READ 4 - EAFL Special Edition

We are very, very excited to announce the publication of READ Magazine Special Edition. This edition is produced in conjunction with the Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature, being held 6-10 March in Dubai, especially in and around Dubai Festival City. It features a wide range of authors from the festival, as well as Isobel Aboulhoul, O.B.E., the festival organiser, and a Reading Champions (one of our regular features) by Peter James.

In general, all the featured authors graciously answered a range of questions covering the following areas: Reading Preferences, Influences on Your Writing, Reading Habits, Raising the Next Generation of Readers, and Reading with Others. Our authors are up-and-coming and established, young and old, writers of fact and of fiction, from the region and from other countries. Here's the editorial:

READ Magazine aims to create a culture of reading in the UAE and beyond through inspirational stories and practices.  We are therefore delighted to be associated with the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.  This event has become the Middle East’s largest celebration of the written and spoken word, bringing people together with authors from across the world to promote education, debate and, above all else, reading.

We are very appreciative that a number of authors have contributed to this Special Edition of Read Magazine by sharing their reading habits and childhood memories of  what reading was like at home.  We have not been surprised by the culture of reading that shaped their lives nor by the wealth of knowledge guiding them on their literary paths.  We asked writers to reflect on the future of books, the impact of technology and how we should engage present and future generations in reading.  We also asked them to explore how we should encourage parents and young readers to embrace literature at home.  We hope some of the insights and thoughts from a few of the many authors participating in this year’s event will inspire your visit to the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.

We are grateful to our sponsors for their generous support and sincerely thank the festival and the authors for their generous contribution.

We intend to distribute copies at the festival to authors, friends of the festival and other interested parties, but will also have some left over to distribute and inspire readers, writers and teachers.