March 5, Dubai: Several authors paid tribute to the written word in the official ceremony of the annual Emirates Airline Festival of Literature on Tuesday.

‘Festival Personality of the Year 2019’

Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Department of Civil Aviation, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, Chairman Dubai Airports and Chairman of the Emirates Literature Foundation, along with Al Kaabi, awarded an Emirati publisher, journalist and writer with the Festival Personality of the Year Award during the ceremony.

The winner, Abdul Ghaffar Hussain, headed the Emirates writer’s union and contributed to the establishment of the first public library in the UAE, Dubai Public Library. His son, Mohammad Abdul Gaffar received the award on his behalf thanking the Dubai Literature Foundation.

The event also marked the signing earlier in the day of an agreement between the National Media Council (NMC) and the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, to work more closely together to further support Emirati writers by implementing a wide range of initiatives.

The festival’s 11th edition has welcomed 170 authors who have participated in a rich schedule of programmes. Running until March 9, the festival held under the theme of ‘United by Words’, includes subjects covering all genres of fiction, a huge breadth of non-fiction topics, as well as children’s, family and youth sessions and more, brought to life by some of the world’s best-known authors.