Eve Dugdale talks to the woman behind one of the region’s most popular events

Bridging the divide between cultures, expanding children’s academic horizons and meeting her heroes - for one woman, the upcoming Literature Festival is about more than introducing new books.   

Isobel Abulhoul, director of the Emirates Airline International Festival of Literature, is a self-confessed book addict who goes through two a week. And even though the event requires tonnes of hard work (14 months in the planning to be exact) she’s still delighted to be able to bring the event to Dubai.

Despite the mountains of work; contacting the authors on her ‘wish list’, sorting through feedback from the public to try to meet their requests and planning the logistics of such a big scale event, the highlights make the efforts seem miniscule.

“One of my most special moments of last year was getting the opportunity to meet and listen to the late, great Frank McCourt.

Sadly our festival was the last literature festival he attended before he died in summer,” says Isobel.

“He’s been one of my heroes ever since I read ‘Angela’s Ashes’ and to meet him in person and hear his wonderful dry Irish humour and his self deprecating manner was amazing. He was exactly how I imagined and his voice was so true to his books.”

It's these kind of experiences Isobel wants to promote to the Dubai public this year.

Whether they attend a session with Ahdaf Soueif , the Egyptian writer of  ‘The Map of Love’ which documents the love story between an Egyptian man and an English woman or an afternoon with one of the UK’s most popular childen’s authors Jacqueline Wilson, Isobel urges people to make the most of the weekend.

“It’s hugely important we give authors this space.

The opportunity to meet authors in the flesh will change how you view their work. It’s enlightening and inspiring to come along and listen to authors speaking about their work and their rationales, what matters to them, how a book is put together,” explains Isobel.

“For children the opportunity to meet children’s authors is even more important because they are at an age when they will remember it and it will become very important for them.

With children who are not particularly keen on reading for example, to come along to a session can alter their opinions. We received letters last year saying ‘thankyou, my son has now found someone he really enjoys reading and it’s changed his academic performance at school’.”

Although the festival will mainly be conducted in English and Arabic, all the sessions will be translated simultaneously - meaning what’s going on will be understood by all.

“We want to build bridges and break down barriers, we don’t want people to think ‘this is only for this society’ that is completely against what the festival is all about.” And Isobel’s top picks for this year?  Well, considering everyone attending was on her own ‘wish list’ we wouldn’t have enough room in the paper to document everyone she’s excited to see.

From the enthusiastic Imran Ahmed, who’ll be hosting a session about being a Muslim living in the West and his struggle to get published following 9/11, to a session with Chris Cleave, whose book ‘The Other Hand’, Isobel claims will ‘change your life’, her advice to the public is to take in a mix of different events.

“I attended a poetry session last year and, because there were so many events taking place simultaneously, I intended to dip in and dip out but I couldn’t dip out!

The poetry was being read in both English and Arabic which was magical but I hadn’t realised just how magical.

“The atmosphere was amazing, it almost became a competition between the poem read in Arabic and the poem in English.

You didn’t need to understand Arabic to be able to appreciate nuances, flow and rhythm though. Magical.”

The festival begins on Wednesday.

The opening ceremony for the children’s festival will leave the Intercontinental Hotel at DFC at 10am on Friday complete with bands, camels, falcons and book characters.

For a full programme go to eaifl.com