The UAE literary scene is a work in progress.
Ahlam Bolooki, the director of Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, says local authors have made great strides over the years, with novels, short story collections and children's books achieving regional and international acclaim.
"When the festival started in 2009, there was only a handful of Emirati authors who were involved. Since then, the number has grown and they are a major part of the event," she tells The National.
“I have also been seeing this thirst among the youth in writing, being involved in intellectual conversation and expanding their literary knowledge.
"While that is positive, we still have more work to do,” she adds.
With that evolution, a growing number of Emirati writers are forging a path with pioneering and innovative works.
So, as the UAE celebrates the Month of Reading throughout March, Bolooki shares with us 10 Emirati authors we should all know about. These are listed in no particular order.
1. Sultan Al Amimi
"He is one of the most developed writers in the country," says Bolooki. "One of his novels, PO Box 1003, was adapted for television in 2019, while his other work, One Room is Not Enough, was longlisted for the 2017 International Prize for Arabic Fiction and translated into French, Portuguese, Russian, Hindi and Spanish.
"Sultan is well respected as an author and as a public intellectual and is a true champion of Emirati and Arabic literature."
2. Shamma Al Bastaki
"I think she is going to be one of our greats," Bolooki enthuses. "As a poet who writes in English she has such talent and poise. The way she weaves her words and performs her work indicates she is someone who has mastered the craft through her studies.
“The interesting thing about what she does is that, while she writes in English, her work is rooted in the region and her Emirati-ness.”
3. Abdullah Al Nuaimi
“A daring author who addresses social issues and is quite forward-thinking," Bolooki states.
"He started as a social media influencer who addressed social issues in the UAE and the region. He went on to transfer that approach quite nicely into his Arabic books [including Espresso and The Moon of Riyadh].
“He has keen interest in women's rights and [through his writing] aims to diminish the distance between Arab men and women, as well as promote values of tolerance and co-existence between nations and other societies.”
4. Mohammad Al Murr
"An Emirati literary icon and one of the most important storytellers in the country.
"He has published more than 15 volumes of short stories and has two collections translated in English: Dubai Tales and The Wink of the Mona Lisa, and Other Stories from the Gulf.
“If you want an insight into Emirati societies and the real Dubai life told through a local who is a deep part of the city's fabric, then you can’t go past Mohammad Al Murr.”
5. Ameera Bin Kadra
"A children's author who approaches the genre in a fresh, engaging and fun style. A number of her children's stories, including My Grandmother's Henna Tree and Good Night, were translated into English.
"She has also written several stories for segments in the Arabic version of Sesame Street."
6. Nadia Al Najjar
“Her popularity is growing among Emirati readers and the writing community. She has written three Arabic novels and a children’s book.
"Her best known work is called Mada'en Al-Lahfa (Cities of Passion), which won first place in the Emirates Award for Fiction in in 2015.
“The novel consists of 16 chapters, and each chapter is named after a different city, ranging from Dubai to Damascus.”
7. Amal Al Sahlawi
“An Emirati poet who studied Arabic literature at the University of Sharjah and writes freestyle [stream of conscious] and classical poetry.
“Amal tackles feminism, philosophy, existentialism and the anxieties of modern life.
“She is also part of Untitled Chapters, a group of Emirati female writers who gather and support each other with poetry events and writing workshops. I remember attending one of the events about three years ago, when she performed a couple of her poems. I was taken aback by how incredibly beautiful they were.”
8. Maha Gargash
"A groundbreaking author. She wrote two English novels, The Sand Fish: A Novel from Dubai (2009) and That Other Me (2015), which were published through HarperCollins.
“The former became commercially popular and it was a story set in the UAE in the 1950s and follows a rebellious young woman trapped in a repressive society.
"While she hasn't written anything new in a while, Maha is one of the rare Emirati authors who was globally published and is worth noting."
9. Omar Saif Ghobash
"His book Letters to A Young Muslim (2007) really spoke to a lot of people. There are not a lot of Emirati writers who addressed what it is like for a child growing up today and listening to different narratives about Islam.
“He is someone who is able to connect religion, society and politics together and make sense of it all, while offering a fresh perspective.
“A diplomat as well as a writer, he is an important thought leader in the UAE.”
10. Salha Obeid
"She wrote several Arabic short story collections, including The Postman of Happiness and The Hidden White Thread, which won the 2015 Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Award in the best fiction category.
"Salha has already developed a strong voice within the UAE writing community.
“I find her style to be very mature and rich. When you read her work, you feel that it comes from someone assured and who is already well read.”
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The biog
Favourite book: Men are from Mars Women are from Venus
Favourite travel destination: Ooty, a hill station in South India
Hobbies: Cooking. Biryani, pepper crab are her signature dishes
Favourite place in UAE: Marjan Island
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeap%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ziad%20Toqan%20and%20Jamil%20Khammu%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Read more about the coronavirus
2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
- Parasite – 4
- 1917– 3
- Ford v Ferrari – 2
- Joker – 2
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood – 2
- American Factory – 1
- Bombshell – 1
- Hair Love – 1
- Jojo Rabbit – 1
- Judy – 1
- Little Women – 1
- Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) – 1
- Marriage Story – 1
- Rocketman – 1
- The Neighbors' Window – 1
- Toy Story 4 – 1
