“A Day in the Life” allows you to step into the shoes of a UAE resident to experience a typical 24 hours in their work and home life
Avid reader Ahlam Bolooki regularly attended Emirates Airline Festival of Literature – the Middle East's largest celebration of the written and spoken word – before becoming its director five years ago.
The Emirati mum is also chief executive of umbrella organisation Emirates Literature Foundation, which nurtures a love of literature with a focus on the Arabic language in the UAE and wider region through cultural projects.
Ms Bolooki, 34, is also managing director of ELF Publishing, often surrounded by hundreds of signed books at its headquarters in Dubai’s Al Shindagha neighbourhood.
Here, Ms Bolooki tells The National about her typical working day ahead of the 16th festival, taking place from January 31 to February 6 at the InterContinental, Festival City.
6am: Dawn march
With her one-year-old awake, Ms Bolooki, her husband and baby Raya go strolling.
“Family time is very important,” she says. “First thing, we go for a 30-minute walk in our community in The Villa. Then we make a big thing of breakfast and put some music on.”
8.30am: Driven by words
An audiobook plays in the car heading to the office.
“I love biographies read in the voice of the author,” says Ms Bolooki.
“To listen to [Friends star] Matthew Perry’s in his own voice was a surreal experience, someone who has just passed … I’ve listened to Barack Obama tell me his story, and Michelle Obama, and listened to Prince Harry.
“All these people are in my car, in my ear as though I was on Bluetooth talking to them on the phone.”
9am: Holding court
Ms Bolooki gathers colleagues in the courtyard, sometimes with Raya “hanging like a koala on my arm and offering input”.
LitFest frequently features about 200 local and international authors but this year's event is “more focused”.
“We wanted a smaller but stronger programme,” says Ms Bolooki.
“I have a lot of discussions daily with the programming team.
“We keep adding to our master sheets whenever we discover an author, a book coming out, and request proofs from publishers. We’re always receiving books, forever reading, gathering insights and having discussions.”
Sometimes authors aren’t able to attend so are added to the following event calendar.
“Most are keen but sometimes have writing deadlines or film schedules,” says Ms Bolooki.
“It’s a really exciting process putting this puzzle together, thinking about panels, who would fit nicely with who … this dialogue with thinkers from around the world is really important, giving them a topic to discuss, and our audiences are always open-minded and engage in healthy debates.”
After LitFest, Ms Bolooki and colleagues will head to London Book Fair to meet publishers and gain insight on what’s emerging before the next LitFest.
“Dubai is a unique market because of the different nationalities based here, so we ensure there’s diversity in the geography of authors we’re bringing, as well as language.
“A lot have heard from author friends about the amazing hospitality and chance to meet other writers, the incredible audiences, great questions and unique way to experience Dubai.”
Ms Bolooki previously worked with Dubai Tourism where she promoted the city as a festival destination and joined LitFest to devise a programme to attract students from universities across the region.
“It’s one of those serendipitous things that led me here – and brought me to this dream job,” she says.
10am: Shared ideas
Each day features different meetings, with human resources, finance, and IT to operations and sponsorship.
“Programming and I will sit together to look at updates,” says Ms Bolooki. “I’m very involved in marketing, which is predominantly my background.”
She will secure publishing updates on scheduled books, timelines, maybe approve artwork and contracts.
“We have another six coming out at LitFest,” says Ms Bolooki, who founded the First Chapter: ELF Seddiqi Writers' Fellowship.
Every year, 10 aspiring fiction authors based in the UAE, writing in English or Arabic, experience "an incredible programme like a golden ticket to becoming a global author".
First cohort star Sara Hamdan’s novel What Will People Think? landed “the biggest book deal the region has seen”.
"We found this need, for building a community of locally based writers – we want a more sustainable model and the literary community to grow locally," Ms Bolooki says.
Everything ties into LitFest, including announcements, workshops, school competition awards. “It’s the start and finish of our cycle.”
11am: A new chapter
Checking progress at the nearby new foundation office, due to house the 55-strong team, Ms Bolooki says: “We have grown organically and need more space.
“This organisation used to mainly revolve around LitFest and educational visits. Now, there are many projects running that fill what was missing in the literature ecosystem.
“We want to revive the International Writers' Centre in the new location, which should be ready after the festival.”
12pm-1pm: Wiki peaks
She has lunch on the go and grabs a chance to check on the foundation’s Wikipedia project.
“We started doing research and creating pages,” explains the boss.
“Three years ago, there were only 1,500 [web pages] in Arabic about Arab authors in history, an alarmingly low number, and only 500 in English about Arab authors.
“Today we’ve surpassed 27,000 pages with the group we dedicated to this cause.
“This way we get more translations of Arabic work and authors get invited to forums around the world … we’ve done a lot of work putting literature from the region on the map.”
2pm: Name gains
The LitFest has featured literary giants such as Jo Nesbo, Margaret Atwood and Ian Rankin alongside emerging names.
Ms Bolooki will send initial invitations to authors for the next festival.
“If it’s a 'yes', I’ll connect them with the programming team to organise details of their sessions and logistics,” she says.
“Sometimes we have high-profile invitations to send for the opening ceremony, or reminders. At this point, I’ll be inviting key delegates or guests.”
Ms Bolooki says writers love the meaningful connection they experience with readers, perhaps half a world from home.
“We’ve built a reputation in the global literary community, so we get a lot of amazing names.
“We’re non-profit, we’re not paying anyone huge amounts to come here but they come because they know we have an audience of serious readers from the region.”
The festival also gets filmed for online, “so the world knows who we are and what we do”.
“We want audiences to put the festival in their calendar, no matter who’s coming, because once you go into a session you’re going to discover something, be inspired, have your thinking challenged and meet amazing people.”
3pm: Mum’s the word
Since becoming a mother, Ms Bolooki goes home earlier for “quality time” with her daughter before resuming work.
While Raya is busy in her playpen, mum might read online articles or a review to forward to her programming team or prepare to moderate a session. This festival has Ms Bolooki curating Eliza Reid, first lady of Iceland, and UK Baroness Floella Benjamin.
“I’m reading their books right now,” says the LitFest leader, who heads out for another walk before dinner and Raya’s bedtime.
“It’s a privilege to be able to read a book you connect with so much and then get a chance to interview the author for an hour.”
7pm: Evening shift
Next, she's back on the laptop following up on urgent emails, maybe concerning ELF Publishing and pending output.
“I’m focusing on English translations of Arabic literature so that we have more exposure for some of our important pieces,” says Ms Bolooki, who embraces modern media to advance the written word.
“We’re working closely with TikTok, a strategic partner for the festival.
“Gen Z create content about books, millions of videos on reviews and book talks … now agents and publishers have their eyes on TikTok to see what kids are talking about, because the moment a video goes viral that book is flying off the shelf all over the world.
“People will forever consume stories – that’s what we do with Netflix as well – we’re never going to live without stories; it’s the way we fit that into our lives that may be changing.”
9pm: Sofa sentences
Eventually the Bolookis hit the sofa with books or for TV with tea and some fruit.
“I haven’t read as much as I would like to this last year,” she adds.
“But I am the kind of person that digs deep and psychoanalyses everything. And there’s no better companion for that sort of journey than books.
“An author might spend a lifetime writing a book – you can read it in a week and you’ve gained all of what they had to say."
As You Were
Liam Gallagher
(Warner Bros)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Match info:
Manchester City 2
Sterling (8'), Walker (52')
Newcastle United 1
Yedlin (30')
Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press
Ready Player One
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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Scores
Wales 74-24 Tonga
England 35-15 Japan
Italy 7-26 Australia
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
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The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Jurassic%20Park
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More from Aya Iskandarani
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
The%20specs
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UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
The years Ramadan fell in May
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20S24%20ULTRA
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BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
2017%20RESULTS%3A%20FRENCH%20VOTERS%20IN%20UK
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. Day 2, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Pakistan’s effort in the field had hints of shambles about it. The wheels were officially off when Wahab Riaz lost his run up and aborted the delivery four times in a row. He re-measured his run, jogged in for two practice goes. Then, when he was finally ready to go, he bailed out again. It was a total cringefest.
Stat of the day – 139.5 Yasir Shah has bowled 139.5 overs in three innings so far in this Test series. Judged by his returns, the workload has not withered him. He has 14 wickets so far, and became history’s first spinner to take five-wickets in an innings in five consecutive Tests. Not bad for someone whose fitness was in question before the series.
The verdict Stranger things have happened, but it is going to take something extraordinary for Pakistan to keep their undefeated record in Test series in the UAE in tact from this position. At least Shan Masood and Sami Aslam have made a positive start to the salvage effort.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
