Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2026 line-up includes Ruth Ware, Asma Khan and Scott Turow

Asma Khan and Ruth Ware are some of the leading authors taking part in next year’s Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.

Running from January 21 to 27 at InterContinental Dubai Festival City, the annual event returns for its 18th staging with more than 200 speakers from 40 countries and a daily programme featuring literary and cultural discussions, workshops and masterclasses from authors spanning popular fiction, Arabic literature, poetry and non-fiction.

Among the key events this year is a panel on Life Taught Me, the recent book by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.

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Other additions to the programme include Highrise Homicide, an interactive mystery event set across a fictional tower block, and Burns Night, which brings Scottish poets to the festival for an evening of readings and music.

Ahlam Bolooki, chief executive of the Emirates Literature Foundation, said the festival’s longevity and appeal come from the inclusive nature of its events and line-up. “The festival continues to inspire curiosity and foster connection, offering something for everyone,” she said. “In a world that can feel divided or distracted, I invite you to join us and to pause, read and rediscover what unites us as humans on a shared journey.”

International names

This year’s international line-up brings together several of the most recognisable contemporary writers and public figures.

London restaurateur Khan, known for Netflix’s Chef’s Table and her Darjeeling Express restaurant, will speak about the lessons learnt across her career.

British crime writer Ware, whose best-selling novel The Woman in Cabin 10 was adapted into a film by Netflix, will be part of an in-conversation session.

Scott Turow, the lawyer turned novelist behind Presumed Innocent, is among this year’s international guests. Getty Images

Also confirmed is Scott Turow, the American lawyer and novelist whose 1987 legal thriller Presumed Innocent helped define the modern courtroom genre and remains one of the most influential works in contemporary crime fiction.

British Book Award recipient Caleb Azumah Nelson of Open Water fame will also appear in the programme, along with UK writer and illustrator Curtis Jobling, whose Wereworld is being adapted into the Netflix animation Wolf King.

Arab literary voices

Lebanese novelist Hoda Barakat won the 2025 Sheikh Zayed Book Award for Literature for her novel Hind or the Most Beautiful Woman in the World. Photo: Zoran Mircetic / Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre

Lebanese author Hoda Barakat, winner of this year’s Sheikh Zayed Book Award for Literature, is among the top regional authors attending the festival. She joins Egyptian writer Ezzat Elkamhawi, recipient of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal; and Jordanian novelist Jalal Barjas, a winner of both the Katara Prize (Snakes of Hell) and the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (The Notebooks of the Bookseller).

Kuwaiti author Saud Al Sanousi, whose novel The Bamboo Stalk was adapted into a television series, will discuss his literary influences. Other guests include Egyptian novelist and poet Omar Taher and Palestinian journalist, author and poet Plestia Alaqad.

Homegrown talent

Emirati writers continue to play a central role in the festival. Poet Ali Al Mazmi, recipient of the Best Poetry Collection Award at the Silk Road festival, will appear alongside writer and poet Shamma Al Bastaki, whose work examines memory, heritage and contemporary Gulf identity. Also confirmed are Salha Obaid, winner of the Al Owais Creative Writing Award; veteran poet Shihab Ghanem; and novelist Reem Al Kamali, known for her historical fiction. International Prize for Arabic Fiction shortlisted author Nadia Al Najjar also returns to the programme.

Children’s literature is represented by Sheikh Zayed Book Award winner Hessa Almehairi, and author and illustrator Maitha Al Khayat.

Programme favourites

Desert Stanzas is one of the highlights of the festival. Photo: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature

Several long-standing festival traditions return this year. Desert Stanzas, an open-air night of poetry and performance, will bring together a mix of regional and international guests, while LitFest After Hours continues with its evening programme of music, comedy and storytelling. Discovery Talks also remain part of the schedule, offering short lectures from writers, historians and cultural commentators.

A number of Arab literary institutions will mark milestones during the festival. The Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation will celebrate the centenary of the Unesco-recognised Emirati poet Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais with a tribute.

The Saif Ghobash Banipal Translation Prize will bring together past winners to mark two decades of outstanding translation, while The Ibn Battuta Award for Geographic Literature will present a panel reflecting on 25 years of Arabic and Islamic travel writing.

Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is from January 21 to 27. Tickets for sessions start at Dh50, with early-bird discounts available until December 28

Note: A previous version of this story listed RF Kuang as attending the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2026, but the American author has since withdrawn from the event

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.”

Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2026 line-up includes Ruth Ware, Asma Khan and Scott Turow

Next year’s event will host more than 200 speakers from 40 countries in a programme of talks, workshops and performances

International names

Arab literary voices

Homegrown talent

Programme favourites