As written for The National (April 15, 2014) When the French national Gibran Hasnaoui first landed in the UAE in 2010, he had no idea that the next two years would send him in a direction he could never have fathomed. Although born into Islam, Hasnaoui never felt a connection with God – or his […]
The norm when it comes to most charity dinners or events, is that donors have to fork up a heavy sum (usually a fixed amount) to book themselves a ’table.’ These to-do’s are normally frequented by the elite of the social hierarchy and is heavy with an air of pretension so thick that the muah-muah’s […]
Day 3 of the Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature was probably the day with the most attendance; being a public holiday might have had something to do with it. When I arrived at the venue at 10.00am, the InterCon was teeming with the anticipation of another lit-induced high. Sessions were due to start for the […]
When I scored an interview with Alexander McCall Smith, I was so ecstatic that I walked into the room without my pen and notepad. Only after excusing myself to hurry out and get them, did we finally sit down for an interview. Sorry, chat. Best known as the man behind The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency […]
I had much to look forward to from Day 2 of the Lit Fest. The possibility of rubbing shoulders with many more of the great Litteratis and the agenda of sessions I had scheduled for the day had me rushing out of the office half way though the day. Being a Thursday evening and the […]
As written for The UAE Community Blog The term book or reading is tragically fast becoming (if not already) synonymous with the moniker nerd, or even geek. Imagine then the tag assigned to an entire festival dedicated to the sole purpose of promoting literature. The Emirates Airlines International Festival of Literature (EAIFL) was launched in 2009 to dispel that very […]
The Kaftan Writer 
April 15, 2014
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