New publishing house to promote UAE authors

The Emirates Literature Foundation has announced the launch of a new independent publishing house, ELF Publishing.

With an initial focus on fiction, the publisher will begin accepting submissions for consideration during the Month of Reading, in March 2022.

The announcement was made at a press conference to reveal the final plans for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, which is taking place at Habtoor City hotels from February 3-13.

Now celebrating its 14th year, the Festival has been a catalyst for boosting the popularity of reading in the UAE by bringing readers face to face with their favourite authors.

"It’s time that the world of publishing gave more attention internationally to the stories coming out of this region and our aim is to shine a spotlight on the talent that flourishes here. We want to find the undiscovered stories that deserve to be read in today’s ever-changing world, whether from Emiratis or expats," said Isobel Abulhoul, CEO and trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation.

As a new publisher, the Foundation will be accepting manuscripts for consideration from March 2022, with a focus on fiction across all genres.

Titles will be published in Arabic and English, and in translation.

Initial offerings will include the second anthology of stories from Voices of Future Generations Middle East, Young Voices of Arabia 2021, which will be launched at the Festival in February 2022.

Among the first authors signed to the publishing house are Ebtisam Al Beiti and Julia Johnson, both of whom will be appearing at the 2022 Emirate Airline Festival of Literature.

Julia Johnson, an established children’s writer in the region, is teaming up with Maitha Al Khayat, who will create the illustrations for Julia’s new book, in what ELF Publishing hopes will be the first of many collaborations in the region.

"The launch of the publishing house is a natural progression for us, completing the journey that began with the first festival in 2009, which has seen us go on to support readers and writers in the region with a myriad of initiatives," said Ahlam Bolooki, who is the Managing Director of ELF Publishing, in addition to being Festival Director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.

The Emirates Literature Foundation announces the launch of a new independent publishing house, ELF Publishing. With an initial focus on fiction, the publisher will begin accepting submissions for consideration during the Month of Reading, in March 2022.https://t.co/xvT4ErWD3e pic.twitter.com/xBnm0iwON0

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Organisers of the festival also announced key safety measures, which include thorough sanitisation, limiting close contacts, and checking vaccination or PCR status of all adult attendees on arrival.

Visitors will be required to wear masks and provide proof of vaccination, or a negative PCR test taken within the previous 72 hours.