I’ve recently returned from a fabulous celebration of books in Dubai, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. It was a magnificent week of literary delights.
The festival has a great atmosphere; everyone wanders around, chatting to one another, browsing through piles of books in the shop, and talking about writing.
I had never been to Dubai before, and I enjoyed seeing that intriguing city, but the highlight of the festival was undoubtedly meeting so many interesting readers and writers. Here are two of them, Philip Ardagh and John Dougherty.
I led a creative writing group of twenty children and adults, who created some very imaginative stories. I travelled to the English College and talked to the Years 7s. I spoke on a panel with Klaus Flugge, publisher and owner of Andersen Press, and two legendary illustrators, Michael Foreman and Satoshi Kitamura. Thanks for @NotCoolHolmes for the photo:
Alongside all these literary endeavours, I managed to find time to sneak out of the hotel and have a closer look at the tallest building in the world:
And I took a trip to the desert: if you look very closer at these white cars, you might be able to spot a few famous authors…
Also in the desert, I rode a camel:
And I got the opportunity to hold a falcon named Ziggy.
I did tell her about Ziggy the dragon in the Dragonsitter, but she wasn’t terribly interested.
First off I want to say superb blog! I had a quick question which I’d like to
ask if you don’t mind. I was interested to
know how you center yourself and clear your thoughts prior to
writing. I have had difficulty clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out.
I do take pleasure in writing however it just seems like the first
10 to 15 minutes tend to be lost just trying to figure
out how to begin. Any suggestions or hints? Many thanks!