2022
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

Tuesday, 24 May 2022, 1:00pm – 2:00pm

German Collective Stand
Hall 8 B 05
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC)

H.E. Ernst Peter Fischer in conversation with artist and book author Mindy Weisel about her compelling memoir "AFTER: The Obligation of Beauty". 

©privat Mindy Weisel, an internationally renowned artist, author and speaker, was elected into the Smithsonian Archives of American Artists in 2000. Her works are in the permanent collections of the National Museum of American Art, Oxford University, and the Israel Museum, among many other public and private collections. Weisel is the author of "Daughters of Absence: Transforming a Legacy of Loss"; and "Touching Quiet: Reflections in Solitude". She currently resides in Jerusalem with her husband. 

©privat H.E. Ernst Peter Fischer, German Ambassador to the UAE since 2018, joined the Federal Foreign Office in 1986. His professional path has focused on economic and global issues. He has worked at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, including as head of the environmental department and as chief economist, at the Office of the Federal President as foreign policy advisor as well as in Washington, DC, Tel Aviv, London, Shanghai and Singapore. 

Language: In English with Arabic translation 

Wednesday, 25 May 2022, 1:00pm – 2:00pm

German Collective Stand
Hall 8 B 05
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC)


H.E. Ali Al-Ahmad, former state ambassador to Germany and France, in discussion with H.E. Ernst Peter Fischer, German Ambassador to the UAE, about “The German Experience” - the book H.E. Ali Al-Ahmad wrote about his experience in Germany while serving as the ambassador of the UAE. 


©private H.E. Ali Al-Ahmad served as United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Germany and non-resident Ambassador to Croatia from 2015 till 2019, when he was appointed as ambassador to France. In addition of been Ambassador to France, Al-Ahmed served as Permanent delegate of the United Arab Emirates UNESCO. Presently Ambassador Al-Ahmed is heading Strategic Communication in Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Prior to his diplomatic posting in Berlin Ambassador Ali Abdulla Al-Ahmed was the Director of the European Affairs Department in the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation looking after bilateral relations between the UAE and the different European countries. Before embracing a diplomatic career, Ali Al-Ahmed held major positions in the field of Media and Communications, i.e. at Etisalat and Abu Dhabi Television.   

©privat H.E. Ernst Peter Fischer, German Ambassador to the UAE since 2018, joined the Federal Foreign Office in 1986. His professional path has focused on economic and global issues. He has worked at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, including as head of the environmental department and as chief economist, at the Office of the Federal President as foreign policy advisor as well as in Washington, DC, Tel Aviv, London, Shanghai and Singapore. 

©private Moderator Claudia Kaiser was trained as bookseller, and has a MA degree in Chinese Studies. She lived in China for more than 10 years, as editor for China Foreign Literature Publishing House, started an agency and, in 1998, set up the German Book Information Centre by Frankfurter  Buchmesse in Beijing, and was  its first director. She moved on to United Nations Publishing in New York. Claudia has been in the senior management (Vice President) of Frankfurt Book Fair since 2003, in different positions: head of international department, General Manager of KITAB (Abu Dhabi International Book Fair), head of Cape Town Book Fair, just to mention a few. As Vice President Business Development of Frankfurt Book Fair she presently looks into the South East Asian markets and South Asia, Arab World and Africa. She is also closely involved in organizing the Jakarta Content Week (Jaktent), together with the 17000 islands of Imagination Foundation.


Language: In English with Arabic translation 




 

Wednesday, 25 May 2022, 17:00 – 18:00 

German Collective Stand
Hall 8 B 05
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC)

Monika Staab, the icon and award-winning role model of Women’s soccer in Germany talks with Nadia Kneissler about her life, work and famous sport: soccer! Monika Staab won many championships with her teams and is currently the coach of Saudi Arabia’s women’s national team.

©private Monika Staab, born in Germany in 1959, is a former German football player and manager. After playing for various German clubs, she played for clubs abroad such as Paris St. Germain and the Queens Park Rangers. Later, as coach and manager of the 1. FFC Frankfurt, she won four German championship titles, five Cup victories and the first UEFA champions league title in 2002. Monika Staab who calls herself a pioneer in women football, has coached the national team of Bahrain, Pakistan and of Qatar. She has worked as consultant, coaching instructor and technical observer for FIFA, UEFA, the German Foreign Affair Office, the German Football Association and the German Olympic Sport Committee as well as for various NGOs. Monika Staab strongly believes in football as a means for social development and has shaped women’s football in Germany and abroad.

Moderator: Nadia Kneissler

Language: In English with Arabic translation 

Thursday, 26 May, 1:00pm – 2:00pm 

German Collective Stand
Hall 8 B 05
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC)

The “Labor Ateliergemeinschaft” is a studio collective of six graphic designers, illustrators and authors in Frankfurt/Main, Germany. Anke Kuhl, Jörg Mühle, and Kirsten von Zubinski speak with children's book author Maitha Al Khayat about the concept of this set-up and how they are working – either individually or as a group – on a broad range of projects: children’s books, illustrations for newspapers and magazines, book covers and design, book readings, workshops, exhibitions and self-initiated works.

©Stephan Jockel Anke Kuhl did not want to fend for herself after her studies and initiated the "Lab" in 1999. Since then she has worked on numerous children's books, drawing and writing, picture books, novels and non-fiction. In 2015 she published her first comic. Anke Kuhl has received several awards, including the German Youth Literature Award for Alles Familie and the Leibinger Comic Book Award for Manno!  


©Stephan Jockel Jörg Mühle has been in the "lab" since 2000 and works as an illustrator of children's and youth books for domestic and foreign publishers. Since the birth of his daughter, he has also been writing his own children's books with great pleasure and some success. His books have won international awards and have been translated into many languages. 



©Katrin Binner Kirsten Fabinski founded the design studio "von Zubinski" in the Labor Ateliergemeinschaft together with Zuni Fellehner in 2001. They develop materials for cultural education and museum education, illustrate for newspapers and magazines and love character design. Many of their works have been awarded and published internationally.



©privat Moderator Maitha Al Khayat is an Emirati and an international children’s book author and illustrator. With 170 publications, she delights children with her quirky yet cultural stories through interactive storytelling and workshops. She also wrote for TV shows like “Hamdoon” Emirati series and Sesame Street, Iftah Ya Simsim. Some of her books got translated into Italian; like “Two Whales” and “Grandma Moudi Fashionista”. Al Khayat received literary awards like The Children’s Forum in Riyadh for “My Own Special Way” and the Publisher’s Association Award for best picture book Turn Off the Lights. 

Language: In English with Arabic translation

Thursday, 26 May 2022, 6:00pm – 7:00pm

German Collective Stand
Hall 8 B 05
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC)

German author Jo Lendle and Salha Obaid speak about their novels and the thin line between engaging the readers' fantasies and bearing the historical responsibilities.  

©privat Salha Obaid is an Emirati writer. Her first book of short stories “Alzheimers”, was published in 2010 and was translated into German the following year. Her book “An Implicitly White Lock of Hair” (2015) won the 2016 Al Owais Award for Best Emirate literature book published that year. In 2017 she won the Emirati Youth Prize in creative writing covering all of her work. Her first novel, “Maybe It’s a Joke”, was published in 2018 which was long listed for Sheikh Zayed Book Award.

©Mathis Beutel Jo Lendle was born in 1968. After studying cultural sciences, he joined the German Literature Institute in Leipzig, edited the literary magazine Edit and has been a visiting professor and lecturer at several universities. He was awarded the Leipzig Promotion Prize for Literature in 1997. Since January 2014 he is head of the Hanser publishing house.  



©privat Moderator Dr Alyazia Khalifa is founder of Al Fulk Translation and Publishing.  






Language: In English with Arabic translation 

Thursday, 26 May 2022, 7:00pm – 8:00pm

German Collective Stand
Hall 8 B 05
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC)

Set in the 1970s in Germany, Nicol Ljubić’s "Being on Fire" explores the limits of radical activism and the draw of fanaticism. The book has been published in Arabic by Sefsafa Publishing in 2021. Stefan Weidner speaks with the author about his novel. 

©Heike Bogenberger Nicol Ljubić, born 1971 in Zagreb, grew up in Sweden, Greece, Russia and Germany. He studied Political Science at Bremen University and completed a journalism course at the Henri Nannen School in Hamburg. He lives in Berlin, where he works as a freelance journalist and writer. 



©privat Moderator Stefan Weidner has published several volumes of fiction, travel writing and essays and translated the works of many Arab authors such as Adonis, Mahmoud Darwish and Ibn al-Arabi. 


Language: In English with Arabic translation 

Friday, 27 May 2022, 4:00pm – 5:00pm

German Collective Stand
Hall 8 B 05
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC)

The interest in books on Gulf architecture has considerably grown since the last couple of years. Publishing director Björn Rosen from Berlin, Alamira Reem Al Hashimi, author of "Planning Abu Dhabi – An Urban History”, and Roberto Fabbri discuss architectural concepts, contemporary ways of building, planning and living and examples of outstanding architecture projects in the UAE and Europe. 

©privat Dr Alamira Reem Al Hashimi is an urbanist, architect and historian, and is considered one of the leading researchers on the urban development of the UAE. She is the author of several publications, including “Planning Abu Dhabi: An Urban History”, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Emirates Planning Association, as well as the Technical Committee for UAE Modern Heritage.


©Philipp Meuser Björn Rosen is a journalist by training who has worked more than 15 years in the media. After completing his diploma in Journalism and years of experience as a reporter and editor in the German language media, he took on the role as Deputy Editor in Chief of the weekly magazine of Der Tagesspiegel. In 2019, Rosen joined DOM publishers as Publishing Director, a Berlin based publishing house specializing in architecture, combining his passion for books and buildings.  

©privat Dr. Roberto Fabbri is an architect, researcher, and associate professor at Zayed University. He previously served as a long-term consultant for the United Nation Development Programme in Kuwait for modern heritage rehabilitation projects and as exhibition designer at Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah/Al Sabah collection. He co-authored the double volume “Modern Architecture Kuwait 1949-89” (Niggli 2016-2017) and co-edited “Urban Modernity in the Contemporary Gulf: Obsolescence and Opportunities” (Routledge, 2021).

©privat Moderator Shama Nair is a photographer, writer and pedagogue working with the Bombay Institute for Critical Analysis and Research (BICAR). Her research foregrounds our relationship with an ever-expanding neoliberal metropolis, particularly in the MENASA, compelling audiences to think aesthetic, political, and social transformation afresh.



Language: In English with Arabic translation

Friday, 27 May 2022, 5:00pm – 6:00pm

German Collective Stand
Hall 8 B 05
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC)

Bestselling authors Olga Grjasnowa and Moritz Rinke together with translator Sandra Hetzl discuss the German and international theatre landscape, the particularities of writing for theatre, its challenges and the options vs. writing a novel. 


©Joachim Gern Olga Grjasnowa born 1984 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Longer stays abroad in Poland, Russia, Israel and Turkey. She was awarded the Klaus-Michael Kühne Prize and the Anna Seghers Prize for her acclaimed debut novel "Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt". Most recently, she published "Gott ist nicht schüchtern" ("City of Jasmine"). All her novels have been adapted for the stage and translated into several languages. Olga Grjasnowa lives with her family in Berlin. 

©privat Moritz Rinke, born in 1967 in Worpswede, studied at Gießen University’s drama department and worked as a journalist in the following years. His plays, including "Republik Vineta", "Wir lieben und wissen nichts" or "Westend", are performed nationally and internationally and reach an audience of millions. Rinke is considered one of the leading playwrights of his generation. His debut novel "Der Mann, der durch das Jahrhundert fiel" (2010) became a bestseller. His most recent novel was "Der längste Tag im Leben des Pedro Fernández García" (2021). Moritz Rinke lives in Spain and in Berlin. 

©privat Sandra Hetzl (*1980 in Munich) translates literary texts from Arabic [sandrahetzl.com], including those by Rasha Abbas, Haytham El Wardany, Mohammad Al Attar, Kadhem Khanjar, Bushra al-Maktari, Aref Hamza, Aboud Saeed, Assaf Alassaf, and Raif Badawi. She often translates theater texts, and also curates events, she also writes and does research. She holds a master's degree in Visual Culture Studies from the University of the Arts in Berlin, is the founder of the 10/11 literary collective (www.teneleven.org) for contemporary Arabic literature and the Downtown Spandau Medina mini literary festival (www.downtownspandau.org)

©Goethe-Institut Moderator Fareed Majari is director of the Goethe-Institut Abu Dhabi. 






Language: In English with Arabic translation 

Friday, 27 May, 7:00pm – 8:00pm 

German Collective Stand
Hall 8 B 05
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC)

World history is full of things that have been lost – willfully destroyed or mislaid over the course of time. In her book "An Inventory of Losses" Judith Schalansky dedicates herself to those aspects which the lost leaves behind: dying echoes and disappearing steps, whispers and legends, apostrophes and phantom pains. In this session, Safiya Al Maskari and Judith Schalansky speak about the different facettes of memories and loss.  

©Ren´e Fitzek Judith Schalansky, born in Greifswald in 1980, lives in Berlin where she works as a writer, editor and book designer. Her work, which includes the internationally successful bestsellers "Atlas der abgelegenen Inseln" and the novel "Der Hals der Giraffe", has been translated into more than twenty languages and has won several prizes. She is the editor of a prestigious book series called ›Naturkunden‹ and lives as a freelance writer and book designer in Berlin.  

©privat Moderator Safiya Al Maskari is a manager at Lest We Forget in Abu Dhabi.  







Language: In German and English with Arabic translation 

Saturday, 28 May 2022, 2:00pm – 3:00pm

German Collective Stand
Hall 8 B 05
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC)

Comic book author Anke Kuhl (“Manno”) talks with Emirati comic artist Mohammed Alshaibani about the creation process of a comic and how the cultural heritage is reflected in the story and artworks. 

©Stephan Jockel Anke Kuhl (*1970) has contributed to numerous children's books, picture books, novels and non-fiction, both as an illustrator and an author. In 2015 she published her first comic. She has received several awards, including the German Youth Literature Prize for Everything Family and the Leibinger Comic Book Prize for “Manno!”. 



©privat Mohammad Yousuf Alshaibani was born in Dubai and is an Emirati comic book artist and Creative Director of Sandstorm, Abu Dhabi’s first dedicated Comic Book studio that was launched in March 2022. He holds a BSc in Graphic Design from the American University of Sharjah and a MFA in Sequential Art from Savannah College of Art and Design. He works traditionally, using any tool that provides an ink line, and creates stories inspired by the Macho era of comics.  

©privat Moderator David Hirsch is the current advisor for the Mohammad bin Rashid Library set to open at Al Jaddaf, Dubai, and avid collector of comic books and graphic novels from the Arab world from 1956 to the present day. 




Language: In English with Arabic translation

Saturday, 28 May 2022, 3:00pm – 4:00pm

German Collective Stand
Hall 8 B 05
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC)

Bestselling author Pierre Jarawan speaks with Emirati award-winning spoken word poet and scholar Dr. Afra Atiq about the respective slam scenes in Germany and the UAE and about the power of writing of both slam poetry and fiction. 

©Marvin Ruppert Pierre Jarawan, born in 1985 to a Lebanese father and a German mother, started writing at the age of thirteen. He has won international prizes as a slam poet and received a literary scholarship from the City of Munich for “The Storyteller”, which went on to become a bestseller and booksellers’ favorite in Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Brazil. “Song for the Missing” is his second novel. 


©privat Dr. Afra Atiq is an Emirati award-winning poet. She has a master’s degree in diplomacy and has been a featured performer and speaker on multiple platforms. With a passion for learning, education and community service, she spends a significant part of her time taking her craft into schools and universities. Afra Atiq is vice president of Emirates Reprographic Rights Management Association (ERRA) which was launched in March 2022. 


©privat Moderator Hesa Aldahel is a published Emirati poet, an explorer of arts and museums, and an Equine Radiology specialist.





Language: In English with Arabic translation

Saturday, 28 May 2022, 5:00pm – 6:00pm

German Collective Stand
Hall 8 B 05
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC)

Olga Grjasnowa in conversation with Deepak Unniskrishnan about the phenomenon 'Identity', how writers from abroad are represented in Germany and the UAE and which challenges they face.  

©Joachim Gern Olga Grjasnowa, born 1984 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Longer stays abroad in Poland, Russia, Israel and Turkey. She was awarded the Klaus-Michael Kühne Prize and the Anna Seghers Prize for her acclaimed debut novel "Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt". Most recently, she published "Gott ist nicht schüchtern" ("City of Jasmine"). The novel became a bestseller and 50,000 copies have been sold so far. Olga Grjasnowa lives with her family in Berlin.  


©Philip Cheung Deepak Unnikrishnan is a writer from Abu Dhabi. His book "Temporary People", a work of fiction about Gulf narratives steeped in Malayalee and South Asian lingo, won the inaugural Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, the Hindu Prize and the Moore Prize. 




Moderator Bilal A. Qureshi is a multimedia journalist with an interest in the intersection of politics, history, and culture.  

Language: In English with Arabic translation 

Saturday, 28 May 2022, 6:00pm – 7:00pm

German Collective Stand
Hall 8 B 05
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC)

German author and playwright Moritz Rinke is a big soccer fan. He is an active member of the German National Soccer Team of Authors, Autonama, where he is the most successful striker of the team. In 2008, he co-published a book with football stories under the title "Title Race". With Emirati film maker Nawaf Al Janahi, a football enthusiast himself, he talks about how to acquaint football supporters with culture and the cultural scene with football.  

©privat Moritz Rinke, born in 1967 in Worpswede, studied at Gießen University’s drama department and worked as a journalist in the following years. His plays, including "Republik Vineta", "Wir lieben und wissen nichts" or "Westend", are performed nationally and internationally and reach an audience of millions. Rinke is considered one of the leading playwrights of his generation. His debut novel "Der Mann, der durch das Jahrhundert fiel" (2010) became a bestseller. His most recent novel was "Der längste Tag im Leben des Pedro Fernández García" (2021). Moritz Rinke lives in Spain and in Berlin. 

©privat Nawaf Al Janahi is an actor and a film director who was born in Abu Dhabi (UAE) on 7 February 1977 to an Egyptian mother and an Emirati father. He started acting at 7, and studied the arts of cinema in California (USA). His first feature length film "The Circle" was described by film critics as "a major turning point in Emirati and Gulf cinema". Al Janahi's second feature film "Sea Shadow" was released in cinemas across the Arabian Gulf in 2011 and reached in the 1st week the 2nd place in the top 5 movies in UAE, the biggest cinema market in the Arab world. Later, the film went on a global tour to 27 countries, the most remarkable tour for an Emirati feature film to date. Besides making films, Nawaf Al Janahi is also the founder of a number of initiatives such as the Emirati Cinema Campaign, Black Box Cinema, and Cineolio.

Moderator Ali Khaled is Sports Editor at Arab News and documentary filmmaker based in Dubai. Previously he worked as a writer and editor at The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi for seven years. He also directed the football documentary “Lights of Rome” revolving around the UAE’s qualification to the 1990 World Cup in Italy.



Language: In English with Arabic translation

Sunday, 29 May 2022, 1:00pm – 2:00pm

German Collective Stand
Hall 8 B 05
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC)

Well-known German children's book author and illustrator Jörg Mühle in conversation with UAE-based illustrator Simar Halwany. The artists will present their work, talk about challenges and delights in illustrating and will be ready to draw whatever the audience would like to see!  

©Stephan Jockel Jörg Mühle works as an illustrator of children's and youth books for domestic and foreign publishers. Since the birth of his daughter, he has also been writing his own children's books with great pleasure and some success. His books have won international awards and have been translated into many languages. 



©private Simar Halwany is a Lebanese fine artist, living in the UAE. She has a Masters Degree in Illustration at Mimaster Illustrazione, Milano,Italy and a B.A from the Fine Arts Department (Beaux Arts) in 2000. Simar is using different drawing techniques, her specializations are painting and etching. A number of her books have won awards for best illustrations. Her book "BOO" is at Stiftung Internationale Jugendbibliothek in Munich. The original illustrations are displayed  in Berlin, Munich and Hamburg libraries.