DUBAI: The winners of First Chapter, the ELF Seddiqi Writers’ Fellowship for 2024 were announced tonight at the Gala Opening ceremony of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. The prestigious mentorship programme puts the writing stars of tomorrow onto the path to getting internationally published. The ten winners, selected from almost 100 applicants writing in Arabic and English, each receive one to one coaching from best-selling international authors, along with workshops and access to experts in the publishing industry. This is the third year that the Fellowship has been open, providing the only global standard mentorship programme in the region for aspiring writers.
The authors mentoring the winners this year are Ali Sparkes, Alwyn Hamilton, Avni Doshi, Clare Mackintosh, Curtis Sittenfeld, Greg Mosse, Iman Humaydan, Jalal Barjas, Sona Charaipotra and Yrsa Siggurdottir.
The winners are:
Ali Al Shaali chosen by Jalal Barjas
Ellen Steele chosen by Clare Mackintosh
Fatima Alwadhi chosen by Yrsa Siggurdottir
Mubeena Mohammed chosen by Greg Mosse
Nadia Hussain chosen by Avni Doshi
Omar Asfour chosen by Alwyn Hamilton
Prarthna Dang chosen by Ali Sparkes
Sharon Aruparayil chosen by Sona Charaipotra
Suha Najjar chosen by Eman Humydan
Tamreez Inam chosen by Curtis Sittenfeld
Honourable Mentions:
Andrea Gissdal
Elizabeth Elphick
Joe Lipscombe
Judith Pastor Duffy
Maysa Rawi
Paul Mullett
Peri Desai
Priyanka Pradhan
Sarah Hirsch
Shams El-Mutwali
“This Fellowship is changing lives by giving writers in the UAE a pathway to the international publishing world”, said Ahlam Bolooki CEO of the Emirates Literature Foundation and Festival Director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. “The authors mentoring the writers on the Fellowship comment on the extremely high standard of applications, making it difficult to choose their favourite. Knowing that we are making a difference to the writing scene in the UAE by bringing this rich pool of talent to international attention is very exciting. We are very proud of all those who are part of the Fellowship and are looking forward to many of them getting published in the very near future. We are so grateful to Seddiqi Holding for partnering with us in helping us make the wonderful programme happen and building the reputation of writers in the UAE.”
The programme is already bearing fruit. First year graduate Sara Hamdan has won a major two-book deal with US publisher Holt, the home of literary giants including Hilary Mantel, Toni Morrison and Liane Moriarty. Her debut novel, What Will People Think will be published in 2025.
The mentorship programme was launched in 2021 by the Emirates Literature Foundation in partnership with Seddiqi Holding, with the aim that over five years the Fellowship will create a notable pool of authors based in the UAE, with audiences all over the world.
“It has been incredibly humbling to connect with the growing number of aspiring writers in the region via First Chapter: The ELF Seddiqi Writers’ Fellowship. We are ecstatic to see the progress they are making and how the programme is helping nurture their skillset and passion. This partnership has been instrumental in augmenting the literary industry in our region and for that we are grateful to our partner Emirates Literature Foundation. To our new cohorts coming in, we hope you have a fruitful experience, and we are delighted to be alongside you on this journey”, said Hind Abdul Hamied Seddiqi, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Seddiqi Holding.
In addition to six hours of one-to-one mentorship from their mentor, the fellows take part in a regular series of workshops led by resident mentor Annabel Kantaria, along with meetups and talks from authors and experts spanning the whole of the industry and encompassing all stages of writing, publishing and promoting a book. The programme also provides introductions to international agents, editors and publishers and access to short writing classes from international partner writing institutions. Each year the group undertakes a field trip, with the previous groups visiting the Gotham Writers Centre in New York and the Faber Academy in London to take classes and meet literary agents.
