Event 1 Wednesday 10 March 11.15amAl Ras 2 & 3The issue of illiteracy throughout the Arab World is a prime concern and there is a major drive to tackle it.  Providing children with bright and entertaining books is a vital element in the campaign as not only does this encourage a love of reading but is also proven to have a positive impact on academic achievement.

With the support of OKTUB, a programme to support first time authors, run by the Mohamed Bin Rashid Foundation, a group of thirteen students from the Education & Applied Communications Faculties at Dubai Women’s College undertook a project to write and illustrate picture books for young children.  A key objective was to focus on enjoyment and dispel the idea that books are only for ‘learning’. These new Emirati writers, represented here today by Rauda Al Hallami and Shahrazad Al Jaziri, will be working to promote them, to ‘spread the word’ and provide inspiration to other potential writers. Reem al-Gurg has developed a series of seven baby board books, each one focusing on a different Emirate.

Joining these new and emerging writers will be award-winning Lebanese children’s publisher Nadine Touma, whose books epitomise the quest for quality in every sense; Andy Smart - Consultant Publisher to the Bloomsbury/Qatar Foundation and translator of many books from English to Arabic, including, with his wife Nadia Fouda, the children’s classic The Gruffalo; and Polly Dunbar, the young but already world-renowned children’s book illustrator.

The panel will be discussing the challenges of writing and producing quality books for children and why children’s books are now viewed with such importance in the world of publishing globally.

This is a free event open to all, but to guarantee a seat we recommend you book a ticket.

Event 2 Wednesday 10 March 2.30pmAl Ras 3‘Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration’ claimed the renowned American inventor Thomas Edison. But how does that apply to writers?  And where does inspiration – that initial stimulus to creative thought – come from?  Can it be ‘encouraged’ by leading a disciplined life in the writer’s study with designated hours dedicated to writing?  Is the image of the starving writer in his garret waiting for inspiration to strike valid or do authors need to seek inspiration from the outside world? If inspiration is ‘the process of being mentally stimulated…to do something creative’ can it be taught or learned – and can an inspirational teacher encourage young writers?
Our panel trio of highly-acclaimed writers, each with a distinctive style and wildly differing subject matter,  will be letting us into the secrets of how they write and what inspires them.

Yann Martel obtained a degree in Philosophy from Trent University in Ontario, then worked variously as a tree planter, dishwasher and security guard before taking up writing full-time from the age of 27.  He leaped to public attention in 2001 when his second novel, Life of Pi, won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. An epic survival story, with an over-arching religious theme, it tells the story of Pi Patel, the son of an Indian family of zookeepers, who is shipwrecked and left in a lifeboat in the company of a zebra, a hyena, an orang-utan and a 450-pound Bengal tiger.

Bahaa Taher was born in Cairo, Egypt, but spent many years in exile in Switzerland before returning to his homeland.  His novel Sunset Oasis won the inaugural International Prize for Arab Fiction in 2008 and, as with his previous five novels, covers the themes of love, death and exile.  Now one of the most widely-read authors in the Arab world, Bahaa has also received the Egyptian State’s Award of Merit in Literature.

Pakistan-born, Scottish educated and now dividing her time between Mumbai and London, Imtiaz Dharker describes herself as a Scottish Muslim Calvinist and is a distinguished poet, as well as a documentary film-maker and artist.  All of her poetry shares themes of home, freedom, journeys, geographical and cultural displacement and gender politics.  Her latest collection is Fingerprints (2009). She will be reading her poem Inspiration as part of this event.

This session will be moderated by Paul Blezard.

Event 5 Wednesday 10 March 4pmAl Ras 1For far too long children and young adults have not been well served by the Arabic publishing industry. Children’s books have tended to been unimaginative in content and poorly produced and, as a result, all too often associated with ‘school’ and ‘learning’ rather than with entertainment the sheer joy of reading. Happily there is now a major effort to redress this with highly talented writers, illustrators and publishers from across the Arab world now creating books of real interest and visual appeal to children .Today we are joined by four of those who believe passionately that children must have the best possible books available to them - and are most active in helping ensure they do.

Nadine Touma is an award-winning Lebanese author, artist and publisher who believes that art should be at the centre of a child’s everyday life and that a great way to achieve this is by creating stunning illustrated books for all ages. She founded her own publishing house, Dar Onboz, in 2006 and in 2008 was a finalist for the International Young Publishing Entrepreneur Award.

Fatima Sharafeddine was born in Beirut and has written more than 35 books as well as translated many others, working with publishers in Lebanon, the UAE and Brussels where she now lives. She is an very active member of the Society for Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and participates in numerous reading activities including visiting remote villages simply to read stories to children in schools and libraries.  She has recently started to give workshops in various Arab capitals for writers who want to focus on children’s literature.

Taghreed Najjar is a former teacher who has also headed up the publishing department in a children’s cultural centre. She now runs her own publishing company in Amman - al Salwa – (whose strapline ‘Fun Arabic Children’s Books’ says it all!)  She has written more than 28 children’s books, including the classic Who Hid the Eid Lamb? Her latest book, A Home for Arnoub, includes an interactive CD as well as craft ideas as Taghreed believes it is vital for children to balance their time between the computer and other skill developing activities. Many of her books are also used as supplementary readers in schools.

Qais Sedki is founder of Pageflip Publishing, an independent Emirati publishing house that focuses on original content, classical Arabic graphic novels in Japanese Manga style. Their debut title, Gold Ring, has just won the prestigious Sheikh Zayed Award in the Children’s Literature category, making Qais the first Emirati to win the award.  Qais’s unique take on the genre combines the work of two well-known Japanese Manga artists with the well-known sport of falconry and the promotion of Arab values such as family, hospitality, respect for others and pride in traditions. As such, he fills that vital space when children become your adults and, all too often, cannot find the books to engage and entertain them.
Join our panel for what promises to be a lively discussion about what’s being done to ensure our children have a flying start in life, why it is so important in the campaign to address illiteracy and their personal motivations for being involved.

Event 6 Wednesday 10 March 4pmAl Ras 2Meet the authors you know – and discover some you don’t know. Hear their thoughts on book clubs – and tell them yours. Bring along your favourite book, tell us why you love it – and pass it on to someone else. Pick up someone’s else’s recommendation. An informal exchange of ideas, recommendations – and books – for all book lovers.

Authors taking part will be drawn from: James Meek (The People’s Act of Love, We Are Now Beginning Our Descent), Chris Cleave (Incendiary, The Other Hand), RJ Ellory (A Quiet Belief in Angels, The Anniversary Man), David (DJ) Taylor (English Settlement, Ask Alice), Alice Kuipers (Life on the Refrigerator Door), Rachel Hore (The Memory Garden, The Glass Painter’s Daughter)

The explosion of book clubs around the world is one of the phenomena of the last two decades. Yet they are not a new concept, dating back to the 19th century women’s education movement in Europe, when they provided an opportunity to discuss literature and political studies. While reading is in itself a solitary act, we often have a strong desire to share our reading experience with others. Some of us do this virtually - blogging and tweeting about the books we’re enjoying. Others prefer to meet up in person and share opinions – often in a more structured way with one of the group members leading the discussion. And then there’s the raft of television book clubs – from Oprah Winfrey in the US to Richard & Judy in the UK.  Some argue that TV book clubs offer a great way of discovering new authors or challenging oneself to try something one wouldn’t normally read. Others feel their dominance is too great and we end up with everybody reading only a narrow range of titles. And how does an author feel? Terrific if s/he writes the sort of books chosen by Book Clubs. Frustrated if s/he doesn’t? (And is there such a thing as a typical book club read anyway?)
Our Festival provides the opportunity for book club members to meet both the authors whose books they have been discussing and (we hope) to discover some new writers for future meetings.

This session will be moderated by Rosie Goldsmith.

This session is free of charge, but festival-goers are advised to book a ticket to guarantee a seat.

Event 9 Wednesday 10 March, 5.30pmAl Ras 1Skysurfers find out about your world! A colourful and enticing new picture atlas, available in both Arabic and English, has been created by Wafa Tarnowska. This is an atlas with a difference! Dubai is at the crossroads between East and West, and from the very first page you will learn fascinating and unusual facts about the world around us.
With primary importance given to the Arab World,  this atlas bristles with information - from camels, dates  and the Rub Al Khali in the Middle East to The Grand Canyon in America and The Great Barrier Reef in Australia !

Lucky Skysurfers will be entitled to a FREE copy of the atlas and a chance to meet the author at this launch event.

www.skysurfers.com

Event 12 Wednesday 10 March, 5.30pmAl Ras 2Teacher turned bestselling writer Conn Iggulden credits his Irish mother, who explained history to him as a series of exciting stories, together with an early diet of Flashman, Jack Aubrey and Sharpe, as having kindled his interest in historical fiction.  His own career took off in 2003 with The Gates of Rome, the first in his Emperor series following the life of Julius Caesar. His new series, based on Genghis Khan, leaped straight into the bestseller lists and Conn achieved the unprecedented feat of topping both the Fiction and Non-Fiction Bestseller charts in the same week with Wolf of the Plains and The Dangerous Book for Boys (the book he wrote with his brother).
Historical fiction remains one of the most enduring and popular genres but it’s a fiercely competitive market as writers jostle for publishers’ attention, booksellers’ shelf-space and readers’ time. Last year Philippa Gregory captivated festival-goers with her revelations about the Tudors and the Plantaganets. This year, as a worthy successor, Conn takes us to different continents and further back in time to demonstrate his passionately held view that the best stories often do come from history.

Event 10 Wednesday 10 March, 7pmAl Ras 3Celebrate the works of 19th and 20th century Emirati poets in a magical evening of readings and music.  This landmark event marks the launch of Looking Back with Love, the first ever anthology* of such works to be translated into English.

As with the wider Arab world, Dubai has a great poetic tradition and this fascinating collection is a key link to our past and an understanding of our heritage.  Assembled by Khalid Al-Budoor, himself a noted poet, the poems cover themes that were important to our ancestors – rain, the oasis, camels, the Falcon, the songbird - and have been sensitively translated  by Fadhil Al-Azzawi, the noted Iraqi poet and writer who last year entranced festival-goers  with his own poetry reading, some of it musical, all of it lyrical. Add Paul Thuysbaert’s expert eye and love of this land expressed in his stunningly beautiful photos and the result is a volume that truly evokes the spirit of the time.

 With specially commissioned music for harp by Joanna Marsh. The session is introduced by Ali Al-Shaali.

*The anthology features work by Butti bin Suhail bin Maktoum bin Butti, Mohammed bin Thani bin Qutami, Mohammed bin Rashid al-Matroushi, Khalfan bin Abdullah bin Sultan bin Yad`uh al-Muhairi, Husein bin Nasir al Lootah, Muhammed bin Thani bin Zunaid al-Suwaidi, Ahmed bin Sultan bin Saleem al-Filasi, Ahmed bin Khalifa al-Hamili, Salim bin Mohammed al-Jamri and Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Sougat al-Flasi.

Event 11 Wednesday 10 March, 7pmAl Ras 1Bestselling author and public speaker Robert Greene was born in Los Angeles and has lived in London, Paris and Barcelona. His first book, The 48 Laws of Power was published in 1998 and quickly became an international bestseller. Now translated into 17 languages, its theme is power and manipulation and it has been described as the ultimate modern version of Machiavelli's The Prince. Next came The Art of Seduction, a handbook on how to wield the ultimate form of power, and a detailed look at the greatest seducers in history. The third in the series, The 33 Strategies of War, was published in 2006 and offers a strategic and very topical look at the impact of war on everyday life. Now his latest book The 50th Law, co-written with rapper 50 Cent, takes as its central theme, fearlessness.  
Robert has a strong following within the business world and we are delighted to offer festival-goers the opportunity to hear him. In this specially prepared new talk Robert will be discussing the profound and timeless lessons from historical leaders that still hold good for business today and show how reorienting ones approach to strategy will spell the difference between falling behind the times or being ahead of them.

Event 14 Wednesday 10 March, 8.30pmAl Ras 3Martin Amis is widely regarded as one of the most influential and innovative voices in contemporary British fiction. His debut novel, The Rachel Papers, won the Somerset Maugham Award and became a cult film and other key works include Money, London Fields, Time’s Arrow and The Information.  Attracting as much attention for his personal opinions and occasional very public disagreements as he does for his writing, Martin is sometimes controversial, often outspoken but always thoughtful, and thought-provoking.
We are delighted that Martin is able to join us to discuss his new novel The Pregnant Widow  -  just published after a six-year gestation. Avowedly autobiographical,  it is set in an Italian castle in 1970 where a group of libidinous twentysomethings gather for a long, hot summer, dominated by sexual intrigue. The promise of a risqué plot and an examination of the malign impact of the sexual revolution has made this his most eagerly anticipated and most talked about book for years . Martin will be in conversation with Paul Blezard. Those who enjoy a stimulating and challenging evening will not be disappointed.

Event 15 Wednesday 10 March, 8.30pmAl Ras 1Youssef Ziedan was born in Upper Egypt in 1958 and at the age of 8 moved to Alexandria, where he later entered the university to study philosophy. His academic work has focused on Sufism and other branches of Islamic philosophy and he is director of the Manuscript Centre and Museum affiliated to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Author of more than fifty works of philosophy, history of medicine and information science as well as a volume of literary criticism, he is now most widely known for his bestselling second novel, Azazil which won the 2009 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (the ‘Arabic Booker’).

The novel revolves around events that took place in the fifth century AD between Upper Egypt, Alexandria and northern Syria in an uneasy period of Christian history after the Roman Empire had adopted the ‘new’ religion. It highlights the subsequent internal doctrinal conflicts arising between the fathers of the Church on the one hand, and between the ‘new’ believers and receding paganism on the other. Azazil, whose English title is Beelzebub, has disturbing echoes for today with its tale of religious fanaticism and mob violence and sparked an outcry among some of Egypt's ten million Coptic Christians, who wanted it banned.

Yousef will be reading from Azazil and talking about the controversy stirred by the book’s publication, the impact of winning the ‘Arabic Booker’ and his thoughts about the book’s translation into English and its publication later this year.

Event 162 Thursday 11 March 10.30amCultural and Scientific Association, Hall BComic writing needs flair, wit and pace, but a lot of the tricks of the trade are easy to pick up.  Writing for narrative sitcom formats has a lot more rules that one would expect.  Looking at examples of broadcast scripts we will work out what makes a successful 30-minute comedy – character, structure and dialogue . There will be an opportunity to write and perform scenes.  Jim Poyser is an experienced writer and producer who has worked extensively for BBC TV comedy, BBC Radio 4 and Channel 4.

Event 26 Thursday 11 March, 2.30pmAl Ras 1Ahdaf Soueif is known for her bestselling novel The Map of Love which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 1999 and since translated into 21 languages, selling more than a million copies. Born in Cairo, the child of Arab intellectuals, and educated in Egypt and London, where she has long lived, she writes (and dreams) in English. Author of In the Eye of the Sun as well as several short story collections, she has also translated Mourid Barghouti’s I Saw Ramallah from Arabic into English. But she has no wish to translate her own work. In fact it was her mother Fatma Moussa (Professor Emeritus of English Literature and Cairo University) who translated The Map of Love into Arabic and there were, apparently, a number of ‘whose novel is it anyway’ mother/daughter tussles in the process!
As a political and cultural commentator, Ahdaf contributes widely to newspapers in the West and Arab world.  Her seminal article "Under the Gun: A Palestinian Journey" was originally published The Guardian and later in her collected essays, Mezzaterra. She takes a keen interest in Palestine and was instrumental in setting up the annual Palestine International Festival of Literature (PalFest) in 2008. An eloquent and entertaining speaker, Ahdaf will be talking about her life and writing as well as the challenges of PalFest – including the Israeli Army’s unsuccessful attempts to shut down opening night last year.

Event 27 Thursday 11 March, 2.30pmAl Ras 2As a major trading port and a melting pot of cultures, Dubai has a rich and vibrant past. Much of this past is stored in the memories of its people but with the passing of generations such memories disappear. 

Julia Wheeler, a journalist and historian who has lived in Dubai for 15 years, set out to record, through individual oral histories, some of this heritage in her beautiful book Telling Tales. Her interviews with the people of Dubai – the Pearl Diver, the Merchant, the Dhow Builder, the Falconers... who remember it long before it became the cosmopolitan city it is today are accompanied  by stunning photographic portraits by Paul Thuysbaert,  another Dubai resident with a passion for the region.

Julia and Paul will be in discussion about the Dubai that was and the Dubai the city it has become in just a relatively short time.

Event 31 Thursday 11 March 2.30pmAl Ras 3A free workshop for parents, grandparents, teachers and carers of children & students of education. Please note that this session is 90 minutes long.

We all recognise that reading is an essential life skill, hopefully learned at an early age, and that bright, entertaining books play a vital role in achieving reading competency. But books alone are not enough. Equally important is the part played by parents, grandparents, teachers and students of education – in fact anyone who cares for or works with children – in helping children actively engage with – and relish – books. Only when books become the starting point for a range of creative and fun activities, that can be enjoyed by the whole family, do children acquire that flying start that will both shape their achievements as adults and enrich their life.
But it’s not always easy to know how best to do this. Some children are easier to engage than others. Some can become bored very quickly! Here’s where Safaa Azmy can help. Author of 34 books, a mother of three and an experienced workshop leader, Safaa is adept at linking reading to a wide range of art, science and creative ideas. In her workshop you will discover:

• How to create an interesting story-telling environment and how to keep your child interested for more than just one day
• How to choose appropriate books for your child’s age, interests & reading ability
• How to read for fun!
• How to involve all the family (fathers as well as mothers!)
• How to take the theme of a story as the starting point for finding out new information about a topic
• How to create great games and scientific experiments
• How to encourage your child to develop their own ideas
• Plus learn how to create the indispensable ‘Stories Bag’

Event 30 Thursday 11 March 4pmAl Ras 2Come and meet three of the best crime writers in the world – the American Jeffery Deaver (most recent novel Roadside Crosses) and, from the UK, Mark Billingham (Bloodline) and RJ Ellory (The Anniversary Man)  Each is a fascinating speaker, multi-award-winning and internationally best-selling. Yet each has his own distinctive style. What are the secrets of their success?  Do they share traits and techniques? Do crime novels differ in the US and UK? Is North American crime, for example, more gory than British crime? Are the US detectives more ruthless and hard-boiled?
Crime fiction continues to be one of the most widely read genres – enjoyed equally by men and women of all ages - and these writers are guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.  But how do they relax?  If we readers like to curl up with a good page-turner (such as they write), who do they relax with?

Expect wide-ranging discussion on all aspects and genres of crime writing – and maybe we’ll even pose that burning, unavoidable question: is crime fiction really literature? (And does it matter?)

This session will be moderated by Rosie Goldsmith.

Event 32 Thursday 11 March, 5.30pmAl Ras 1An evening with Alexander McCall Smith is never predictable but always hugely entertaining. Best known as the creator of the delightful No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and the inimitable Precious Ramotswe,  he has written more than 60 books and been translated into forty five languages. Before his success as a writer he was a distinguished professor of medical law at Edinburgh University; he is also a keen amateur bassoonist and co-founder of The Really Terrible Orchestra.

It is rare to come across a writer who is as charming and witty in public appearances as he is in his writing. Sandy is an utterly delightful speaker, a great raconteur and one of the warmest and funniest people on the festival circuit. He will be in conversation about his life and work. Not to be missed by his myriad fans or by anyone who delights in the lighter side of life.

Alexander will be in conversation with Paul Blezard.

Event 33 Thursday 11 March 5.30pmAl Ras 2History is a ‘two-edged sword’ – invaluable when used properly to understand why we think and react in certain ways, but also susceptible to manipulation and distortion. Dictators suppress history because it undermines their claims to authority, while political leaders mobilize their public by ‘spinning’ the past, or simply telling lies.
Professor Margaret Macmillan is an eminent historian and leading expert on international relations. She is currently Professor of International History at the University of Oxford and warden of St Anthony’s College. A Canadian-born child of the Raj and great-granddaughter of Lloyd George, she has distinguished herself in a largely male-dominated field and written on subjects as diverse as the women of the Raj, Nixon and Mao. She is, however, best-known for Peacemakers: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End War, for which she has won numerous international prizes including the prestigious Samuel Johnson – the first woman to win this prize.
Margaret is concerned that at a time when we urgently need to increase our understanding of the past to help make sense of the complicated, uncertain world today, the history profession appears to be turning inwards, retreating from the big issues and becoming obsessed with history of the individual without necessarily putting that individual life into a broader context.
Margaret will be in conversation with Max Easterman about the importance and role of the historian today. She will also offer a glimpse of the book she is currently working on 1914, a companion volume to Peacemakers, which will answer a question that has long puzzled her: ‘The First World War has always intrigued me because it marks the divide between the 19th century and the unhappy 20th. How could that proud, confident and prosperous Europe have gone over the cliff to war?’

Event 35 Thursday 11 March 7pmAl Ras 1David Taylor is a prolific writer and critic. He is the author of seven novels, including Ask Alice (2009) and At the Chime of the City Clock (published later this year), several non-fiction works, a collection of short stories and two highly regarded biographies. His biography of George Orwell, considered by many to be the best chronicler of English life in recent times, won the 2003 Whitbread (now Costa) Prize for Biography.
Francis Wheen, well-known as both a freelance journalist and broadcaster, is equally comfortable debunking political correctness and pricking pomposity. His books include the highly acclaimed study Karl Marx, which has been translated into twenty languages, the bestselling How Mumbo Jumbo Conquered the World and, most recently, Strange Days Indeed: The Golden Age of Paranoia, his account of the 1970s.
In this entertaining session they take a sometimes irreverent look at the art and craft of biography, discussing their choice of subjects and the challenges and potential pitfalls of tackling political and literary giants such as these. Both authors contribute to the leading English satirical magazine Private Eye, of which Francis is Deputy Editor; readers of Private Eye will know that this session is also likely to offer a sideways look at both the making and the recording of history.

Event 36 Thursday 11 March 7pmAl Ras 2Bestselling novelist, jet-setting commentator and cultural critic, Shobhaa Dé is an Indian superstar.  A former model and Bollywood journalist, she exposed Bollywood the way Jackie Collins (to whom she is often likened) exposed Hollywood. And like Jackie she has the glamour and the personality to match. For the last three years Shobhaa has been concentrating on her first love, journalism, and her edgy observations now extend to politics, the economy, business, the heart and the home with her columns appear in nearly every newspaper and magazine of note. Her latest book Superstar India, published as the author herself turned 60, is a candid look at India 60 years on from independence - taking its pulse, asking what makes it tick and what makes it so talked about.

This is a wonderful opportunity to hear an Indian icon talk about her personal experience of India - from Mumbai’s highlife (and what goes on behind the facade) to her thoughtful observations on where India stands today.  Has it lived up to the promises it made to its people? Does it really deserve to congratulate itself?  Does the author believe in India herself?

Shobhaa will be in conversation with Rosie Goldsmith.

Event 37 Thursday 11 March 7pmAl Ras 3Amjad Nasser (Jordan), Iman Mersal (Egypt) and Samer Abou Hawwash (Palestine) are three distinctive literary voices representing three almost consecutive generations of contemporary Arabic poetry. All three belong to the open horizon of the modern Arabic poem. No longer restricting their writing to the traditional forms and content of classical poetry, they turn to the modern world, placing a finger on its pulse, negotiating a dialogue with it as they reflect their personal experiences in this contemporary world.

Born in 1955, Amjad Nasser is at the forefront of the generation of poets coming after Mahmoud Darwish.  Seeking to find a voice that honoured tradition while opening new ground, he’s developed an unusually wide expressive range, ingeniously blending what he calls ‘the Bedouin accent’ with European Modernism. Unafraid to tackle intimacy and physical passion between men and women, he also writes prose poems. With nine collections of poetry published, the first when he was just 22, his complete works were then published in Arabic in 2002 and his first complete anthology to be translated into English, (by Khaled Mattawa) Shepherd of Solitude, published in 2009. He co-founded Al-Quds Al-Arabi and is currently Associate Editor and Arts Editor.

Iman Mersal was born in Mansoura, Egypt in 1966 and was editor of the cultural magazine Bint al-Ard, publishing creative work by young women as well as articles in feminism and Islam before moving to North America. She is currently Professor of Arabic literature at the University of Alberta, Canada.  She has published four collections of poetry. The first, Characterisations (1990), was very well received but her second, A Dark Alley Suitable for Dance Lessons (1995), was more avant-garde and felt by some to veer too far from the conventions of Arabic poetry. Her most recent collection is Alternative Geography (2006) and These Are Not Oranges, My Love, a selection of her poems translated into English by Khaled Mattawa,  appeared in 2008.

Born in 1972 in Sidon, Samer Abou Hawwash moved to Beirut to study in 1993 and has lived in the UAE since 2004.  He contributes to numerous Arabic cultural supplements, is a prolific translator of contemporary fiction and poetry and is a novelist, as well as a poet. He has just been selected for Beirut 39 – an initiative to identify 39 of the brightest young Arabic writers under the age of 39. He has published seven collections of poetry, including Life is Printed in New York (1997), Remember Valentina (2001) and Two Trees on the Roof (2006).  A new collection, She Sews a Dress to Remember, will appear in 2010.