Emirati values of generosity, education and cultural exchange could open the door to the wider translation of the country’s literature, according to Ahlam Bolooki, director of Emirates Literature Foundation Publishing.
Guided by that belief, the organisation – part of the non-profit foundation that runs the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature – made its first appearance as a publisher at the Frankfurt International Book Fair, the world’s largest publishing marketplace and running until Sunday.
Speaking to The National at the Emirates Literature Foundation Publishing stand, positioned between the larger pavilions of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre and the Sharjah Book Authority, Bolooki said the titles in the foundation’s catalogue are resonating with international publishers for reasons beyond the page.
“What we have found in these first days of the fair is that our books reflect regional values and personalities children can relate to,” Bolooki says. “Even non-Arab audiences are curious; they want to learn different stories, and that curiosity often turns into genuine connection.
“We’ve had people from Asia and Latin America stop by the stand and say they see their own families in our stories. A Filipino publishing family spent almost an hour with us, sharing experiences from their community and how they’d like to feature books from our region."
This growing trend became apparent as the foundation, with the support of the UAE Media Council, made its way across major book fairs from Bologna to Frankfurt, meeting publishers from European markets such as the UK and France. They were not looking for best-selling titles, Bolooki notes, but for stories that resonate with Arab and Muslim diaspora communities in their respective regions.
“They’re realising that their readers are not one homogenous group,” she says. “Many are now catering to sub-sections of their societies – Arab or Muslim communities in Europe, or immigrant families in Latin America and Asia – who want authentic stories from the region.
“At Bologna, for example, we saw strong interest from publishers specifically looking for Arabic children’s titles that reflect those readers’ backgrounds. That’s how cultural exchange really happens, when a story that’s true to its place still feels familiar to someone on the other side of the world.”
Established in 2022, Emirates Literature Foundation Publishing now has a catalogue of 14 titles across children’s literature, poetry, fiction, and non-fiction.
Titles include Out of This World, a book of photographs and journals by UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi; The Girl of the Arabs, the first English translation of poems by Ousha bint Khalifa Al Suwaidi, one of the UAE’s most-celebrated female poets; and Feeding the Soul, a collection of 30 recipes by Dubai prisoners reflecting dishes that hold a special place in their hearts. All proceeds from the cookbook go to the rehabilitation programme sponsored by the Emirates Literature Foundation.
Many of these values are also embodied in Athba’s Gift by Emirati children’s author and illustrator Rawan Alyahmadi, whose English book was formally launched at the fair. The story, about a young Emirati girl whose gift for making others happy teaches her to find joy within herself, was discovered through a submission Alyahmadi sent to the foundation last year.
“In our culture, we’re taught to be generous and to put others first, and that’s a beautiful value,” the author says. “But we also need to remember to take care of ourselves, because kindness loses its strength when you forget your own needs. I wanted children to see that self-love is not selfish; it is part of what makes us whole. That balance between giving and caring for yourself is what I wanted the book to show.”
Attending the book fair was the culmination of her own learning process in the publishing industry, Alyahmadi says, and a reflection of the challenges many Emirati authors still face as the local sector finds its footing.
“Some UAE publishers continue to ask for payment from the writer or artist to publish, which shows they either don’t understand the industry or are not doing things the right way,” she says. “But there are places like the Emirates Literature Foundation that understand what we do. They loved the story and wanted to work with me ... Emirati authors still have to learn how to communicate with publishers and vice versa, so it’s a learning process.”
Emirati poet-turned-author Afra Atiq, whose debut collection Of Palm Trees and Skies was also on display in Frankfurt, said her journey with the foundation goes back to the years before the idea of a publishing arm existed, when the focus was solely on the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.
“It’s been more than a decade and I’ve seen kids go from local workshop participants to competition winners, then become volunteers at the festival, then start asking me about publishing,” she says. “There’s a sense of sustainability in what they do. Everything feeds into the next stage.”
Her book launch in Dubai last year marked the beginning of a journey that has taken her from New Zealand and Australia to the UK and Canada, performing and selling out copies along the way. “I always say I did the journey in reverse. Most poets publish first, then tour. I performed and did writing residencies first, and then finally the book,” she says. “The life of a book is different, but the results have been amazing.”
Atiq said those experiences helped her understand what it means to represent her culture globally. “That was my first time abroad with my work. They didn’t even know me,” she says. “I have a line in my book about learning not to fear being loud. Because we are few, we have to use our voices fully.”
