At the Global Association of Literary  Festivals Conference in Nigeria in November, a number of changes to the GAoLF membership were proposed, including ways to make the Association more accessible and interactive. These will be discussed at an Extraordinary General Meeting  in Dubai on 1 February to which all are warmly invited to attend. Please take a moment to read the attached delegate invitation which details the proposed changes. Please email any comments or queries  to me: carmel.rosato@emirateslitfest.com

Festival News

The  Hay International is presenting its 18th program in Colombia with events in Jericó, Medellín, and Cartagena de Indias, featuring 180 speakers from 21 countries, including well-known literary figures, Nobel Prize winners, and internationally renowned performers. The events will take place from January 21st to 22nd in Jericó, from January 24th to 25th in Medellín, and from January 26th to 29th in Cartagena de Indias

Meanwhile Margaret Atwood, musician Dua Lipa, the Proclaimers rock duo, and poet laureate Simon Armitage are  amongst the ‘early bird’ names scheduled to participate in the Hay Festival running from 25 May – 4 June.

Described as one of the biggest literary shows on Earth, the Jaipur Literature Festival will take place between 19th and 23^rd of January 2023, hosting Abdulrazak Gurnah,  Ruth Ozeki, Bernadine Evaristo  Chigozie Obioma and NoViolet Bulawayo amongst the 250 authors appearing this year.

Faversham Literary Festival will be held between 18 – 26 Feb 2023 in Faversham, one of England’s historical cities. Michael Palin, Irvine Welsh and Maggie O’Farrell are amongst the exciting mix of well-known authors, leading thinkers, up-and-coming writers, and local talent, plus writing competitions for all ages, and other events.

Cairo Book Festival 2023, usually the biggest in the world by visitors’ numbers, is launching on January 24^th until February 6^th, honouring  Salah Gahine, the great Egyptian poet as the fair’s main personality.

Book World News

Prince Harry’s memoir Spare is set to be the publishing event of the year, just one week into 2023.  The big winner will be Penguin Random House. Officially published on January 10th, it  has already caused headlines around the world, as the Duke of Sussex reveals “experiences, adventures, losses, and life lessons that have helped shape him,” along with much more.

Back in the UK, writers  honoured in King Charles III’s first New Year’s Honours list  include biographer Hermione Lee,  awarded an OBE   for her services to English literature; Catherine Belton, whose book Putin’s People became the subject of a landmark legal case, awarded an MBE for her services to journalism; and Francesca Simon, the creator of the popular Horrid Henry children’s books, who was awarded an MBE for her services to literature. British Library CEO Roly Keating was also awarded a knighthood for his services to literature.

A public dispute in Ukraine has arisen over the cultural legacy of writer Mikhail Bulgakov, with the country’s national writers’ union calling for the closure of the literary museum at his childhood home. Read more about it here.

The Booker Prize has announced its 2023 edition’s jurors: Novelist Esi Edugyan (chair), Adjoa Andoh, Mary Jean Chan,  James Shapiro and Robert Webb. More details here.

The New York Times summarized the 2022 with its list of The Best 10 Books of 2022 including  Jennifer Egan’s sequel  The Candy House,  Checkout 19, by Claire-Louise Bennett, Trust by Hernan Diaz and seven others.

Another worth-mentioning highlight of 2022 were the widely- popular audiobooks, especially the memoir of celebrities such as Viola Davis and in her own voice. Check the list here.

Craig Brown, Antony Beevor, and Philippe Sands, the past winners of the Baillie Gifford Prize go through their readings in 2022  in Lithub and recommend their favourite books.

Professor Mohamed Enani, known as the “Sheikh” of Arabic translators, passed away on January 3, 2023. He was known for his translations of Shakespeare, Milton’s Paradise Lost, and Said’s Orientalism, as well as works by other Arabic authors. Read More.

Jean Franco, a well-known literary scholar known for her contributions to the field of Latin American studies in the late 1960s and 1970s, passed away on December 14th at the age of 98. Franco was known for her analysis of Latin American literature from feminist and political viewpoints. More

The English translation of a novel by Brigitte Reimann, a cult voice of East German feminist literature, will be released in 2023, nearly 50 years after her death, introducing her to a new audience. More.

The original manuscript of Rob Roy, written by Sir Walter Scott, will be displayed for the first time in at least a century at the Treasures of the National Library of Scotland exhibition in March 2023. Read More

A first edition of Robert Burns‘ debut poetry collection, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, was discovered in a barber shop and is now on display in Fife, Scotland. The book is missing its first 50 pages, which were removed by the barber shop owner in Shrewsbury, England to clean his razors. More

Publishers of the French comic book series Asterix have announced that Fabcaro, a French novelist and comic book author known for his absurdist humour, will be the fourth writer to take on the series, starting with the 40th volume set to be released next year. More

The London Book Fair Trailblazer Awards, which recognize young talent in the publishing industry, will accept submissions until 31 January 2023. A panel of experts will choose five winners, who will be announced at The London Book Fair on 18-20 April 2023 at Olympia, London. Know More

The Norwegian Literature Abroad program, NORLA, has announced an increase in production grants for illustrated books from Norway, both for adults and children’s books. Know More

You can explore more content via the association’s website here and discuss topics in the forum with other member festivals here.