey and the Last Monster in the World, and Representations of the Other in Pre-Islamic Literature and Monafarat in Pre-Islamic Literature.

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Hadeel Al HasawiDr. Minni BounaamaIs a Mauritanian writer, academic researcher, and director of content and publishing at the Sharjah Heritage Institute, where he is the editor of the Institute’s Marawed magazine. His PhD in cultural history was about the curricula of criticism and analysis, and he has lectured and participated in numerous international conferences and cultural forums. He has received dozens of certificates of honour. He writes for a number of UAE and Arab magazines in the fields of criticism, literature, history, and media. He has published more than 10 books on criticism, culture, history and heritage, including The Greatest Historian of His Time: Ali bin Ibrahim Al Juway’ed.

Is a Kuwaiti novelist who founded the Kuwaiti Narratives Lab, is a partner at Dar Al Farasha Publishing and Distribution, and owns the bookstore Riwaq. She has participated in many cultural and critical seminars and published articles in a number of Arab newspapers. Her novel The Mirror The Sun Path will be released in English soon; her other novel, Abstraction, was released in 2014. Born in 1980, Al Hasawi holds an MBA from Maastricht University and served as general coordinator of the Horizons Forum at Kuwait University from 2001 to 2003.

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Dr. Amal Sakr Dr. Abdul Dayem Al SalamiIs a senior political scientist and a specialist in Gulf Cooperation Council affairs, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Since the establishment of the Future Centre for Advanced Research and Studies in 2014, she has been head of the political transitions research unit, editor-in-chief of the Centre’s bulletin, Event Trends, and deputy director of the Centre for Executive Affairs. She also worked at the Third World Forum-Egypt 2022 in Cairo. She has published numerous research studies in several periodicals and newspapers, and is a member of the Middle East Studies Association, USA.

Holds a PhD in modern Arabic literature from the University of Tunis. His published works include the poetry collection Attempts to Write a Rose as well as the works of criticism Amulets of the Absentees, Sleepless Fingers, Reality in Very Short Story, Logic of the Absurd in the Modern Arabic Novel, and The Churches of Criticism. He writes articles on literary and cultural criticism in many cultural forums, such as the London-based Al Arab newspaper and the cultural supplement of Al Ittihad newspaper. He has participated in many intellectual seminars and festivals, as well as the events of Arab book exhibitions.

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Dr. Riyad Naasan AghaMohammed AbbasIs a literary critic from Saudi Arabia. His published works include: Our Prose Poem: Readings of Awareness of the Poetic Moment, Delayed Modernity, Against Memory: The Poetics of Prose Poetry, Custodians of the Moon: The Esotericism of Feminine Poetic Text, The Poetics of Prose, The End of Oral History, Writing the Absence, The City of Life: Controversy Over the Cultural Space of the Novel in Saudi Arabia, Crossing into the Self Text: Kuwaiti Women Short Story Writers in the Third Millennium, and The Fall of the Taboo: Political Novel in Saudi Arabia.

Is a Syrian thinker and writer who served as Minister of Culture in Syria from 2006-2010. He has also been appointed as Ambassador of Syria to Oman and the United Arab Emirates. He received the Order of Al Nu’man from the Sultan of Oman and the Order of Merit from the President of the UAE. He has published many books on politics, arts, literature, and philosophy, written many TV drama series, and hosted several cultural television programs. He graduated from the department of Arabic language at Damascus University and holds a PhD in Islamic philosophy from Baku University.

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Said Al Ghanimi Amira Ali bin KadraIs an Iraqi writer and translator, based in Australia. He has over 60 books to his credit as an author, including: Treasure and Interpretation (1994), The Epic of Extreme Limits (2000), The First Fountains of Language (2009), Concepts Plowing (2010), and The Effectiveness of Literary Imagination (2015). He translated into Arabic Blindness and Insight by Paul de Man, Muhammad and the Golden Bough by Jaroslav Stetkevych and Interpreting the Self-Autobiography in the Arabic Literary Tradition. He received the 2017 Sheikh Zayed Book Award in the Literary and Art Criticism category.

Is a writer from the United Arab Emirates who published the children’s story My Grandmother’s Henna Tree. Her first novel will be published soon. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Higher Colleges of Technology in Dubai.

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Abdullah Al SharhanNadia Al NajjarIs the Emirati author of the novels (Cities of Passion), which won first place in the Emirates Award for Fiction in the Short Fiction category, and Trio D, which won the award for the Best Emirati Book by an Emirati Creative Writer at the Sharjah International Book Fair. Her other works include I Am Different, a children’s story published jointly by Dar Sama and Dar Kandil publishing houses in collaboration with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Foundation, and The Dappled Tiger, a children’s story. She holds a Bachelor of Science in computer science.

Is an Emirati illustrator, author, and entrepreneur. He is the technical director of Sesame Street, managing editor of the 999 children’s magazine, and author and creator of the cartoon series Hamdoon. He has written and illustrated numerous comics and children’s books and has served on the jury of various national and international awards. He has also received many national and international awards, including a nomination by the US government for the International Leadership Program in the field of cultural preservation. He holds a Master’s degree in entrepreneurial leadership from Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University.

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Samir Grees Karam YoussefHas published numerous translations of German texts by contemporary authors, such as Die Klavierspielerin (The Piano Teacher) by Austrian writer Elfriede Jelinek, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004. In 2016, he published Gunter Grass and Facing a Past That Never Goes Away, a book about the great German writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1999. Grees has received a number of awards, including the German-Arabic Translation Prize awarded by the Goethe Institute in 2014. He was born in Cairo in 1962, and he studied German language and literature there at Mainz University.

Is an Egyptian publisher who founded Al Kotob Khan, which has been active on the Egyptian cultural scene for more than 10 years. Al Kotob Khan operates various cultural activities, such as creative writing workshops. A number of writers who took these workshops went on to win prestigious literary awards, such as the 2016 Naguib Mahfouz medal awarded by the American University in Cairo. Al Kotob Khan also organises lectures on music and film, drawing workshops, and reading sessions for children and others. Youssef holds a BA in journalism from Cairo University.

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Dania El-KhatibFatima SharafeddineIs a writer and translator for children and young adults. She has won several awards, the latest of which was the 2017 Etisalat Award for the best YA book of the year for Cappuccino and the Bologna Ragazzi Award for her book Tongue Twisters. Several of her books have been translated to other languages, including French, English, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, and Russian. She has published over 120 books, and participates in various Arab and European book fairs and conferences focusing on children’s literature. She also offers creative-writing workshops for children and young adults.

Is a Lebanese illustrator, graphic designer, and 2D animator. She has been illustrating and designing children’s books since 2005 and has over 30 publications with new stories still in press. She works with many Lebanese and foreign organisations, coordinating, designing and illustrating health promotion, social awareness, and education projects. She also runs workshops on illustration and art history in public and private schools. She holds a diploma of higher education in arts and archaeology from Lebanese University, where she is currently preparing her Master’s Degree in the History of Art and Archeology.

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Nadine Sidani Fadi Salama

Is a Lebanese illustrator who introduced the art of collage in children’s books for leading Arab publishing houses nearly 20 years ago. She began drawing at a very early age and developed her skills after obtaining her Bachelor of fine arts degree from the Lebanese American University. She has to her credit a list of over 85 illustrated books. She also won numerous awards, chief among which are the Sheikh Zayed Award, the UNESCO Award for the book My Friend, and the 2009 Etisalat Award from the UAE in the best illustrations category for her book I Love.

Has more than 17 years of experience in the field of graphics. He has worked in the areas of design, animation, and children’s illustrations for several television channels, magazines and children’s book publishers in Lebanon, the Arab world, and China. He has participated in numerous national, Arab, and international exhibitions. He graduated from the faculty of fine arts at Lebanese University in 1999, and holds various specialisation certificates in the field of graphics, including desktop publishing.

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Sana’ Sami ShabbaniSamar Mahfouz BarrajIs a Lebanese writer and translator for children and young adults. Her first book I Didn’t Mean It was published in 2007, and she has since had over 60 books published by various Lebanese and Arab publishing houses, some of which have made the honour lists of several Arab and international awards. She has also translated numerous children’s books from French, English, Italian, written poems, songs, plays for children. She has participated in conferences and workshops on children’s literature, and training workshops for teachers and librarians on reading promotion, library activities, the preparation and teaching of Arabic.

Is a short-story author for children and young adults and a trainer in reading-promotion workshops. She earned a Master’s degree in school counselling in 2013 and has been working since 2006 at the University of Balamand in the faculty of health sciences. She is the author of more than 70 stories for children and young adults, and some of her stories have won awards, including the 2012 Sharjah Children’s Book Award for her story What Did You Decide to Do, Malek? Her story The Battle of ’Antar ibn Shadad was shortlisted for the 2017 Etisalat Award for YA stories.

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David Wagner Bert Rebhandl

Was born in 1971 and has lived in Berlin since 1991. His prize-winning debut, My Night-Blue Trousers, was published in 2000, and his novel, Four Apples, was long-listed for the German Book Prize. His best-selling novel, Lives, won the 2013 Leipzig Book Fair Prize and the 2014 Best Foreign Novel of the Year Award in China. His books have been translated into 17 languages. He has written extensively about the city of Berlin in collections such as Mauer Park and What Colour Is Berlin.

Is a Berlin-based freelance journalist, author, and translator, born in Austria in 1964. He studied philosophy and German literature in Vienna and Berlin. He has written extensively about cultural and intellectual issues. He is a film critic for German newspaper FAZ. His published works include Orson Welles: Genius in the Labyrinth and Seinfeld.

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Hans RuprechtAisha Al NaqabiIs the youngest published author in the UAE. A student at the American International School of Abu Dhabi, she has written two novels, Blue Moon (2016) and Emerald Planet (2017). She has received numerous honours and awards, including participation awards from Dar Kuttab during the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair in 2016. She also participated in the 2016 Sharjah International Book Fair, and this March attended Livre Paris and the Bologna Book Fair.

Is a programme manager of music and literature festivals and events as well as a mediator between different European literatures. He co-organised Bern’s Taktlos Festival for jazz, new music, and music performances between 1979-2007, and since 2005 he has been the director of the International Literature Festival in Leukerbad. He has also been the organiser of the Bern Literature Festival since 2006, and in 2011, he launched the European project, Absolut Central, which brings together journalists, writers, essayists, philosophers, and historians in various cultural activities and functions. Since 2015, together with Ulrich Schreiber from Berlin, he has been conducting the International Literature Festival in Odessa.

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Latefa Ahrrare Nasser AssiIs an actress, theatre director, and professor of body language at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Morocco. She is the director of Cont’N’Art, a theatrical space aimed at democratising culture and arts in Morocco, a founding member of many Moroccan festivals, and a coordinator of many Moroccan and multi-cultural events abroad. She has received national and international awards for her outstanding career in theatre, TV, and cinema and is a cultural activist and founding member of many NGOs working on promoting the culture of human rights and freedom. She studied arts at the ISADAC.

Is a publisher, co-founder and general manager of Maalem Printing, Publishing, and Distributing in Abu Dhabi and a member of the board of directors of the Syndicate of Publishers Union in Lebanon. He is also president of the Arab and International Exhibitions Committee, and the general supervisor of the magazine for the Arab Publishers Association, for which he was a member of the board of directors in its fifth, seventh, and eighth sessions. He is a founding member and secretary of the Publishers Association of Children’s Books in Beirut, and will serve as president for the Arab Children’s Book Publishers Forum in Sharjah for its fourth session between 2018-2020. He has won a number of awards and certificates of appreciation, including the Best Children’s Book Publisher Award for Artistic Creativity at Sharjah in 1997.

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Dr. Eva KosmaJinan HashashStarted writing about 10 years ago. Her collection of short stories, Adventure of Shatir Hasan in the Sea, won Best Children’s Book Award in the design category at the 2014 Beirut International Book Fair, and she made the 2014 IBBY honour List for best translation for Good Night and the 2013 Kitabee honour list for My Fish. The Lebanese writer holds a Master’s degree in education and is a PhD candidate. Hashash also teaches at the primary school and university levels.

Is a children’s book writer, reading expert, and educational consultant for a number of schools, official bodies, universities, and international institutions. Dr. Kozma has published several books, including My Mother Loves Fattoush (Academia International; illustrations by Azza Hussein), which won the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature for best text in 2014. She received her PhD in humanities from Saint Joseph University in Beirut in 2016, and has presented national and regional workshops for hundreds of trainers and teachers on reading programmes and Arabic children’s book classification based on reading levels.

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Doniazad Abdullah Al Saadi Dr. Saeed Bin Saeed Al AlawiStarted writing in 2005, and now has 26 educational, environmental, and scientific stories, including her story When You Get Angry (Asala Publishing), which won the 2013 Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature in the best production category and made the Kitabee honour list in 2015. She has also translated children’s stories from English into Arabic. She earned a BA in philosophy and psychology from Beirut Arab University in 1997, and worked as an Arabic language teacher, before moving on to high-school philosophy, which she currently teaches.

Is a professor, researcher and novelist who holds a PhD in philosophy. A former dean of the faculty of letters and human sciences at Mohammed V University, and a former vice-president of the same university, his writings include The Ashaari Discourse, The Caliphate State, The Discourse of Political Legitimacy in Sunni Islam, Europe in the Mirror of the Journey and The Political Islamic State or the Illusion of the Islamic State. His published novels include The Deception, Revolution of the Mureedin and Seven Nights and Eight Days.

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H. E. Dr. Ali bin TamimMohammed Al HammadiIs a writer and journalist who currently serves as editor-in-chief of Al Ittihad newspaper and executive director of editing and publishing at Abu Dhabi Media Company. He founded and was editor-in-chief of the Arabic edition of National Geographic magazine. In addition to being an active participant on social networks, Al Hammadi has a particularly keen interest in new media. He has also received numerous awards and is a member of a number of organisations and federations. Al Hammadi is the author of Time of Ordeal (2008), The UAE Democracy (2009), and The Fall of the Muslim Brotherhood (2016).

Has been the secretary-general of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award since 2011. He is also a professor of literary critique at United Arab Emirates University; he received his doctorate degree in literary critique from Yarmouk University in Jordan in 2005. He is a seasoned patron of the Arabic written word with a long record of valuable contributions to culture and heritage in the United Arab Emirates. He is currently a culture and media consultant at the General Secretariat of the Executive Council, a board member of the National Archives, chairman of the Executive Committee, and the editor-in-chief of the news portal www.24.ae. In 2016, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, issued a resolution appointing Dr. Ali bin Tamim as director-general of Abu Dhabi Media Company.

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Dr. Aladdin Al Jabri Shahrazad Al Arabiis an associate professor of modern literature in the Arabic language department at Suez Canal University’s faculty of arts. His published works include The Hegemony of the Absent (2003), Cross Circles (2004), The Unruly (2013), and The Mother of the Kings (2014). He is also the recipient of the 2003 Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity in the category of criticism.

Is an Algerian writer specialising in the affairs of children, women, and heritage. She holds a higher education diploma in criminal law from Egypt’s Ain Shams University. Her published works include The Kidnapping of the Ant Queen (2003), Lady of the Spring (2006), and The Children’s Stories Dictionary series (2016). She has dozens of stories published in Arabic magazines and newspapers, and was the story author and scriptwriter of the 1998 TV series A Tale Everyday, produced by ART Group.

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Taleb Al RifaeNaima LahrouriIs a journalist and a poet. In addition to her work as a government employee, she is a columnist in a number of Moroccan newspapers. But neither her job nor her creativity could take her away from politics; she was nominated on behalf of the Socialist Union party in her birthplace, Figuig, in the last parliamentary elections. She holds a Master of Business Law, a Bachelor of Laws, and a Baccalaureate in Sharia sciences.

Is a fiction writer from Kuwait who served as chairman of the judging panel for the 2010 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (The Arabic Booker). He is also founder and president of Cultural Forum in Kuwait and chairman of the judging panel for the Forum’s award for best Arab short stories. He is currently a visiting professor of creative writing at the American University of Kuwait. He has received various awards, including the Kuwait National Award for Arts and Literature. His published works include eight collections of short stories, six novels, four books of criticism, and two plays. He holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Kuwait University and a Master’s degree in creative writing from Kingston University in London.

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Su’ad Abdullah Al ‘Anazi Dr. Najm Abdullah KazemWorks as a faculty member in the department of Arabic language at Kuwait University. She is the author of Forms of Political Violence in Contemporary Algerian Novel (2010), and The Kuwaiti Female Novel in the Third Millennium (2013). She also writes articles for Arab and Kuwaiti press. Her PhD dissertation was Post-Colonial Identity Formations in the Works of Edward Said and Mahmoud Darwish, which she gave at the University of Manchester’s department of Middle Eastern studies.

Is a visiting professor at the University of Exeter and the author of more than 30 books on comparative and modern literature, including the award-winning The Image of the Other in Modern Arabic Poetry, We and the Other in Contemporary Arabic Novel, and The Young Adult Novel. He holds a PhD in comparative literature from the University of Exeter’s Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies, and he has worked in universities in Iraq, Libya, Jordan and Oman.

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Nasser Al DhaheriDr. Amir Taj al-SirIs a Sudanese novelist and physician who was awarded the 2015 Katara Prize for Arabic Novels. His novel The Grub Hunter was shortlisted for the 2010 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (often referred to as the Arabic Booker), while his novels 366 (2013) and The Witches Resort (2016) were longlisted for the same prize. He has published 24 books of fiction, biography, and poetry; his titles include The Dowry of Cries, The Copt’s Worries, and French Perfume, which were all published in 2009, and The Crawling of the Ants, which was published in 2010.

Has held various positions, including editor-in-chief of Dur ’ El Watan magazine, managing editor of Al Ittihad newspaper, chairman of the Emirates Writers Union, general manager and editor of the Arab Association of Press and Media Publications, and editor of the Disney-Warner Brothers-BBC Arabic children’s publications. He has published several volumes of fiction and non-fiction, including short-story collections, and some of his works have been translated into foreign languages. He has also held several national and international photo exhibitions, and won the best director award at the Dubai International Film Festival for his film A Tale of Water, Palm Trees and Family. He holds a post-graduate diploma from the French Institute of Journalism at the Sorbonne.

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Dr. Rasha Al Khatib Dr. Abdullatif Al ShamsiGave her PhD dissertation, Andalusian Literature in British Studies, at the University of Manchester’s department of Middle Eastern studies. It was published in 2013 by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) – now known as the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi. Her book, Experience of Imprisonment in Andalusian Poetry, was also published by TCA in 1999. She is currently a lecturer at the Arab Open University and Al Zaytoonah University of Jordan, where she teaches Arabic language, literature, and Arab-Islamic culture. She has a number of published works, and won the 2017-2018 Ibn Battuta award for travel literature for her book Ahmad ibn Qasim al-ajari al-Andalusi Afoqai: Translator, Traveler and Ambassador.

Is the director of the Higher Colleges of Technology complex. He earned his PhD in mechanical engineering from Duke University in 1997, and holds an MSc and BSc from Boston University. Previously, Dr. Al Shamsi spent seven years as managing director of the Institute of Applied Technology, where he established Applied Technology High Schools, the Fatima College for Health Sciences, and the Abu Dhabi Polytechnic. Dr. Al Shamsi has delivered more than 35 research publications for scientific journals and international conferences. He wrote a series of books in Arabic called The Making of Education.

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Dr. Rachid ArkilaMaryam HaidariWas born in 1984 in Ahwaz, Iran. She writes poetry in both Persian and Arabic, and she won the 2014 Arab Award for Literary Creativity in the category of translation at its first session in Baghdad, the capital of Arab culture. She also won the 2017-2018 Ibn Battuta award for travel literature in the category of translation for her translation of Memoirs of Taj Saltaneh, Qajar Dynasty Daughter of Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar. She received a Master’s degree in Arabic literature in 2010.

Earned A PhD in management sciences from the University of Strasbourg in 2016. He has received the 2017-2018 Ibn Battuta award for travel literature in the category of translation, and he writes articles for cultural supplements in Arabic newspapers and magazines. He is also a translator of books and articles from French into Arabic.

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Saleh Karama Mushtaq Sheikhis an author, stage director, filmmaker, and fiction writer. He is the founder of the Abu Dhabi Theater in 1977, and he chaired the Emirates Film Competition, which was held at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. He is also the director of the first Emirati international feature-length fiction film. His film Henna won the best director award at the Middle East Film Festival in Abu Dhabi in 2008, and his film Time Left won Grand Prize at the Casablanca Festival in 2009. Karama won Kuwait’s Best Playwright Award for his play Try Again, and wrote the screenplay for Soul Cart, which won the Golden Shell award at the 2007 San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Brings a journalist’s nose for facts and a screenwriter’s flair for drama to Shah Rukh Can. Much has been written about Shah Rukh Khan, but this book is a treasure trove of fascinating unheard stories. There are some things even Google’s search algorithms cannot find. But Mushtaq Sheikh can. He has known Shah Rukh for nearly as long as the rest of the world and is more family than guest in the Khan family’s inner circle. Sheikh has also made guest appearances in the actor’s films, and co-wrote the screenplay for Om Shanti Om (2007) and Billu (2009).

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Shatrughan SinhaBharathi PradhanIs a renowned columnist, critic, and author who has written both fiction and non-fiction. Some of her well-received books include: Mr. Bidi — The Life Story of an Industrialist; Heartfelt: The Inspirational Story of Medha Jalota; Colas, Cars & Communal Harmony; and the adult novel Valentine Lover. She scripted a documentary on Mughal-e-Azam and ideated for Balaji Telefilms. She was the chairperson for the National Awards (for best writing on cinema), and has been on the jury of many awards committees, including the Indian Panorama jury of the 2015 International Film Festival of India.

Her 2016 book, Anything but Khamosh, tells the story of actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, aka SS. Every success story has its price to pay. So did SS, who achieved the impossible twice over. The youngest in a family of academics and doctors, SS stood out as defiantly different. He was besotted with Raj Kapoor and cinema. In the face of stiff opposition from his parents, SS set out for the Film Institute of India. Without any connection with the Hindi film industry, he went on to create history on celluloid. In politics, too, with no known surname or family to power his entry, he set a record as the first film star from India to be sworn-in as a cabinet minister.

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Khalid Mohamed Asha ParekhWas the film critic and media editor of The Times of India, and the editor of Filmfare. In these jobs, he frequently interviewed Asha Parekh, the queen of the marquee, who had captured the public imagination during the black-and-white movie era and maintained it through colourful holiday-mood entertainers. A single question to her, “So why haven’t you attempted an autobiography yet?” led to Asha Parekh: The Hit Girl, a book packed with rare pictures, memorabilia, and candid observations.

The “hit” girl of the 1960s, Parekh was a star whose on-screen presence won a million hearts across the globe. Her versatility as an artiste is extraordinary, making her a favourite among filmmakers. She was also the first female chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board) of India, a post she held from 1998 to 2001. In 2002, she received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. As a true humanitarian, she runs the Asha Parekh Hospital in Santa Cruz, Mumbai. She also owns and runs the dance academy, Kara Bhavan.

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Yamini MuthanaAmita BaigIs a heritage management consultant and represents the World Monuments Fund, a private not-for-profit organisation in New York that funds major conservation of the heritage in India. She worked with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage at its inception and has written extensively over the years on the challenges of preserving India’s heritage. Her book, Forts and Palaces of India, is the culmination of 25 years of research on the subject.

Stud ied A s hta nga Yoga w ith Mysore-based B.N.S. Iyengar for over 22 years. She runs Yogasthala, a yoga school in Bengaluru, where architects, entrepreneurs, artists, techies, CEOs, housewives, students, and doctors from across the globe learn Ashtanga Yoga. Muthana has been successful in interpreting the Yoga Sutras to make them accessible to the common people. One of her missions is to spread awareness about yoga as a way of life that ultimately brings about mental and physical transformation by working at the deepest levels of our being. Muthana has conducted workshops in London, New York, Washington, and Los Angeles, and will perform The Power of Yoga on stage at this year’s ADIBF.

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Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Khalil SweilehIs a director, writer, and producer who established ROMP Pictures in India. ROMP Pictures has cultivated an attitude to pioneer the way for the new wave and new age cinema from India by telling Indian stories to the world. Mehra’s 2006 film, Rang De Basanti (Colour of Sacrifice), featured a cast of Indian and international actors and won four National Awards (President Of India Medals). It was India’s official entry for the Oscars and was nominated in the best picture category by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Khalil Sweileh was born in 1959, in the city of Hasaka, Syria. In addition to writing, he is an active journalist. His portfolio includes multiple works in poetry including “Prefaces”; “That was the scene”; “Tracing the marks”, in addition to numerous novels; “Stationer of Love”; “Express Mail”; “The Gazelle will come to you”’ and “The Barbarians’ Paradise”. Sweileh won a number of literary and journalism awards, including The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature for his Novel “Stationer of Love” (2009) and the Arab Journalism Award (2010). And his Novel ‘Ikhtibar al-nadam’ (Remorse Test) novel published by Nofal. Hachette Antoine, Beirut (2017) won the Sheikh Zayed The Literature Award.

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Ahmad Al Qarmalawi Hessa Al Muhairi Hessa Al Muhairi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and a Double Master of Science in Education Management and Policy from Deakin University in Australia; she has been working as a nursery teacher since her graduation. Al Muhairi participated in many Children’s Literature Workshops and managed a number of training programmes. She has two published books for children; “Whose Footprints are These?” and “The Dinoraf”. Her book al-dinoraf (the Dinoraf) published by Al Hudhud Publishing and Distribution, UAE (2017) won the Sheikh Zayed Children’s Literature Award.

An Egyptian novelist and narrator, born in Cairo in 1978. He moved with his family to Kuwait in his early childhood, where he received his elementary and secondary education, until graduating from the International American School in 1996, achieving the top rank across all of GCC in IB. He moved back to Egypt to study Architecture in American University in Cairo, and later continued his post-graduate studies in University of Edinburgh, Scotland He has been active in creative writing since 2012, when he published his first work, a short stories collection entitled “The First of Abbas” during the Cairo Book Fair in 2013. He followed it with his first novel, “The last post” published in 2014 by Al Dar Al Masriah Al Lubnaniah. Al Qarmalawi published two more novels to date;

“Destino” in 2015 and lastly “Amtar Sayfiyyah’ (Summer Rains)” which won him the Sheikh Zayed Book Award. Besides writing, he is an avid painter and a musician. He is married and has three sons. And his book ‘Amtar Sayfiyyah’ (Summer Rains) novel, published by Maktabat al-Dar al-Arabiyah lil-Kitab, Cairo (2017) won the Sheikh Zayed Young Author Award .

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Mohammad Mishbal Néji Elounelli Mohammad Mishbal is a professor at Abdul-Malik al-Saadi University in Tétouan, Morocco. He has numerous published works and is specialised in rhetoric and literary critique, including “Rhetorical Quotes in Assessment of Poetry” (1993); “A study of the Foundation of Arab Rhetoric” (2007);

“Rhetoric and Narratives” (2010); and “The Rhetoric of Al Hajjaj: Towards a rhetoric inspired by Al Hajjaj in analyzing discourse” (2017). His portfolio also includes a number of translations, most recently co-translating the Oxford Encyclopaedia of Rhetoric (2015). He heads the rhetoric team at the Faculty of Literature in Tétouan and manages its yearly publications. And his book ‘Fi Balaghat Al Hajjaj: nahwa balagha hajjajiyyah litahleel al khitab’ (The Rhetoric of Al Hajjaj: Towards a rhetoric inspired by Al Hajjaj in analyzing discourse), published by Kunouz Al Ma’refa Publishers, Amman (2017) won the Sheikh Zayed Literary and Art Criticism Award.

Dr. Néji Elounelli is the professor of Philosophy at the Faculty of Literature and Humanities in Sfax, Tunisia. He holds a Habilitation Diploma and a Doctorate Degree in Philosophy in 1997. He worked as a visiting professor during his PhD studies at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen in Germany and won a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). He is an active member of a number of local and international societies specialised in culture and philosophical studies. Elounelli is fluent in French and German and Ancient Greek alongside his Arabic mother tongue. And his Arabic translation of the work of German author Theodor W. Adorno, ‘natharayy ‘astiteeqyya’ (Ästhetische Theorie), published by Al-Jamal Publications, Beirut 2017 won the Sheikh Zayed Translation Award.

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Dar Al-TanweerDag Nikolaus HasseA German Orientalist and a Historian of Philosophy, born in Bremen, Germany in 1969. He holds a Masters degree in Latin Philosophy of the Middle Ages & Renaissance and Arabic Studies from the University of Göttingen and a doctorate degree in Philosophy from London University, UK, in addition to the fellowship of a number of German and European Universities. His academic research interests focus on history of philosophy, and especially in Latin and Arabic Philosohpy and Sciences. He is the director of a number of Research Groups in Arabic-Latin linguistics and has numerous published books and research articles. Hasse works in the capacity of professor of Philosophy at University of Wurzburg, Germany since 2010. And his book “Success and Suppression: Arabic Sciences and Philosophy in the Renaissance”, Published by Harvard Press 2017 won the Sheikh Zayed Arab Culture in Other Languages Award.

The publishing house is viewed as a luminary institute that contributes generously to spreading the Arabic culture encouraging authoring and translation. The publishing house continues to assume a leading role in bringing young voices in philosophy and literature to the limelight. Has previously won The Sheikh Zayed Publishing and Technology Award.

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Michelle Nickelson Diccon BewesHas been living in the UAE since 2004 but recently returned to Los Angeles to develop Antar the Black Knight, a story based on the legend of Antar bin Shedad. After an Emirati associate introduced her to the story, Nickelson spent two years researching before she wrote the first draft of her screenplay. The comic series is written by Hugo and Nebula-winning writer Nnedi Okorafor and is distributed through IDW Publishing. The series is also being presented to various studios for adaption into a film franchise. Nickelson’s background is in media and finance.

Is a Switzerland-based writer who grew up in Hampshire, England. After earning a degree in international relations at the London School of Economics, he went for an 18-month world trip. Ten years later, after working for platforms such as Lonely Planet and Holiday Which, he decamped to Switzerland to become manager of the Stauffacher English Bookshop in Bern. He has spent the last few years exploring parts of Switzerland, a job that includes eating lots of chocolate! He is the author of Swiss Watching, a humour book that was a Best Book of 2010 according to the Financial Times.

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Matthias Ehlert Kallia PapadakiIs a novelist, poet, and screenwriter. Her short-story collection The Back.Lot Sound (Polis Publishers, 2009), won the New Writers Award from the Greek literary journal Diavazo. Her novel Dendrites (Polis Publishers, 2015) received the European Union Prize for Literature in 2017. Both her short stories and poems have been published in international anthologies and literary journals. September, her first feature script won the International Balkan Fund script development award in 2010. She received the Nipkow Scholarship in Berlin for September, which premiered as part of the official competition at the 48th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Was born in Berlin in 1967, and studied philosophy, German studies, and history at Humboldt-University and Freie Universität Berlin. He has worked as journalist since 1992, serving as a television reporter for ARD between 1995-99. He was editor for F.A.Z. and the theatre critic for Berliner Seiten between 1999-2003 and editor of Welt am Sonntag between 2004-05. Ehlert was editor-in-chief of Netzzeitung between 2006-07 and editor of AD-Architectural Digest between 2008-11. Since 2012 he has served as deputy edi-tor-in-chief of Weltkunst. He also wrote and directed the documentary film Brand, which played at the 1996, Berlin International Film Festival. His film Partisan played at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. His other films include Tatort Ostdeutschland (2001), and Europas Erbe — Ein Kontinent im Spiegel der Geschichte (2004).

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MONA YAKZAN Khaled Al-MasriReceived the 2017 Etisalat Award for Children’s Books and has illustrated many children’s books in the Arab world and Europe. The Lebanese/Greek-Cypriot artist studied graphic design with an emphasis on print at Frederick University in Nicosia, Cyprus before continuing her studies in digital and motion graphics at the Lebanese American University in Beirut and in England. She has also created many short, animated movies and participated in several animation and stop-motion animation workshops in the Arab world, Cyprus and Czech Republic.

Dr. Khaled Al-Masri’s English translations of contemporary Arabic poetry and short fiction have appeared in multiple American and British literary journals. He has translated two books from Arabic into English: Between Sips of Coffee: Oral Narratives from the United Arab Emirates and Houses of God: From the Great Mosque of Qayrawan to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. He is editor of a forthcoming anthology of Arabic short stories published by Penguin and is currently working on a book focused on women’s writings about the Lebanese Civil War. He teaches Arabic Language and Literature and serves as Director of the Arabic Program at Swarthmore College, where he previously also served as Chair of the Islamic Studies Program.

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Dr. Najwa Al HosaniIbrahim Al MasryIs a poet and writer, a member of the Union of Egyptian Writers and a TV news editor. His published works include 18 books. He has participated in numerous national, Arab and international literary conferences and festivals. He has won several awards, including the 1997 Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity for his novel “The Paper Boats Game” and the Ibn Battuta award for travel literature awarded by the Arab Centre for Geographical Literature - Exploration of Horizons, Abu Dhabi-London, 2007 for his book “Footpath of the Dead: Arab Journalist’s Views in Iraq” and the Kathak Literary Award of the Bangla Academy Language, Bangladesh, 2018.

Is an educational expert and university professor. She currently serves as Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education, UAE University. Dr. Al Hosani received her Ph.D. degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Kansas State University, USA. She has formerly served as advisor to ADEC’s director-general. She has made major contributions to the educational field in the State. She has a number of scholarly and academic studies and papers. Dr. Al Hosani has received several awards, including the Academic Excellence Award from the UAE Embassy in Washington. She was a member of the delegation of senior Emirati women that visited Washington to meet with their US counterparts in the Obama administration.

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Sultan Al Amimi Dr. Ghassan Al HassanIs a poet, novelist and researcher from the UAE. He currently serves as Director of the Poetry Academy, Abu Dhabi and editor-in-chief of the “Million’s Poet” magazine. He has written 14 books, with his work focussing on the critical study of Nabati poetry. His published works include: “Salem Al Jamri: his life and a reading in his poems”, “Fifty Poets from the UAE”, “Ahmad Bu Snaida: his life and poems” and “The Poets of Al Nahyan Dynasty” (collected and edited). He has also published three collections of short stories and two novels entitled

“P.O.B. 1003” and “One Chamber Is Not Enough”.

Dr. Ghassan Al Hassan holds a PhD in Arabic Language and Literature from Ain Shams University in Cairo. His doctoral dissertation, “Nabataean Poetry in the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula,” is singular in its field, and he has authored 37 books dealing with Nabataean poetry since. In 2016 he received both the Order of Abu Dhabi and the Al Owais Cultural Award for Creativity in Sharjah. He is a member of the jury panel of the “Million’s Poet” competition and served as the Cultural Advisor to the Academy of Poetry.

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Dr. Mouza Ghubash Azelmaqhrib MaaninouHolds a PhD in sociology from Cairo University. She is the head of the Rewaq Ousha Bint Hussein Cultural Center in the UAE and chairwoman of the Permanent Committee for Community Affairs at the Supreme Council for National Security. She formerly served as head of the department of sociology at the United Arab Emirates University. Her published works include numerous books, research studies, and articles. She has been interviewed by radio and TV stations about issues of society, heritage, UAE history, national identity, security, drugs, and extremism. She writes a weekly article for Al Bayan newspaper.

Is a professor of modern and contempo-rary at Mohammed V University in Rabat. He edited the manuscript for Idris El-Jai-di Salawi Travels, (Beirut, 2004) which won the Ibn Battuta Award for Travel Lit-erature in Abu Dhabi. He has published a number of biographies detailing the lives of prominent figures of the National Movement, and has contributed to the production of short audio-visual docu-mentaries introducing national figures and legislators. He is a member of the National Scientific Committee, which selected the best research papers in Morocco for the 37th Hassan II Prix of Manuscripts, and has participated in many seminars and conferences in Morocco and abroad.

Programme

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25th April • Wednesday

Gulf Prizes and Creativity - Almultaqa Prize for Arabic Short Story.

The system of creativity prizes that are awarded by Gulf Cooperation Council member states to creative nationals of these states or citizens in other Arab states merits a great deal of discussions for obvious influence and major impact, as well as the debate it created as the selection standards which determine its outcome and extent of its impact on the Arab and international creative and cultural scene. The present seminar is presented by one of most recent additions to Gulf Awards, Almultaqa Prize for Arabic Short Story from Kuwait, in an attempt to approach the idea and develop a vision.

GuestsDr. Taleb al-Refai Dr. Suad ALAnzi Dr. Abdel Daem al-SalamiDr. Najm Abdulla KadhimMohammed Al-AbbasDr. Amir Taj al-Sir

Time: 10:30 – 11:30 AM

Location: Sea of Culture

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25th April • Wednesday

‘Colored Stories’ Project - Arab Child Rights

‘Colored Stories’ Project is geared to incite interest in Arab child’s rights through stories written and illustrated carefully designed to accommodate targeted age groups, and raise the awareness of officials and custodians of these rights and offer solutions either from society or official establishment. The Project is set in cooperation between Dar AlMoualef and Arab Children and Young Adult Literature Initiative. In view of UAE’s pioneering experience in safeguarding children’s rights, and the open nature of ADIBF, and multiplicity of citizenships and cultures of its guests,.. the fair offers the project the opportunity to address the public and introduce its objectives.

Session one: an opening and introduction to the project and its objectives.Speakers: Nasser Assi, Dr. Eva Kozma

Session Two: Meeting Writers and Il lustrators.Join session where each writer will read her own story and give an account of her experience, then each illustrator will provide an account of her experience in making the drawings of that particular story.

Speakers: Samar Mahfouz, Fatima Sharafeddine, Mouna Yakzan

Time: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Location: Author and Book

98

Time: 12:45 – 01:15 PM

Location: Author and Book

Time: 03:00 – 04:00 PM

Location: Sea Of Culture

Author and Book

Mushtaq Sheikh- Shah Rukh CanThis book is the best window into Shah Rukh Khan’s inner world and soul. Mushtaq, being a friend of the family, is the best artist for this family portrait. It’s almost like having Shah Rukh Khan over for coffee. Mushtaq Sheikh is an author, columnist, microblogger, screenplay writer and film commentator

Speaker: Mushtaq Sheikh

A World of Infinite Adventure: Young People Are Still Reading

Rafał Kosik is an extremely popular YA author as well as an expert on Polish science fiction. His talk will focus primarily on the phenomenon of his cycle of YA books, Felix, Net and Nika, which is loved by young people both in Poland and abroad. Speaker: Rafał Kosik

25th April • Wednesday

99

25th April • Wednesday

Poland and the Arab world

One thousand years ago, Poland was first discovered by an Arab traveler, Ibrāhām Ibn Ya‘qāb, who provided the first reliable source of inside information about Poland. Only much later would Poland begin to discover the Arab and Islamic worlds. Of special interest are the Polish travelers who first went to the Middle East in the Middle Ages, including the 16th-century traveler Mikołaj Radziwiłł and 19th century horse expert Rzewuski who called himself Tāā al-Faār. The most conspicuous influences between the two worlds include the linguistic one – there are around one thousand words of Arabic origin in Polish.

Speaker: Janusz Danecki

Moderator: Dr. Sedek gohar

Time: 05:30 – 06:15 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

100

25th April • Wednesday

New feminist discourse: creative views and testimonies

Have women been able to establish their own cultural discourse, away from the dominant masculine pattern? If so; what are the characteristics of that discourse, have they created particular feminist characteristics or have they continued to move in the vistas of gender discourse to which they belong creatively? Are there any manifestations at the level of Arab feminist discourse in general and that of the Arabian Gulf in particular?

Speakers:Dr. Amina Thoubian Sada Al DaasDr. Howaida Saleh

Moderator: Jannat Buminjel

Time: 05:30 – 06:15 PM

Location: Author and Book

101

25th April • Wednesday

The “Place” as viewed by a writer and a historian

Literature and history alike have been preoccupied with the “Place,” each in its own way and tools. The image of “Place” has been viewed in the former as an extension of imagination no matter how close it may be to reality, while it is seen in the latter as dry and unpleasurable. This has led some to engage in a type of writing that deals with the place in terms of research and documentation without abandoning the enjoyment and beauty of literature. The “Place” as viewed by a historian/ man of letters and a man of letters writing history.

Speakers:Novelist Ali Abu Al Rish Dr. Mohammed Afifi

Moderator: Tamim Hnaidi

Time: 06:30 – 07:15 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

102

25th April • Wednesday

Women in Fiction

Distinguished Swiss-French writer Kyra Dupont Troubetzkoy is the author of the internationally acclaimed Pearl of the Emirate and the autofiction l’Hermine Blanche. The session, facilitated by the Swiss Embassy, will explore the fiction and autofiction genres and touch upon issues related to the role of women authors in an intercultural and fast-changing industry.

Speaker: Kyra Dupont Troubetzkoy

Moderator: Dr. Sedek gohar

Time: 06:30 – 07:15 PM

Location: Author and Book

103

25th April • Wednesday

Polish Modern Music: 1918-2018

Until the twentieth century, Polish music produced just one composer of international impact: Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849). The situation changed, however, with the birth of Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937), who succeeded in developing an individual style by combining various trends in European music with his own personal imagination. The talk will also present Szymanowski’s successors: Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994), Krzysztof Penderecki (1933), Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (1933-2010), Eugeniusz Knapik (1951), Paweł Szymaāski (1954), Paweł Mykietyn (1971), and Agata Zubel (1978) – emphasizing their key features and values with short musical examples. The speaker will show how Polish music is not only rooted in Polish history but also has a firm place within the modern history of music.

Speaker: Marcin Trzāsiok

Moderator: Dr. Sedek gohar

Time: 07:30 – 08:15 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

104

25th April • Wednesday

Culture Countering Hate Speech

Can the Arab cultural discourse for over the past 30 years, be absolved of responsibility for the hotbeds of reaction and extremism that have produced the phenomena of terrorism that we are facing today? A question that refers to the dualism of culture and terrorism that requires further study and understanding. We shed a light on this subject from the experience of the Arab Maghreb.

Speakers:Yassin Adnan Latifa Jabbabdi Mohamed Abdel Wahab Rafiki Naima Lahrouri

Moderator: Abdulraheem Ayat Ola

Time: 07:30 – 08:15 PM

Location: Author and Book

105

25th April • Wednesday

Zayed: Development and State Building

His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, may God protect him, has declared 2018 as the “Year of Zayed” in the UAE in honor of the humanitarian donorship and noble values that had been instilled by the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God bless his soul, in the hearts of successive generat i ons. At this year’s edition, the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF) is honored to announce the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, our nation-building leader and founding father of the UAE, as personality of the year. Seminar themes: The pillars of development and modern renaissance in the thought of Zayed / Zayed and the empowerment of women / Book as the symbol of civilization in the thought of Zayed.

Speakers:Dr. Moza Ghbash, Mohammed Alhammadi

Moderator: Dr. Siddiq Gohar

Polish Music

Time: 08:30 – 09:15 PM

Location: Author and Book

Time: 08:30 – 09:30 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

106

26th April • Thursday

China and the Arabs, One Belt One Road Joint Publishing Summit

The joint Arab-Chinese cooperation in the field of publishing has as a result of the One Belt One Road Initiative, and efforts have yielded promising results. According to statistics, the number of joint publications between Arab and Chinese publishers is around 750, and in 2017 the number of publications resulting from the partnership between Arab publishers and Shandong Company alone reached 100 Book. The One Belt One Road Initiative has made a strong base for cooperation between the two parties. The aim of the Summit is to promote mutual cooperation at the political and economic levels and turn it into mutually beneficial cultural exchanges.

Participants:Dr. Majed BouchlibyJamal Al ShehhiDr. Zhang HongPang Jielei

Moderator: Dr. Ahmed Al Saeed

Time: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

107

26th April • Thursday

What’s Hidden Beneath the Surface of a Crime?

Polish crime fiction is a genre of growing renown and one of Poland’s main exports. Wojciech Chmielarz, one of its leading representatives, will talk about his work within the context of the broader interest in Polish crime novels worldwide.

Speaker: Wojciech Chmielarz

Moderator: Dr. Sedek gohar

Time: 11:00 – 11:45 AM

Location: Author and Book

108

26th April • Thursday

Research and Literature: The Art of Writing Biography!

Writing biographies combines literature as noted by technical conditions, and the assignments of research and documentations. It therefore requires a writer of certain qualifications, conditions of writing and publishing different from other arts. The west has long since known those experiments, and is now finding currency in the Arab World. Here light is cast on experiments in this instance shared by the German, Michael Kumpfmüller, originator of the experience ‘The Glory of Life’, which gives a magnificent love story of Franz Kafka.

Speakers: Michael Kumpfmüller

Moderator: Dr. Sedek gohar

Time: 12:00 – 12:45 PM

Location: Author and book

109

26th April • Thursday

‘Colored Stories’ Project - Arab Child Rights

‘Colored Stories’ Project is geared to incite interest in Arab child’s rights through stories written and illustrated carefully designed to accommodate targeted age groups, and raise the awareness of officials and custodians of these rights and offer solutions either from society or official establishment. The Project is set in cooperation between Dar AlMoualef and Arab Children and Young Adult Literature Initiative. In view of UAE’s pioneering experience in safeguarding children’s rights, and the open nature of ADIBF, and multiplicity of citizenships and cultures of its guests, the fair offers the project the opportunity to address the public and introduce its objectives.Session one: An opening and introduction to the project and its objectives.Speakers: Sanaa Shabani., Dania al Khateeb, Jenan Hashash, Nadine Saidani, Dr. Eva KozmaSession Two: An open discussion on writing and drawing for childrenAn open discussion among writers and illustrators participanting in the project, involving children present accompanying their teacher and parents, to give answers to raised questions, and present samples of creative impulses in drawing and writing.Speakers: Donia Zad al-Sadi, Fadi Salameh, Samar Mahfouz Barraj, Sanaa Shabani

Time: 01 :00 – 02 :30 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

110

26th April • Thursday

All the Rust in the World: A Writer Facing the Periphery

Jakub Małecki is a Polish writer who successfully shifts between genres. Appreciated by both the science-fiction community and more mainstream readership, he will talk about his latest novel — a tale of a multi-generational family living on the peripheries of the modern world.

Speaker: Jakub Małecki

Time: 03:00 – 04:00 PM

Location: Sea Of Cultural

111

26th April • Thursday

“BookTubers”: a post-phonic and elec-tronic phenomenon

The “BookTubers” now compete for fame that has been confined to the makers of adventurous, entertaining or exciting and sometimes frightening and dangerous actions. Some of those interested in making books an interesting feature on YouTube have had pretty good success. What effect does this have on both virtual and realistic cultural life? Could it be considered an extension of classical literary criticism or an alternative?

Speakers:Nada Al Shubrawi Mohammed ShadyGhayth Hassan

Time: 04:00 – 05:30 PM

Location: Sea of Culture

112

26th April • Thursday

Why is Polish literature worth t r a n s l a ti n g ?

Polish writers have provided unique testimony to the fates of millions of victims of totalitarian ideologies. That is why dystopian literature and genres such as memoirs, essays, autobiography and poetry have been characteristic for contemporary Polish literature, alongside categories such as satire, irony and humor. This lecture provides an overview of the most prominent literary works written by Polish writers in the 20th century, including S. I. Witkiewicz, W. Gombrowicz, B. Schulz, Cz. Miłosz, K. Wojtyła, T. Róāewicz, A. Bobkowski, G. Herling-Grudziāski, T. Borowski, J. Mackiewicz, W. Szymborska, Z. Herbert and J. M. Rymkiewicz.

Speaker: Maciej Urbanowski

Moderator: Dr. Sedek gohar

Time: 05:00 – 05:45 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

113

26th April • Thursday

Dr. Shaker Abdul Hamid - The Psychological Explanation of Ex tremism and Terrorism

Beauty is the effective medium, which Dr. Shaker Abdul Hamid views as qualified to overcome both extremism and terrorism, Dr. Shaker has added much to enrich Arab Library in such fields as psychology of creativity, crowned ultimately by ‘The Psychological Explanation of Extremism and terrorism’ in which he expounds freedom, creativity and beauty as solutions to such phenomena, joining Cardinal John Henry Newman in addressing the question ‘How can some exchange hatred under faked presumption of love of God?’

Speaker: Dr. Shaker Abdul Hamid

Moderator: Dr. Ayman Bakr

Time: 05:15 – 05:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

114

26th April • Thursday

Made in UAE - Inspiring Tales of Arab Legacy

The project ‘Made in UAE’ was successful in prompting a selection of Emirati authors to write children stories inspired by UAE legacy, drawing on a system of traditions and customs of the place, and considered an important addenda to the child library, local and Arab.The project is sponsored by the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAE BBY), in collaboration with Goethe Institute.

Speakers:Ute KrauseAmira bin KadraNadia al-NajjarAbdullah al-Sharhan

Moderator: Jannat Buminjel

Time: 06:00 – 06:45 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

115

26th April • Thursday

“Between Swiss watches and watching the Swiss: the perception of Diccon Bewes”

Session description: For the United Arab Emirates nationals and residents, the conference of the author of the Financial Times book of the year “Swiss Watching” will resonate with their deep acquaintance with the mountainous country. Indeed, the keynote of Dic-con Bewes will demystify different facts about Switzerland and the Swiss life style, in a humoristic manner. Entertaining and charismatic, the author will speak about the funny experiences people go through when they discover Switzerland for the first 2 time. The session is set to last approximately one hour, followed by a book-signing session with the author.

Speaker: Diccon Bewes

Moderator: Dr. Sedek gohar

Time: 06:00 – 06:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

116

26th April • Thursday

The UAE’s Cinema: A Case of Emergence from Writing

The Emirati cinema’s experience came to be shaped by the hands of Emirati artists, most of whom have emerged from writing; Mas’oud Amrallah, Nujoum Al Ghanim and Khalid Al Badour, all of whom have come to emerge from poetry, as well as Salih Karama who has emerged from drama and many others, yet, there followed those who held up the banner and were also associated with the arts of writing; Nawaf Al Janahi and Khalid Al Mahmoud. The list extends ever larger to include others.Between parentheses: how do we read the Emirati cinema’s concrete experience?

Speaker: Nasser Al Dhaheri

Moderator: Amir Al Amri

Time: 07:00 – 07:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

117

26th April • Thursday

Youth and consciousness

What do we mean by “consciousness” and how can a person be conscious of himself/ herself and his/ her role? Where does it start? How do we maintain our consciousness while living in an open and multimedia world that injects its media and advertising messages at every moment?

Speakers:Dr. Abdul-Latif Al ‘Azaazi Hossam Abdulkadir

Moderator: Mai Hashem

Time: 08:00 – 08:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

118

26th April • Thursday

The National Library of Poland and Its Treasures

On August 8, 2017, Poland celebrated the 270th anniversary of opening the National Library of Poland, which was first opened to the public in Warsaw in 1747 as one of the first national libraries in Europe. Among Poland’s 30,000 libraries the National Library plays a unique role.We mustn’t forget the catastrophe of the Second World War, when Poland lost seventy percent of all its library collections through war damage, willful destruction and theft. This loss is unequalled in modern history. Nowadays, the National Library’s collection, with more than 9 million items, is Poland’s largest and most valuable collection.

Speaker: Tomasz Makowski

Moderator: Dr. Sedek gohar

Time: 08:15 – 09:00 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

119

26th April • Thursday

Letters to a young writer

How do I write myself, thus, my writing becomes a reflection of my personality? Could this be acquired through training? Is there anything that can be described as writing tools? What is it and what does the writer need to develop these tools?

Speakers:Nasser Iraq Amir Taj Al Sir

Moderator: Ehab El Mallah

Time: 09:00 – 09:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

120

27th April • Friday

The philosophy of aesthetics: how do we think about culture, art and nature

The philosopher Hegel defines aesthetics as “an amiable genie we encounter everywhere”. The psychologist John Dewey views aesthetics as an act of perception and a taste of artistic science. The question is how do we read and taste aesthetics in an image of natural scenes, an idea and a book? Are there rules in this science?

Speakers:Dr. Aisha Al Dermaki Dr. Hassan Hammad

Time: 04:00 – 05:30 PM

Location: Sea of Culture

121

27th April • Friday

Polish Theater in the Twentieth Century

This lecture will present the most impor tant trends in 20th and 21st-century Polish theater. The first part of the lecture will focus on the most prominent figures of the Polish theater since the Second World War and key playwrights. The second part of the talk will show clips from new stage and TV productions and will present the leading figures of the new Polish theater scene. The presentation will also exploit productions that tackle topics relevant to recent Polish history, social change and contemporary politics. Finally, the speaker will present an overview of recently published anthologies that could be the basis for future translations.

Speaker: Jacek Kopciāski

Moderator: Dr. Sedek gohar

Time: 05:00 – 05:45 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

122

27th April • Friday

Author and BookBharathi S Pradhan - Anything But Khamosh

The book is a rivetingly honest read that retraces the hurrahs and heartaches of India’s most popular Bihari Babu, Shatrughan Sinha. Pradhan is a renowned columnist, critic and author who has written both fiction and non-fiction.

Speakers:Bharathi S PradhanShatrughan Sinha

Time: 05:15 – 05:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

123

27th April • Friday

Fantasy or Reality: The Witcher at the Gates

Don’t miss this chance to meet Andrzej Sapkowski, Poland’s superstar of fantasy, who is loved by readers all over the world! A true international phenomenon, Sapkowski’s The Witcher is a series of books that have been turned into celebrated computer games and were recently picked up by Netflix.

Speaker: Andrzej Sapkowski

Moderator: Dr. Sedek gohar

Time: 06:00 – 06:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

124

27th April • Friday

Cultural Development and Tolerance: A Legacy of Inspiration

The story of culture in the UAE has begun with the initial stage of the establishment of the State, and extended to include the stages of awareness, maturity and advancement in accordance with a cultural horizon that has been initially shaped by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan may God have mercy on him. This horizon has made culture on this land an important pillar in the process of construction and development.

Speakers:Dr. Ali Bin TamimDr. Najib Al Shamsi

Moderator: Nashwa Al Ruwaini

Time: 07:00 – 07:45 PM

Loocation: Author and Book

125

27th April • Friday

Author and BookMichel Nicolson, Antara - The Dark Knight

Recently released a series of her stories through which she featured Arab knight and poet Antara ibn Shaddad.

Speaker: Michel Nicolson

Moderator: Dr. Siddiq Gohar

Sheikh Zayed’s Poetry: Characteristics and Aesthetic Features

Sheikh Zayed, may God have mercy on him, was a first-class poet. Most importantly, he was aware of what he was saying and what he was doing. Therefore, we find that Sheikh Zayed in his poems has taken a totally different approach from that employed by other poets. He knew exactly how to make poetry instrumental in state- building.

Speakers:Dr. Ghassan Al HassanSultan Al Amimi

Moderator: Khalil Elshiekh

Time: 08:00 – 08:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

Time: 08:15 – 09:00 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

126

27th April • Friday

28th April • Saturday

Open mics and poetry nights

In an alphabetical order, poets:Hamza Qenaoui Osama Badr Talal Al Junaibi Zuhair Abu Chaib

Moderator: Tamim Hanedi

The Romans; ourselves.

This enigmatic title refers to the rich and complex historical context in which Da-riusz Karłowicz philosopher, essayist and philanthropist situates Poland’s political and cultural identity. Karłowicz shows that the roots of the Polish identity, emerging out of tensions between the South and the North, can be traced back as far as ancient Roman times. He investigates Poland’s position along the South/ North axis in order to demonstrate how the Poles—a decidedly Northern nation—cultivate political and cultural forms that have their origins in the classical civilizations of the Mediterranean, with particular attention to the Roman, Christian and Republican influences that have profoundly shaped Polish history.

Speaker: Dariusz Karłowicz

Moderator: Dr. Sedek gohar

Time: 09:00 – 09:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

Time: 11:00 – 11:45 AM

Location: Discussion Sofa

127

28th April • Saturday

A Creative Child Learns While playing

Learning through play is a term used in education and psychology to describe how a child can learn to make sense of the world around them. Through play a child can develop social and cognitive skills, mature emotionally, and gain the self-confidence required to engage in new experiences and environments. To what extent can we benefit from basic communication with a child: the press, the school, the book?

Speakers:Rasha Abdel Fattah Shahrazad Al Arabi

Moderator: Jannat Boumanjal

Time: 11:00 – 11:45 AM

Location: Author and Book

128

28th April • Saturday

Author and BookSaeed Binsaeed al-Alawi - Illusion of the Islamic State

What makes the advocates of political Islam capable of catching the fancy of a large segment of peoples, particularly in the young section? What magic or attraction does young people living in a European country of which they are members find to align themselves with Islamic organizations? And what makes them have faith in the politics Islam sufficiently strong to invite an inclination toward terrorism and wearing explosive belts?Scholar Saeed Binsaeed al-Alawi tackles these questions through his study of the theory of state among political Islam advocates during the last six decades, reaching conclusions regarding the structure and elements of political Islam discourse.

Speakers: Saeed Binsaeed al-Alawi

Moderator: Khaled Omar bin Qaqa

Time: 12:00 – 12:30 PM

Location: Author and Book

129

28th April • Saturday

Author and BookKhalid Mohamed - Asha Parekh: The Hit Girl

The ‘hit’ girl of the 1960s, Asha Parekh was a star in a constellation of actresses whose on-screen presence won a million hearts across the globe. Asha Parekh’s biographer Khalid Mohamed has written the original stories and screenplays for three films by Shyam Benegal: Mammo, Sardari Begum and Zubeidaa. He wrote the original stories and screenplays and also directed the films Fiza, Tehzeeb and Silsiilay. He has written Two Mothers and Other Stories and action: Short Stories by 22 Film Personalities.

Speakers:Khalid MohamedAsha Parekh

Time: 12:45 – 01:15 PM

Location: Author and Book

130

28th April • Saturday

Through the Eyehole: Poetry Sees More!

An outstanding poet, Małgorzata Lebda’s work confronts the unusual and often paradoxical relationships between the ordinary and the mythical, the mundane and the beautiful, the everyday and the extraordinary, and reveals them to be part of the same everyday experience.

Speaker: Małgorzata Lebda

The other and its manifestations in the creativity of Arab women

Literary readers and critics have been preoccupied with the portrayal of the image of Arab women in the literary works of fellow Arab women writers, while their preoccupation with searching for the image of the other(s) in the creativity of Arab women have receded greatly. What could be discovered in this regard?

Speakers:Dr. Suheir Al Masadfa Iman Abdul Aziz Al Moukheiled

Time: 03:00 – 04:00 PM

Location: Sea Of Cultural

Time: 04:00 – 05:30 PM

Location: Sea of Culture

131

28th April • Saturday

Polish cuisine through the centuries – between East and West

In the past, Polish cuisine typically featured periods when people would mainly eat fish, vegetables and flour based dishes. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, people were starting to appreciate local products more and more, and had decided that flavors should be simple and uniform. Chefs became increasingly inspired not by fashionable novelties, but by folk cookery, based on the Romantic cult of nature. Nowadays, following a period of interest in molecular gastronomy, the best Polish restaurants are going back to nature, local products and traditions. With numerous excellent chefs such as Wojciech Modest Amaro, Aleksander Baron, Bogdan Gałazka, and the communist era is truly over, Polish cuisine is flourishing again.

Speaker: Jarosław Dumanowski

Moderator: Dr. Sedek Gohar

Time: 05:00 – 05:45 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

132

28th April • Saturday

Al-Jazari, The Creative Inventor

Al-Jazari (Bad az-Zaman Ab l-Izz ibn Isml ibn ar-Razz 1136 - 1206), one of the world’s greatest mechanical engineers and inventors.Created and designed many machines of major importance, many of which were never known before in any part of the world. A list of such instruments, including water-raising machines, water clocks of automatic alert system, suction pump with valves, and automatic control systems, and many others he explained in his splendid illustrated tome, which called ‘The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices’. Al-Jazari a pillar of scientific renaissance in Islamic Arab civilization which was to be transported to Europe.

Speakers:Dr. Riyad Nassan AghaDr. Mohamed Ali Caliscan

Moderator: Najat Al Faris

Time: 05:00 – 05:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

133

28th April • Saturday

“The Day of the Antelope” and post-modernist features

The critic Dr. Siddiq Jowhar sees in the story collection “The Day of the Antelope” (Nahar Al Ziba) of the Emirati writer Fatima Hamad Al Mazrouei an effective starting point towards a new Emirati literature. In his recently published book “The Day of the Antelope: between heritage and mythology,” he attempts to monitor the aspects of this literature which combines the features of modernism and postmodernism, analyzing the narrative structure employed in this collection of stories.

Speakers:Dr. Fatima Hamad Al Mazrouei Dr. Siddiq Mohammed Gowhar Dr. Mini Abdulkadir

Moderator: Dr. Naiema Hasan

Time: 06:00 – 06:45 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

134

28th April • Saturday

Close to Home and Far Away

Meet a rising star of Polish and world literature. Wioletta Greg’s fiction is infused with a true poet’s sensibility. Longlisted for the Booker International Prize, Greg’s tales are exceptional for their ability to transport the reader from everyday experience into the timeless, mythic world of childhood and memory.

Speaker: Wioletta Greg

Moderator: Abdulrahim Ayt Ola

Sheikh Zayed Book Award

Meeting with Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2018 winners.

Speakers: Khalil SweilehHessa Al MuhairiAhmed Al KaramalawyMohammed Al MechbalNaji LounelliDag Nikolaus HasseAl Tanweer Publishing

Moderator: Dr. Khalil Al Shaikh

Time: 06:00 – 06:45 PM,

Location: Author and Book

Time: 07:00 – 08:00 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

135

28th April • Saturday

The magic of writing!

Writing has resisted in a manner that many did not expect! After sitting on the throne of paper, writing has proceeded to sit on the thrones of many modern means of communication, which prompts us to ask not only about the importance of writing; but also about its motives. Or eloquently appropriate: what is this magical power that has made writing continue to date?

Speakers:Mahmoud Traouri Hamood Al Shayji Tareq Al Tayeb Inas Al Abbasi

Moderator: Dr.Hamza Kenawi

Time: 07:00 – 07:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

136

28th April • Saturday

Return of “ethics” to the curriculum

The United Arab Emirates has taken a most important step to restore the teaching of “ethics” to classrooms. This is an experience that recaptures the Arab Renaissance experience in the 1920s, when ethics was an official curriculum for secondary schools and teachers’ institutes. An open dialogue on ethics, and how to deal with it as a science and methodology and how literature can be instrumental in that.

Speakers:Dr. Najwa Al Hosani Dr. Said Tawfiq Bashir Mufti Dr. Mohamed Abdel Basset Eid

Moderator: Dr. Hala Al Hafnawi

Time: 08:00 – 08:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

137

28th April • Saturday

The manifestations of music in the Arab world

There is no harm in having different tastes towards the forms of arts. However, the wide range and variety of these forms remains an evidence of the peoples’ tolerance and their cultural originality that allows them to assimilate the arts of the others and to place them in the service of their culture or to add another artistic means of enjoyment to their list of creations. An open dialogue through which we introduce new forms of music in the presence of critics and musicians.

Speaker: Hassan Zaki

Moderator: Abdulrazag Boukeba

Time: 08:15 – 09:00 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

138

28th April • Saturday

Author and BookGhalia Benali - Romeo and Leila, Illus-trated Tales

Ghalia Benali, Tunisian - Belge artist, enjoys rich experience, succeeded in passing messages of thought and mysticism to a wide spectrum of audiences through singing and dancing. This is an autobiography told in graphics and fairy tales, it is a voyage in search of self; ‘our real enemy does not reside in forces outside of our own selves, rather such are our own inner demons and our old purposes.’ says she. The publisher deems the book closer to the illuminating middle ages, when the text is not confined merely to serve as an instrument to reading it, but also extended to offer optic and sensual imagery, and graphics are not confined to provide explanation, but rather to round up the text and offer another dimension to it.

Speaker: Ghalia Benali

Moderator: Mira Al Qasim

Time: 09:00 – 09:30 PM

Location: Author and Book

139

29th April • Sunday

Polish culture: the heir to many languages, faiths and traditions

Presentation of the National Heritage Board of Poland, which aims to improve social awareness of Polish monuments and traditions by means of gathering and publishing information on cultural heritage, organises community programs and events, and maintains related websites.

Speaker: Klara Kantorowicz

Moderator: Dr. Sedek Gohar

Time: 11:00 – 11:45 AM

Location: Discussion Sofa

140

29th April • Sunday

“Literary Festivals” and their Role in Enriching Life

Literary festivals are parades celebrating creativity in its written form, and they are also important platforms for gatherings and energizing all those associated with the “literary” hub from both sides of production and reception, and in between, specialized intermediaries in many arts, crafts and industries. Here is a discussion panel that brings together different Arab and international expertise to discuss the role of literary festivals in enriching life.

Speakers:Jamal ShaalalMohamed BaaliHans Ruprecht

Moderator: Safia Al Shehhi

Time: 11:00 – 11:45 AM

Location: Author and Book

141

29th April • Sunday

Harmony or Chaos: Which Does Art Express?

Antoni Libera is a true polymath — a writer, translator, literary critic, theatre director, and leading expert on the work of Samuel Beckett. His debut novel, Madame, has become an international phenomenon. Known for his literary range, Libera masterfully combines attention to individual characters with broader questions about the state of modern culture and the purpose of art.

Speaker: Antoni Libera

Moderator: Dr. Sedek Gohar

Author and BookYamini Muthanna- The Power of Yoga

The Power of Yoga demystifies ancient Sanskrit texts on the subject and a plethora of philosophies governing its practice and makes them relevant to present times. Structured primarily as a Sequence Manual, this book offers customized yoga routines to help people cope better with their day-to day demanding schedules.

Speaker: Yamini Muthanna

Time: 12:00 – 12:45 PM,

Location: Author and Book

Time: 01:00 – 01:30 PM

Location: Author and Book

142

29th April • Sunday

Author and BookAmita Baig - Taj Mahal: Multiple Nar-ratives

Taj Mahal: Multiple Narratives presents a new perspective on the Taj Mahal and Agra. The city and its iconic monuments have often been written about, exclusive of each other. Many stories from Agra form the pillars on which the Taj Mahal was built. The book looks at global events, national events and showcase contemporary buildings and subsequent events which transformed it from a sacred personal space to part of world heritage.

Speaker: Amita Baig

Time: 03:00 – 04:00 PM

Location: Sea of Culture

143

29th April • Sunday

Writer, critic, reader, where is the absent party?

Writers complain about the absence of readers, and the decline of the movement of criticism. Critics complain about declining quality of written works. While readers are looking for a writer who is the mouthpiece of the public. Where is the absent party in this equation? How can it be tuned? An approach to the question and an open discussion about it.

Speakers:Manal Abdel Ahad Dr. Khairy Duma

Time: 04:00 – 05:30 PM

Location Sea of Culture

144

29th April • Sunday

Polish Art in the 20th and 21st centuries

This lecture will present an overview of the history of Polish art, with special focus on the contemporary art scene. It will show the historic roots of Polish art in the Middle Ages, as well as the Renaissance and the Baroque, and their importance for the modern Polish identity. A special attention during the lecture will be dedicated to the heritage of the Polish 20th-century avant-garde and the vibrant art life of today. It will present various ways in which contemporary art refers back to the legacy of the 20th century and evaluates the current changes introduced by the transition period from communism to democracy.

Speaker: Andrzej Szczerski

Moderator: Dr. Sedek Gohar

Time: 05:00 – 05:45 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

145

29th April • Sunday

Author and BookChristopher Peters – Come and Go, Sometimes Stay. 14 Stories

Christopher Peters (born 1966) is a German author of novels and short stories. Mr. Peters lives in Berlin. His debut novel, Stadt Land Fluss was published in 1999, and won the ‘aspekte’ prize for the best German literary debut. It was followed by a collection of short stories in 2001, and, in 2007, his first novel to be published in English, The Fabric of Night. He received the Rheingau Literatur Preis in 2009. Arabic translation of his collection of short stories ‘Come and go , sometimes stay. 14 stories’ was published by of his short publisher by Safsafa Publishing House in Cairo.

Speaker: Christopher Peters

Moderator: Abdulraheem Ayat Ali

Time: 05:30 – 06:00 PM

Location: Author and Book

146

29th April • Sunday

German Literature in Arab Content, Project Litrix

L i t r i x . d e s h o w c a s e s n e w German-language publications from the fields of fiction, non-fiction, and books for children and young people, selected on a regular basis by panels of experts. In association with this Litrix.de also offers a Translation Grant Programme geared for several years at a time to a language chosen for special focus. Arabic was the language of choice from 2005 till 2018.The seminar shall shed light of facets of the project and main titles that have been translated, and the reception by the Arab market.

Speakers: Samir GrecsKaram Yousef

Moderator: Dr. Sedek Gohar

Time: 06:00 – 06:45 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

147

29th April • Sunday

Students of Taha Hussein

With the escalation of intellectual and religious extremism in recent years, Arab intellectuals and thinkers have intensified their demands for drawing upon the visions of the dean of Arabic literature Taha Hussein, whose intellectual contributions indicate that he foresaw exactly what would happen now, warned against it and paved the way to avoid it. A meeting with the author of “Taha Hussein’s Students,” who seeks to restore the ideas of the pioneer of Arab enlightenment Taha Hussein and those who followed his steps.

Speakers: Ihab Al MallahBadr Al Din Al Ardoki

Moderator: Safia Al Shehhi

Time: 06:15 – 07:00 PM

Location: Author and Book

148

29th April • Sunday

Travelers as cultural ambassadors: self-discovery and the other

A seminar on Ibn Battuta Award for Travel Literature, sponsored by the Emirati poet Mohammed Ahmed bin Khalifa Al Suwaidi.

Speakers:Nouri Al JarrahDr. Izz Al Maghreb MaaninoulAbdel Rahman Bseisou Moufid Najm Dr. Rasha Al Khatib

Moderator: Dr. Sedek Gohar

Time: 07:00 – 07:45 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

149

29th April • Sunday

Along the paths of novel

A group of young people have already drawn too much attention to their works of fiction which have gained popularity among same-age readers. Here is an attempt to bring together an elite group of those young adults who are trying to express themselves in literature.

Speaker: Aisha Al Naqabi

Moderator: Tamim Hnaidi

Open mics and poetry nights

In an alphabetical order, poets:Ibrahim Al Masry Kholoud Al Mu’allaMohammed Habibi Moumen Samir

Moderator: Hamza Qenawi

Time: 07:15 – 08:00 PM

Location: Author and Book

Time: 08:00 – 08:45 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

150

29th April • Sunday

Reading intelligently, quickly and consciously!Ever since man moved to the age of codification, every writing seeks to be read. Reading has received much attention to become a science aimed at enabling the reader to read intelligently, quickly and with great awareness, inasmuch as writing is a creative undertaking that has its own specifications and conditions.

Speaker: Adel Khuzam

Moderator: Jannat Boumangel

Time: 08:15 – 09:00 PM

Location: Author and Book

151

30th April • Monday

Poland: Land of “Winged Knights” and “defiant souls”

Poland: Land of “Winged Knights” and “defiant souls” - a short introduction to Polish culture (from Gofred to Gombrowicz, from the baptism to Solidarity).The purpose of this lecture is to present the most important ideas that have shaped Polish history and culture. The speaker will talk about the fundamental values and myths that constitute the Polish identity (such as “freedom,” the “antemural,” “republicanism,” “Messianism/ a belief in mission,” “tolerance,” “equality”) and their graphic and textual representations.

Speaker: Krzysztof Koehler

Moderator: Dr. Sedek Gohar

Time: 11:00 – 11:45 AM

Location: Discussion Sofa

152

History Hasn’t Ended, History Doesn’t End: The Drama of Today

Meet a leading Polish playwright whose works unveil the drama of personal decisions and dilemmas against the backdrop of Poland’s turbulent history and highlight the complex relationships between history’s supposed winners and its victims.

Speaker: Wojciech Tomczyk

Moderator: Dr. Sedek Gohar

Writing life: why do we write, and who reads?

In Naguib Mahfouz’s novel “Palace of Desire,” Kamal asked his friend Hussein with whom he shared the love of culture: “Don’t you like to write so that people can read?” He replied: “Why don’t they write so that I can read?” For years, the question “why do we write and who reads?” has continued to excite interest. This has led to the emergence of the term “writing life”. Are there any connections that we can talk about?

Speakers:Said Al Shaffaj Ali Al Enezi

30th April • Monday

Time: 12:00 – 12:45 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

Time: 03:00 – 04:00 PM

Location: Sea Of Culture

153

30th April • Monday

Literary salons in the Arabian Gulf and its role

Literary salons in the Gulf can be described as platforms aimed at serving the community by transforming the book and discussion into a part of the periodic activity in life. So what are the most prominent features of this phenomenon, and whether its role can be activated through transmitting its activities through social media and information? Or is its importance lies in its intimacy and quiet rhythm?

Speakers:Hadeel Al-HasawiJamal Al Shehhi Dr. Amal Saqr

Moderator: Zainab Amer

Time: 05:30 – 06:15 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

154

30th April • Monday

Abu Khalil Al Qabbani through his trip to USA

A seminar within the framework of Ibn Battuta awards for travel literature, sponsored by the Emirati poet Mohammed Ahmed bin Khalifa Al Suwaidi.

Speakers:Amir Al OmariTayseer KhalafKhaldoun Al ShamaaAhmed BarqawiAwad AliMaher Kayali

Moderator: Nuri Al Jarrah

Time: 06:00 – 06:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

155

30th April • Monday

A Short Journey Through the History of Poland’s Relations with the Islamic East

Poland’s relations with the Islamic East began in the 15th with Tatars’ arrival to Poland. In the 19th and 20th centuries, many Poles travelled to the Holy Land and encountered Arab culture, which is visible in works by Polish poets such as Mickiewicz, Słowacki and Norwid.

Speaker: George Yacoub

Moderator: Dr. Sedek Gohar

Travel books in translation(The Eastern journey to the West and occidental travelers to the East)

A seminar within the framework of Ibn Battuta awards for travel literature, sponsored by the Emirati poet Mohammed Ahmed bin Khalifa Al Suwaidi.

Speakers:Maryam HaidariRachid ArkilaAbdul Nabi ZakerAltayeh Al Hadawi.David Wagner

Moderator: Nuri Al Jarrah

Time: 06:30 – 07:15 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

Time: 07:00 -07:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

156

30th April • Monday

Zayed: Leadership Vision of the Future

“I am a man from the desert, and I love the desert... Those who were patient for generations over this sand until they turned it green, teach us to be patient and wait for a long time until we achieve the statehood that we all desire.” May Allah have mercy on Sheikh Zayed, who said those words that epitomize the abundance of properties and qualities that made him a great leader.

Speakers:Dr. Abdul Latif Al Az’aziDr. Abdulateef Alshamsi

Moderator: Abdullah Al Mazrou’i

Time: 07:30 – 08:15 PM

Location: Disscution Sofa

157

30th April • Monday

Author and BookDr. Ammar Ali Hasan - Political I m a g i n a t i o n

In ‘Political Imagination’ Dr. Ammar Ali Hasan offers a subject rarely debated in political analysis. This is simply due to the fact that Arab literature misses a textbook that addresses the subject squarely and comprehensively, and equally true much of non - Arabic studies are bound by a broad title, with no descriptive projective accompaniment suitable to the content matter. While Dr. Hassan projects the view, that imagination is ‘the source of all substance in our lives, be they great invention, deep thought, skilful masterpieces of art, effective undertakings which we are likely initiate to solve problems and dilemmas and overcome crises.

Speaker: Dr. Ammar Ali Hasan

Moderator: Dr. Amal Saqer

Time: 08:00 – 08:30 PM

Location: Author and Book

158

30th April • Monday

Translation: how do we manage it in favor of our perception of our culture?

Translation is an indispensable cognitive bridge that is credited for what has become of humans today. If the question “what do we translate?” is not justified to raise, simply because the translation of classical works is not up for discussion, this question has become crucial today. Makers of civilization are required to capitalize on translation in serving their perception of their culture. Knowing what we translate is associated with knowing who we really are first.

Speakers:Badr Al Din Al Ardoki Dr. Saad Al Baz’i Dr. Khaled El Masry

Moderator: Ziad Mohafatha

Time: 08:30 – 09:15 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

159

30th April • Monday

1st May • Tuesday

A Writer and a Book The Diversity of Creativity

The seminar provides an opportunity to discuss the boundaries among the different colours of creative writing. Kallia Papadaki brings together the various arts of writing; she is a novelist, poet, short story writer and screenwriter. Papadaki, who was born in 1978 in Greece, has received numerous awards, such as the European Union Prize for Literature in 2017. September, her feature script won the International Balkan Fund script development award in 2010.

Speaker: Kallia Papadaki

Re-Reading History in Literature - Sultan Al Qasimi Theater A Model

Rewriting history in literature has been problematic in terms of disagreement over the need for the creator to adhere to the facts of history and methodologies of writing history , but there are experiments that have been successful in achieving entertainment as a condition of creative writing without prejudice to the facts of history and its limits, here we have a deeper look at an important model.

Speakers:Dr. Mohamed Hassan Abdel Hafez Dr. Yousef Ayedabi

Time: 08:45 – 09:15 PM

Location: Author and Book

Moderator: Dr. Siddiq Gohar

Time: 03:00 – 04:00 PM

Location: Sea of Culture

160

1st May • Tuesday

The Meaning of the Change: Polish Cinema Before and After 1989

The main aim of the presentation is to characterize the spirit and shape of contemporary Polish cinema in comparison with the era before the collapse of the communism in Poland in 1989. To understand the more recent identity of Polish artistic and commercial cinema, one needs to grasp the scale of the historic change that took place.

Speaker: Mateusz Werner

Moderator: Dr. Sedek Gohar

Time: 06:00 – 06:45 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

161

1st May • Tuesday

The cognitive horizon and spiritual aspirations in pilgrimage travels

Three travels have been published this year as part of the “100 pilgrimage travels” project dedicated to the late Sheikh Zayed, may God have mercy on him, and within the framework of Ibn Battuta awards for travel literature, sponsored by the Emirati poet Mohammed Ahmed bin Khalifa Al Suwaidi.

Speakers:Dr. Almahdi Al GhaliDr. Izz Al Maghreb MaaninoudDr. Suleiman Al Qurashi

Moderator: Nuri Al Jarrah

Time: 07:00 – 07:45 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

162

1st May • Tuesday

The Barber of Damascus: Nouveau Literacy in the Eighteenth-Century Ottoman Levant

Kalima celebrates the release of the Arabic translation of The Barber of Damascus: Nouveau Literacy in the Eighteenth-Century Ottoman Levant, Dana Sajdi. The importance of this book is attributed to the fact of its being an important document from a historical epoch that witnessed the preliminaries of the literary movement of 19th century - known as Arab Renaissance, which will add to our understanding of Othman socio-cultural history.

Speakers: Dr. Dana Sajdi Said al-Ghanmi

Moderator: Dr. Najat Faris

Time: 07:00 – 07:45 PM

Location: Author and Book

163

1st May • Tuesday

Bad scripts- Bad arts!

“Bad scripts” is a common phrase used by cinematists and dramatists to express their desire to find a good text that allows them to be creative. Some may occasionally resort to a novel, a short story and/ or a poem to turn it into a dramatic or a performance work because it achieves for them what a mere screenwriter can’t achieve. How do writers view the arts of writing, cinema, theater and drama?

Speakers:Saleh Karama Abdel Razak Boukaba Saeed Mohammed Al Sayyabi Dr. Shawkat Al MasryBert RebhandlMatthias Ehlert

Moderator: Safia Al Shehhi

Time: 08:00 – 08:45 PM

Location: Discussion Sofa

164

1st May • Tuesday

How Do We Enhance Arabic Reading and Writing?

Arabic language faces difficult challenges that require creative plans and programs to enhance reading in Arabic in our schools through experience and technology. So what have we prepared for this matter?

Speaker: Dr. Alaa Al-Jabri

Moderator: Dr. Naema Hasan

Time: 08:00 – 08:45 PM

Location: Author and Book