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16 Foreign Writers, Novelists in Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival

Colombian writer and illustrator Claudia Reuda and Curtis Jobling
Colombian writer and illustrator Claudia Reuda and Curtis Jobling
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16 Foreign Writers, Novelists in Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival

Colombian writer and illustrator Claudia Reuda and Curtis Jobling
Colombian writer and illustrator Claudia Reuda and Curtis Jobling

The 12th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival will launch this year under the theme For Your Imagination between 19 and 29 May. The 11-day festival will be held at the Sharjah Expo Center, with more than 16 participating foreign writers and novelists, who will attend the event in person, while others will participate virtually.

Notable guests who will attend the festival include New York Times best-seller Colombian writer and illustrator Claudia Reuda. American author and illustrator Matt Lamothe will also attend in person, so will his American compatriot, Ambika Anand Prokop, author of Greenfeet Guides. The award-winning I’m The Biggest Thing In The Ocean author Kevin Sherry is among the attendees as well.

Also on the guest list is the best-selling Uzbek children’s book writer Dinara Mirtalipova, author of Leila in Saffron and Sleeping Beauty.

Swaadi Martin, entrepreneur and activist from the Ivory Coast, will also be joined by Pakistani writer Zenobia Arslan, author of The Cosmos That Allah Has Changed at the event. New York-based Japanese manga artist Misako Rocks will share her journey as a published artist at the festival and will teach children how to develop their manga illustrations.

The sessions, organized by the festival virtually, will be attended by writer Nanette Heffernan, author of the picture book Earth Hour, highlighting the importance of preserving the environment, and novelist Abby Cooper, bestselling author of the middle-grade novels Sticks and Stones, Friend or Fiction and Bubbles.

Authors and illustrators participating from the UK include: Wereworld writer and designer of the BAFTA-winning Bob the Builder, Curtis Jobling, author of A Pocketful of Stars, Aisha Bushby, Katie and Kevin Tsang, writers of children and young adult novels, including Sam Wu is not Afraid.

Sebastian de Souza, actor, producer, screenwriter, musician, and author of KID: A History of the Future, and Fransie Franden, writer, illustrator, and graphic designer and author of Do Grannies Have Green Fingers will be among the attendees from the UK.

This year, the festival, with its 537 specialized events and activities, will open its doors to visitors from 4:00 until 10:00 pm.

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Iran Artist's Vision For Culture Hub Enlivens Rustic District

Arabesque patterns feature in Yazdi's creations © ATTA KENARE / AFP
Arabesque patterns feature in Yazdi's creations © ATTA KENARE / AFP
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Iran Artist's Vision For Culture Hub Enlivens Rustic District

Arabesque patterns feature in Yazdi's creations © ATTA KENARE / AFP
Arabesque patterns feature in Yazdi's creations © ATTA KENARE / AFP

In the winding alleys of southern Iran, artist Adel Yazdi has taken it upon himself to turn his rustic old neighbourhood into a cultural and tourist hub through vibrant paintings and carved relief faces.

Narenjestan, a neighbourhood characterized by crumbling, uninhabited houses, is nestled in Shiraz, a southern city celebrated for its historic architecture, lush gardens and revered poets.

"Most of the dilapidated walls in old Shiraz have no historical value," said Yazdi, a bushy-bearded, bespectacled 40-year-old artist who has dedicated himself to revitalising Narenjestan, AFP reported.

Yazdi has over the years turned the long-neglected neighbourhood walls into a vivid visual tapestry "telling the stories of the people living here," he said.

Arabesque patterns and relief faces carved with intricate details and painted in an array of vivid hues of greens, pinks, blues and purples now adorn the walls.

With its striking designs and bright colors, Yazdi's art can be reminiscent of Surrealism. It often comes across as surprising, showcasing a different side of Iran's artistic heritage that goes beyond the conventional focus on Persian or Islamic architecture.

The artwork includes the face of Scheherazade, Yazdi said, referencing the legendary storyteller from the "One Thousand and One Nights" collection of folktales.

Yazdi's work stands out in Shiraz where graffiti and murals are rare, becoming a social media sensation and a tourist attraction.

One visitor, Mahdieh, discovered Yazdi's murals through Instagram.

"I arrived in Shiraz yesterday... and it was the first site I wanted to visit," said the 40-year-old, who declined to give her last name.

At the end of one alleyway, Yazdi has established his workshop in a century-old building with small rooms encircling a serene garden.

He also lives in the building, with a traditional Persian architectural style.

It is filled with artefacts and sculptures, resembling a museum warehouse.

To Maedah, a 30-year-old engineer, Yazdi's house brings to mind "other historical places in the city, such as the Eram Garden and the Mausoleum of the Poet Hafez".

Yazdi said he drew inspiration from the Pompidou Center in Paris, a cultural hub that transformed the heart of the French capital in the 1970s.

He hopes his efforts can turn Shiraz's alleyways into even more of a vibrant cultural center as well.

At his residence, visitors are particularly drawn to what Yazdi calls "the Finger Room."

Inside, he installed around 14,000 finger sculptures on the ceiling, all pointing downward.

"The room is inspired by the legend of an angel that counts raindrops with thousands of fingers," he said, referring to an Islamic fable.

"These fingers are there to constantly remind us that the present moment is precious and that we must seize it."