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Kuwait Times
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Kuwait Times
Memory, belonging and the power of storytelling
In a literary landscape often dominated by narratives from elsewhere, Mai Al-Nakib has emerged as a distinctly original and resonant voice from the Gulf. A Kuwaiti writer and academic, Al-Nakib bridges the personal and the political, the local and the global, with rare finesse. With a PhD in postcolonial studies from Brown University and two decades of teaching English and comparative literature at Kuwait University, her scholarly foundation is as formidable as her creative one. Her debut short story collection, 'The Hidden Light of Objects', earned international acclaim and won the Edinburgh International Book Festival's First Book Award. Her novel, 'An Unlasting Home', is an ambitious and layered exploration of identity, memory and the impermanence of belonging — an urgent meditation in today's increasingly fragmented world. In this interview with Kuwait Times, Al-Nakib opens up about her early discovery of storytelling, the intellectual traditions that shaped her voice and the creative architecture behind her fiction. As she prepares to reintroduce 'The Hidden Light of Objects' to a new generation of readers, we delve into the themes that define her work: Displacement, legacy, language and the ever-elusive idea of home. Kuwait Times: When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer? Mai Al-Nakib: I've always been a voracious reader, and there came a point — around the age of nine — when I realized that I, too, could make words do interesting, unusual, even powerful things. I started keeping a diary, writing everything down. But more than simply recording daily events, I began narrating them — turning them into first-person tales, with dialogue, description and plot. That was the start of my writing life, and it never stopped. Mai Al-Nakib KT: Why did you choose fiction — specifically short stories and novels — as your medium of expression? Al-Nakib: Fiction allows writers to invent and imagine alternatives to the present and makes it possible for readers to inhabit versions of life other than their own. This experience can remind us of our shared humanity. Short stories and novels each do this differently, but both offer powerful ways to experiment with possibilities and connect with others. KT: Which writers or thinkers have most influenced your voice and worldview as a storyteller? Al-Nakib: Literary writers who shaped me early on include Kundera, Kafka, Anais Nin, Rushdie, Joyce and Marquez. In my early twenties, it was Woolf, Beckett, Proust, Assia Djebar and Kanafani. Philosophers and intellectuals who influenced me include Bergson, Deleuze, Barthes, Spinoza, Nietzsche, Benjamin and Edward Said. These — and many others — have made me the person I am. KT: What does home mean to you? Do you feel rooted in a particular place, or does your sense of belonging shift with time and context? Al-Nakib: I recently wrote an essay on exactly this question titled 'Home Is Elsewhere: On the Fictions of Return', published in The Markaz Review. For some of us, the notion of home is a moving target, changing over time. For far too many, the physical persistence of home is not guaranteed. It can disappear overnight. How we respond in the face of such precarity determines our sense of home. For me, home has to do with the people I love and my sense of care for others and for our planet. What else is there? KT: How does 'An Unlasting Home' explore the idea of belonging through family, memory and identity? Al-Nakib: As the title suggests — and as is the case for most of the characters in the novel — homes can sometimes be unlasting. As a result, we may be forced to reckon with a sense of displacement and not belonging. There can be value in this, difficult as it is. The protagonist, Sara, is who she is because of the women who came before her. Their pasts are mirrored in her present. In her quest to reconnect with her geographical and genetic inheritance, Sara weaves their memories and experiences together and comes to better understand her own fraught relationship to home. KT: What were the biggest challenges you faced — creatively and logistically — when writing and publishing this novel, especially considering its themes and scope? Al-Nakib: The biggest challenge in writing 'An Unlasting Home' was figuring out the best form to accommodate the sprawl of the story: Seven women, many family lines, various places, different historical periods and so on. Once I decided to divide the novel into three parts, narrated polyphonically and shifting between past and present, I had found the solution. In terms of publication, I was lucky to have interest from publishers in the US and UK. KT: You're republishing 'The Hidden Light of Objects' — can you share the story behind its original creation and why you decided to bring it back now? Al-Nakib: 'The Hidden Light of Objects' was published by Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation in 2014. It won the Edinburgh International Book Festival's First Book Award that year. After Bloomsbury UK and Qatar Foundation dissolved their publishing agreement, my book went out of print. Happily, Saqi Books — who also published 'An Unlasting Home' in the UK — decided to republish 'The Hidden Light of Objects'. It will be released on June 5th with a beautiful new cover. I'm thrilled to have this book out in the world again. The stories — set mainly in the Middle East and focused on quiet, overlooked moments in a region often overwhelmed by geopolitics — remain timely.
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
So the Edinburgh Festival's future is under threat. Really?
Money is usually at the heart of it, in two areas specifically. First, funding and support for the arts at governmental and council level. Second the costs associated with coming to Edinburgh in August either as performer or punter. The major complaint on that front is the soaring price of accommodation, the result in part of an ugly tendency among private landlords in the capital for (let's call it what it is) naked profiteering. The pernicious effect of American online rental behemoth Airbnb and other companies like it doesn't help either. In Edinburgh, their presence has helped industrialize the hollowing out of the city centre, a process which has paved the way for sky-high August prices. At the same time, the council now requires those who may only let out a room or sub-let while on holiday to apply for a licence (and possibly also planning permission). This has taken some accommodation out of the market, which affects supply. Airbnb says it hasn't prevented rising costs, nevertheless the company is among those lobbying hard for its repeal. There may be a shortage of money for the Arts but there is always plenty of 'street theatre' (Image: free) Meanwhile a year-round 5% visitor levy, or tourist tax, is due to be introduced in time for the 2026 Edinburgh Festival, though it remains to be seen how much (if any) of the mooted £50 million windfall will be sent in the direction of the August festivals, or used to address their various infrastructure needs. The most vocal complainant and advocate for change and improvement tends to be the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, which runs the Fringe, the biggest player in Edinburgh's portfolio of summer festivals. In April newly-appointed chief executive Tony Lankester told The Herald: 'When discussions are happening on the visitor levy, the Fringe's voice is really important. We are not looking to the visitor levy as a way of feathering our nest or benefiting hugely financially from it. We might make an ask for certain projects, such as around our street events, but by and large our seat at the table will be to lobby for investment in the kind.' Ahead of the launch of the 2025 Fringe programme, others have voiced similar concerns about the pressures facing the Edinburgh Festival and the Fringe in particular – and in more strident terms. 'We have to do something to bring the cost of accommodation down,' says Anthony Alderson, director of the Pleasance Theatre Trust. 'By having made it so expensive to be here during August, for visitors and performers alike, we are slowly killing the Fringe.' On the other hand, the Fringe has now moved into a new home, something it has long campaigned for. It has seen its funding boosted. And earlier this month it announced that this year's event was on track to be the third largest in history. Meanwhile the Edinburgh International Book Festival is settling into its new home in the über-swanky Futures Institute, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival goes from strength to strength (though admittedly it started from a pretty low base). So are things as black as they are painted? Yes and no, which is another Edinburgh Festival tradition – everything's terrible until August rolls around, at which point everything's brilliant. Read more Birthday presence Everywhere you turn these days somebody, somewhere is celebrating the anniversary of something or other. Big or small, niche or mainstream, well-planned or half-arsed, it's coming at you. Last year we had Edinburgh 900, a rather lacklustre effort to commemorate 900 years since King David I created the royal burgh in which the capital sits. In January, Glasgow 850 launched, a rather more muscular and imaginative affair aimed at celebrating 850 years of the Dear Green Place. One of its key events, the three-day music festival Clyde Chorus, kicks off on Thursday. Back in the capital, 2026 will see the 200th anniversary of the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA), which is both building and organisation. It's also, some might argue, something close to a state of mind for its members, the Academicians. The Royal Scottish Academy will be 200 years old next year (Image: Gordon Terris) As befits an august institution which continues to move with the times, the anniversary celebrations unveiled this week are ambitious and, importantly, take the RSA out of its gilded stone palace on the Mound and into venues across Scotland, such as Shetland, Skye, Aberdeen and Berwick-upon-Tweed – a cheeky act of cultural colonisation given that it's actually in England. But if none of that grabs you, I'm sure there will be another anniversary along behind it. Orkney's St Magnus Festival turns 50 next year and Glasgow's Kelvin Hall notches up its centenary in 2027. You can bet that somebody, somewhere already has a spreadsheet open – or a pencil over the back of a fag packet. Read more And finally The Herald's dance critic Mary Brennan continues her trawl through the best of the Dance International Glasgow mini-festival at Tramway with reviews of The Violet Hour, and Dance Is Not For Us and Bottoms, a double bill. The first is a new work by Scottish dancer and choreographer Colette Sadler, a multi-media piece built around three dancers and nodding to Greek myth. Dance Is Not For Us is solo show by Lebanese dancer Omar Rajeh while Bottoms, by migrant and disabled-led performance company Two Destination Language, brings five dancers to the stage – and a little mooning, which is what gives the piece its title. Elsewhere theatre critic Neil Cooper was at the King's Theatre in Glasgow for a touring production of satirical musical The Book Of Mormon and at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh for something completely different – Sylvia Dow's Blinded By The Light, which tells (and reflects upon) the story of the 1982 sit-in at Kinneil Colliery in Bo'ness. Finally music critic Keith Bruce was at St John's Kirk in Perth for a Perth Festival of the Arts performance by the 18-strong Ora Singers of unaccompanied vocals works ranging from Renaissance polyphony to Sir James MacMillan's Misere. Read our reviews
Edinburgh Reporter
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Reporter
Book Festival programme – some tasty teasers announced on the Front List
The full programme for the Edinburgh International Book Festival programme will be announced on 10 June, but as a taster the Front List includes 14 events including two for schools with Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Laura Bates. The list includes names such as Maggie O'Farrell, Ian McEwan, R.F Kuang, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Asako Yuzuki and Nicola Sturgeon. Alexei Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya will also come to Edinburgh this yea. Yulia, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian prison last year, speaks about her late husband's courageous work, Patriot, and continuing his crucial activism. These events will take place at McEwan Hall near to the Edinburgh Futures Institute and is an expanded version of last year's events, all run in collaboration with Underbelly. Maggie O'Farrell will celebrate 25 years since her first book was published and Ian McEwan will share with audiences his thoughts of past work and what comes next. Movie fans won't want to miss the UK's favourite film critic, Mark Kermode, who brings us the first edition of his energetic MK3D show (a frequent sell-out of the British Film Institute's programme) outside London, previewing upcoming releases and revelling in the Golden Age of Cinema alongside very special guests including Succession patriarch, Brian Cox. No one knows better the pleasure (and, unfortunately, immense pain) of being a dedicated fan of Scotland's national football team than sporting legend Ally McCoist, who visits the festival to discuss Dear Scotland: On the Road with the Tartan Army. And Gavin and Stacey co-creator and writer Ruth Jones lets us into the secrets of her writing craft, and her tender new novel, By Your Side. Jenny Niven, Director and CEO, Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: 'We are thrilled to be returning to the beautiful McEwan Hall, and expanding our partnership with Underbelly to present 14 The Front List events in 2025. At this challenging moment in history and politics, we'll be offering a comprehensively informed and critical eye on international affairs, and also the chance to escape them through the work of some of the world's foremost fiction writers, entertainment, and sporting figures. There's plenty more to come in our full programme announcement, but we hope our line-up for The Front List offers a delicious taster of what you can expect from this year's Book Festival.' Marina Dixon, Head of Programming, Underbelly, said: 'Underbelly's partnership with the Book Festival continues to bring some of the most vital, thought-provoking voices of our time to the heart of the city and the festival season and so we're absolutely delighted to welcome back The Front List. At Underbelly, we're passionate about creating space for bold ideas and unexpected conversations—and The Front List does exactly that. It's a real joy to be working together again on a programme that feels urgent, alive, and connected to the spirit of the Festival.' Tickets for The Front List events are available at To ensure these events remain accessible in times of great economic pressure, under-30s can purchase tickets at just £14 and £5 tickets are available to those in receipt of governmental income benefits. Full listings for The Front List events: Tues 12 Aug, 13.30 – Ruth Jones Wed 13 Aug, 13.30 – Mark Kermode Thu 14 Aug, 13.30 – Nicola Sturgeon Fri 15 Aug, 13.30 – Maggie O'Farrell [Sponsored by the National Library of Scotland]Sat 16 Aug, 13.30 – Ta-Nehisi Coates [Sponsored by the University of Edinburgh]Sun 17 Aug, 13.30 – Anne Applebaum & Edward Wong [Supported by the Turtleton Charitable Trust]Mon 18 Aug, 13.30 – Ally McCoist [Sponsored by Digby Brown]Tues 19 Aug, 13.30 – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Wed 20 Aug, 13.30 – Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Steven Lenton [Schools Edition] Thu 21 Aug, 13.30 – Laura Bates [Schools Edition]Fri 22 Aug, 13.30 – Yulia Navalnya Sat 23 Aug, 13.30 – Asako Yuzuki Sun 24 Aug, 13.30 – Ian McEwan Sun 24 Aug, 19.30 – R F Kuang All events take place at McEwan Hall, Teviot Place, EH8 9AG. McEwan Hall audience – credit Mihaela Bodlovic Like this: Like Related
Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Bookmark your calendar: Explore the best literature festivals in the UK
The literary heritage of the UK is rich and varied. William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, shaped English drama from Stratford-upon-Avon while Jane Austen's wit and romance seem to echo through Bath, where she once lived and wrote. The Brontë sisters crafted gothic masterpieces from their moorland home in Haworth, and Charles Dickens portrayed Victorian London with vivid realism and social critique. Oxford inspired Lewis Carroll's Alice tales, and also played muse to CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. The Lake District, home of Wordsworth, remains a poetic pilgrimage for lovers of Romanticism while Edinburgh, the world's first UNESCO City of Literature, celebrates writers from Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns to Conan Doyle and JK Rowling. The UK also has a plethora of literature-focused museums, including the Writer's Museum in Edinburgh, the Beatrix Potter museum in the Lake District, the Charles Dickens museum in his former home in London, and the Sherlock Holmes museum (also in London) devoted to Doyle's super-sleuth, and more. From ancient epics to modern fantasy, Britain's literature continues to shape global storytelling. It's no surprise that the nation plays host to many top-class literature festivals through the year. Apart from the biggies like Hay Festival (May 23-June 2) and Edinburgh International Book Festival (August 9-24), there are unusual ones too: Chalke Valley, Dorset, hosts the world's biggest history festival (June 23-29); Ledbury offers a chance to attend the UK's biggest poetry festival (June 27-July 6); and gore takes centre stage at Harrogate's Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Festival (July 17-20). Whether you're a reader or a writer these literary festivals spotlight not just books and authors but also community and inspiration. So, bookmark this list and shore up your literary travel plans for the rest of 2025. Belfast Book FestivalJune 5-12 The Crescent Arts Centre is home to one of the biggest events in Northern Ireland's literary calendar: the Belfast Book Festival. In its 15th edition, the diverse and creative programme will continue its annual celebration of storytelling. The festival organisers have promised a varied programme that includes contemporary fiction, poetry, crime writing, film, the art of journalism, and an exhibition. Earlier participants include Cecelia Ahern, Kevin Barry, Fergal Keane, Jacqueline Wilson, Colm Tóibín, and Paul Lynch. The annual Mairtín Crawford Awards offer support for emerging writers. Sophie Hayles, CEO of The Crescent Arts Centre, has said 'there's some big hitters on there as well as a championing of upcoming and emerging talent - something for everyone, those who are avid readers and those looking to turn the page'. Bradford Literature FestivalJune 27-July 6 One of the UK's largest literature festivals, the Bradford Literature Festival has, since inception 10 years ago, engaged over seven lakh people from 30 countries. Located in the heart of Yorkshire, Bradford, the literature hub of the North, has been named as UK City of Culture 2025 – this makes the festival the perfect time to explore the beautiful city that grew on the back of its textile industry that goes back to the 13th century. Inviting book lovers to explore words and discover worlds, the festival's line up will showcase literature, theatre, music, cultural discussions and lectures. With more than 600 events that will also spotlight politics, world affairs, the climate crisis, and health and wellbeing, the idea is to spark dialogue and foment change. Islay Book FestivalAugust 28-31 Scotland's whisky isle hosts this festival that grew out of a small book club launched in Port Ellen. Founded in 2006, the Islay Book Festival is now a volunteer-run event that's a permanent fixture on the island's busy annual events calendar and on Argyll's cultural scene. The festival has brought in a range of authors, poets, and storytellers, including Ali Smith, Julia Donaldson, Val McDermid, Iain Banks, Ruth Rendell, Chris Brookmyre, Alistair Moffat, Mairi Hedderwick, Colin MacIntyre, Bernard MacLaverty and Ian Rankin. Apart from sessions on crime, historical writing, contemporary fiction, non-fiction, new writing, poetry, performances, and workshops, the festival aims to spotlight Islay's Gaelic culture. Bloody Scotland September 12-14 This Scottish international crime writing festival, held every year in Stirling, was founded in 2012 by Tartan Noir writers Lin Anderson and Alex Gray. It prides itself on being the literary festival 'where you can let your hair down and enjoy a drink at the bar with your favourite crime writer'. The festival includes entertaining and informative events on an array of criminal subjects such as cosy crime, psychological thrillers, forensics, and more. On the sidelines, emerging crime writers can pitch novels they are working on to publishing experts at the Pitch Perfect event. In 2025, Ian Rankin, creator of Detective John Rebus, has been chosen the first guest programmer for Bloody Scotland. He is working in tandem with Festival Director Bob McDevitt to create a thrilling line up. In an interview to The Independent, Rankin said Bloody Scotland was 'epic' and 'manages to remain the world's friendliest and most inclusive crime fiction festival while also attracting the biggest and brightest names in the business to the city of Stirling'. The Queen's Reading Room FestivalChatsworth, Derbyshire, 20 September The one-day Queen's Reading Room Festival grew out of Queen Camilla's online book club launched during the pandemic. It began with Charlie Mackesy and his wonderfully illustrated The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse in January 2021, and became a charity in February 2023. Held at Hampton Court Palace last year, it drew Lee Child, Ann Cleeves, Mary Beard, Ian Rankin, Kate Mosse and Miriam Margolyes, along with actors like Judi Dench, Helena Bonham Carter, and Derek Jacobi bringing alive poetry and Shakespeare. This year, too, Camilla continues on her mission: to foster in adults and children alike 'a lifelong love of literature and connect more people with that special magic that can only be found in the leaves of a book'. The Coast is QueerOctober 9-12 The first festival of its kind in the UK, The Coast is Queer brings together queer readers, writers and allies in a 'celebration of the written word and its ability to illuminate and enrich the life of the community'. The UK has seen a sudden rise in the number of queer book shops opened and LGBTQ+ titles published in the last few years. The Coast is Queer, a celebration of local and global literature in Brighton, the UK's queerest city, was established by New Writing South and Marlborough Productions in 2019 to mark this change. Authors, poets, scriptwriters, performers, activists and audiences congregate at Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts for the festival of talks, books, and ideas from a LGBTQ+ perspective. Cheltenham Literature FestivalOctober 10-19 The world's longest-running literature festival has been celebrating the written and spoken word since 1949. Spotlighting literary bigwigs and top speakers alongside the best new voices in fiction and poetry, the festival is held at a range of venues, including the Cheltenham Town Hall, Everyman Theatre, Queens Hotel, and Dunkertons Taproom. The lineup for 2025 hasn't been announced yet, but it promises to be stellar considering last year's: Judi Dench, Michael Palin, Miriam Richard Ayoade, Jodi Picoult, and Nick Hornby. This year, the team has also curated a seven-night sailing on board Queen May 2 for the Literature Festival at Sea, which will bring together authors, poets, journalists, historians, and book lovers. Durham Book Festival October 10-12 One of the UK's oldest literary festivals, Durham Book Festival is organised in and around the beautiful cathedral city south of Newcastle upon Tyne. Thinkers, writers, and performers, including Philip Pullman, Bill Bryson, PD James, Jung Chang, Rebecca F. Kuang, Pat Barker, and Simon Armitage, have appeared at earlier editions. Alongside the traditional author events and discussions, Durham Book Festival commissions new writing across varied forms and formats each year. Earlier commissions include historian David Olusoga's essay Black and British: Growing up in the North East; a dance-theatre retelling of Rapunzel by Poet Laureate; and a reading of Durham writer Benjamin Myers' novel, Cuddy, with performances from Toby Jones and music from the Shining Levels. London Literature FestivalOctober 23-November 2 Held in 2007 for the first time to celebrate the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall, London Literature Festival has become a highlight of the UK's literary calendar. The 10-day festival features conversations and talks with popular writers, upcoming authors, and those keen to make a career with the written or spoken word. Held at Southbank over the October half term, the festival encourages children and teenagers to attend. Highlights include an Open Day by the National Poetry Library that allows booklovers to explore the world's largest public modern poetry collection, and 'Out-Spoken', a resident poetry and live music night that champions diversity in poetry. The Mallaig Book FestivalNovember 7-9 Perhaps the friendliest book festival of them all, A Write Highland Hoolie combines literature, poetry and music in an immersive weekend. The Hoolie began in 2016 when Sine Davis, owner of West Highland Hotel, and author Polly Pullar teamed up to create something unique 'with everyone under one roof and music in the evenings – a real West Highland ceilidh atmosphere'. The eclectic includes a range of events spanning crime, history, nature, fiction, folklore, poetry, memoir, and outdoor pursuits. Scottish writer Alistair Moffat believes stories are how we understand the world and 'in the midst and the warmth of a Highland ceilidh, unforgettable stories are told, links made and remade, and at the end of a memorable weekend, the world seems somehow better'. Teja Lele is an independent editor and writes on books, travel and lifestyle.
The National
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Nicola Sturgeon to chair event at Dundee Book Festival
The Dundee Book Festival launched its full programme on Wednesday, with more than 30 events set to take place next month. The former first minister, who is set to launch her own memoirs at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August, will chair an event on witchcraft in Scotland. Nicola Sturgeon (Image: PA) The discussion on June 13 will feature Claire Mitchell KC and Zoe Venditozzi, the founders of the Witches of Scotland campaign who are working to secure a legal pardon and public apology for the thousands of people persecuted under Scotland's witch trials. Meanwhile, the Fun Lovin' Crime Writers, a band featuring top authors Val McDermid, Mark Billingham, Luca Veste and Chris Brookmyre, who will kick off the festival with a gig on June 12. READ MORE: Why assisted dying debate showed the Scottish Parliament at its best Local legend Fraser Reid, who owns a fruit and veg shop on the city's Perth Road, is set to discuss how his soup recipes led to a series of books. The event will include a three course meal at McManus Galleries. Several local authors are also set to appear, such as Gary Robertson, professors Chris Whatley and Jim Tomlinson, poet Andy Jackson as well as doctor and poet Jen Dunn. Other authors to appear at the festival include Sara Sheridan, Michael Pederson, James Crawford, Andrew Orr, Doug Johnston and journalists John MacKay and Hugo Rifkind. The Dundee Book Festival will take place from June 12 until 15. Most events are ticketed at £5, with the exception of the gig and the three-course meal. More information and tickets can be found here.
