Dubai, 14 February 2023: The 2023 winners of the Emirates LitFest Writing Prize, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature’s prestigious competition to discover unpublished novelists, have been announced.  

This year the process was divided in two categories, adult fiction, and children’s fiction. The prize for adult fiction was judged by Luigi Bonomi, leading literary agent and founder of LBA Books. The new category of children’s fiction was judged by Louise Lamont, also a literary agent and director of LBA Books specialising in children’s authors and illustrators.

The winners are:

Adult novel:

1st place: Yi-Hwa Hanna

2nd place: Noor Salih

3rd place: Laura Mulligan Plunkett

4th place: Andrea Gissdal

Children’s category:

1st place: Romita Maitra

2nd place: Mary Collins

“For the first time we have opened up the LitFest Writing Prize to include children’s writers, in addition to writers of adult fiction, giving more entries the opportunity to be recognised,” said AhlamBolooki, Festival Director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. “Children’s publishing goes from strength to strength, so we wanted to recognise this important category. The track record for putting new authors on the path to international publishing success has been tremendous, reflecting the huge number of talented writers in the region. I hope that this year’s winning children’s writers will enjoy similar success.”

Both first-place winners will get a one-hour one-to-one session with the judge of their category for feedback and writing career advice.

Yi-Hwa Hanna’s novel, The Casting Season tells of a secret community that lives deep in the mountains of Truko Gorge, where a dragon’s curse means that Shu-Ching will never be older than 30… and she has turned 16 years old for the 15th time. Can she discover a way to break the curse?

Romita Maitra’s children’s book, The Theft of the Grande Dame Ruby tells the story of eleven-year-old Althea Bhowmick who is sent to visit her great-aunt Zenky and meets a robot bird named Gaspard and a scientist called Réo… and together they embark on a wild journey to track down the missing Grande Dame Ruby, a stolen gem.

Recognised as one of the most successful writing competitions in the region, the competition has a proven track record in finding new writing talent, producing nine published authors in the ten years since it began, although a publishing deal for the winner is not guaranteed.

Novelists that have never been published are eligible to enter, providing that they are 21 years or older and resident in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman or Saudi Arabia.  Entrants had to submit a 400-word synopsis of the book in English and the first 2,000 words of their almost completed manuscript.

The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature Festival is held with Founding Partners Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated authority for heritage, arts, and culture. It is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai.

More information about the Emirates Literature Foundation can be found online and year-round news of Emirates LitFest on  LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram YouTube and TikTok @emirateslitfest

Ends

For more information, please contact: emiratesliteraturefoundation@actionprgroup.com

Notes to editors: 

About the Judges:

Luigi Bonomi is a literary agent who has launched the careers of many bestselling authors. He is the founder of Luigi Bonomi Associates (LBA), which represents a variety of authors, journalists and writers including the multi-million bestselling authors, Susan Lewis, Simon Scarrow, Fern Britton, and Ben Miller – all of whom are regular top ten Sunday Times Bestsellers.

Louise Lamont is a literary agent and director of LBA Books specialising in children’s authors and illustrators.

About the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature:

The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is the Arab World’s largest celebration of the written and spoken word, featuring international and regional writers, poets, thinkers and speakers from around the world. Over the last 14 years more than 1,800 authors from over one hundred countries have spoken at the Festival. In 2022 the Festival reached more than 105,000 people, in person and via live streaming. Sessions included multi-talented top children's author David Walliams, entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuck, Indra Nooyi ranked amongst the world's 100 most powerful women executives, and Bridgerton author Julia Quinn, and the Education Programme featured children’s favourites Ali Sparkes, Rob Biddulph, Sanaa Chabbani, Gulnar Hajou and Ken Arto.

The aim of the Festival is to develop a culture of reading as an enjoyable habit in the UAE, and its efforts have been recognised through many awards over the years. By providing an equal platform for international and locally based talents, the Festival continues to build the literary landscape in the UAE and further afield. Alongside the main programme, the Festival organises an Education programme, reaching students across the seven emirates of the UAE. There are also student competitions, held in Arabic and English, which allow young people to showcase their skills through poetry, short stories and reading. 

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Festival is a key part of the Emirates Literature Foundation, which was established in 2013 by Royal Decree. In partnership with Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated authority for heritage, arts, and culture, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature will be back in 2023. For information and updates about the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature visit the website: www.emirateslitfest.com

About the Emirates Literature Foundation:

The Emirates Literature Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation which supports and nurtures a love of literature in the United Arab Emirates and the region, through a programme of varied cultural initiatives. 

Established in 2013 by Royal Decree issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Foundation aims to foster a love for literature, with a focus on the Arabic language. 

In line with the National Reading Policy of the UAE, the Foundation has implemented several long-term projects including the School Librarian of the Year Award, Kateb Maktub, and From the Inside Out, as well as conducting year-round student education programmes, book clubs and mentorship programmes. The Foundation’s previous initiatives included the 2020 International Literary Festivals Conference, the 2017 Dubai International Publishing Conference and the 2016 Dubai Translation Conference. 

The Foundation is also the governing body of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the UAE’s premier literary festival.