The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre will organise the Children’s Literature Workshop at the Cultural Foundation from 5 September to 7 November, as part of its Qalam Creative Writing Programme, which aims to nurture Emirati talent and encourage authors to share their creative projects.

Taking place over 10 sessions, the workshop will be supervised by Dr. Fatima Al Mazrouei, a writer and publisher with a PhD in Literature and Criticism. Beginning with an introduction to children’s literature, the course will then cover the principles, elements, and techniques of writing, and include the reading of various literary texts. The workshop also introduces illustration techniques and discusses how to collaborate with illustrators, as well as offers participants practical applications on writing, proofreading, story editing, and preparing for printing.

Registration for the Children’s Writing Workshop is open until the end of August to Emirati writers aged 18 and above.  To apply, applicants should contact qalam@dctabudhabi.ae with information including background, literary history, preceding works, and intent. Applicants must also submit poetry samples or a draft of a children’s story, as well as a copy of their Emirates ID card and a passport photo. Workshop participants will be assessed and chosen based on their proficiency.

The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre will publish the final works resulting from the programme under a contract that protects the rights of all parties.

The Qalam Creative Writing Programme launched with the Novel Writing workshop, which will conclude on 2 September with works produced by five creative writers. Supervised by Dr. Youssef Htini, Professor in the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), the workshop has covered various topics related to novels and their components, including crafting the story, character development, narrative time and space, as well as the social dimension of language and the use of symbolism, narrative rhythm  and narrative style.