The Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has announced an exciting calendar of events which will take place at Qasr Al Watan Library in July, including panel discussions with renowned authors and an interactive writing workshop.

The events start on 7 July with the ‘Award-winning Author’s Experience’ panel discussion, moderated by the renowned author Fatima Al Mazrouei, Head of Historical Archives at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs’ National Archives. A film and theatre critic as well as a fiction and children’s book author, Al Mazrouei will discuss her experiences writing award-winning books. To date, she has won 19 awards, including in the Al Owais Award’s ‘Most Innovative Novel/Short Story Collection’ category for her book The Traps of Darkness, the Sheikha Shamsa bint Suhail Award for Creative Women in 2013 and the Emirates Novel Award in 2017 for her novel My Other Story.

A session entitled ‘Cross-border Cultures’ on 14 July will be led by Jordanian author Matar Mahmood Matar Tawalbeh, Director of the Cordoba International Academy for Training and curator of a cultural creativity programme for talented emerging Jordanian writers. 

July's calendar also includes the three-day workshop ‘Talented Pens’, presented by Syrian poet and author Jameel Dari. From 21-23 July, the intense workshop sessions will be dedicated to developing the skills of up-and-coming writers. 

Recently opened to the public, Qasr Al Watan Library is a world-class cultural destination featuring a collection of 50,000 books collected over 35 years. These publications span subjects such as history, geography and the social, economic and political development of the UAE. Official and historical documents from local and international sources are accessible alongside the Constitution and laws of the UAE.

We accept Guest Posts

Download the Dubai City Guide iPhone mobile app

DubaiCityGuide.com is owned and managed by Cyber Gear