John Kerry, the former US Secretary of State, is coming to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair to talk about his memoir, Every Day is Extra.
For nearly 30 years John Kerry was a US senator, before he became the 68th Secretary of State for four years under the Obama administration. He was a former presidential candidate in 2004, too, running against George W Bush.
Published in 2018 by Simon & Schuster, Kerry's 600-plus-page book gives a detailed account of his life and political career. It spans from the time he was a student at a Swiss boarding school, to being a law student at Yale University and working as a prosecutor in the District Attorney's office, before joining Congress – and much more in between.
The book, which will be on sale at the fair, also recounts details of US relations with various countries, including in the Middle East.
Kerry will host a discussion on the main stage at 11.30am on April 24, on the opening day of the book fair.
"This is not an everyday occurrence," commented Saif Saeed Ghobash, undersecretary at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi. "Mr Kerry has played a key role in the shaping of global events and in his keynote speech he will share with us what I am sure will be his fascinating, insightful and inspirational thoughts.”
The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is one of the capital's biggest cultural events, with renowned authors flocking in from across the globe. For its 29th iteration, which runs at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from April 24 to 30, a star-studded list of authors has been announced. This includes Ben Okri, Saroo Brierley, whose memoir inspired the film Lion, and Ziauddin Yousafzai, the father of Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai.
Eugene Rogan, author of The Arabs: A History, novelist Brandy Scott and the winners of this year's Sheikh Zayed Book Awards will also be present.
In total, there will be more than 1,000 exhibitors from 50 countries, displaying some 500,000 titles.
