14/03/2012 - Tim attends the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2012

Tim has just returned from a highly successful visit to the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2012. He was invited to the Festival, which is held in Dubai, to run a writing masterclass, join an author panel with David Almond, Noura Al Noman and Darren Shan, and perform his solo event entitled ‘Blood and Blade’. He also spoke to students in local schools and awarded the prizes for the Oxford University Press Story Writing Competition.

See photographs of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2012

This annual competition encourages students to create a 1,500-word story based on a given theme. The theme for this year’s competition was ‘The Open Door’ and it was chosen for the competition by children’s author and 2011 Festival guest Philip Ardagh. The competition, which is divided into four age categories, is held in both Arabic and English and attracts thousands of entries from young writers. The winning entries have been published in a book which was available at the festival.

Alexandra Brock from the British School Al Khubairat won first prize in the 12-14 category and said, ‘It was very exciting to attend the festival and receiving my prize from Tim Bowler was a big thrill.’

Read about all the winners

Tim has been invited to return to Dubai in the autumn to run creative writing workshops for the winners of the short story competition. He has also been asked to choose the theme for next year’s competition.