1001 Titles Hones the Creative Writing Skills of Talented Young Authors

A host of talented young authors intending to pen their first Arabic language titles have benefited from a training workshop organised by 1001 Titles – an initiative by Sharjah-based cultural initiative Knowledge without Borders (KwB). Titled ‘Creative Writing,’ the session was conducted in collaboration with Sama Publishing & Production & Distribution and aligns with 1001 Titles’ commitment to uncovering and supporting the capabilities of promising writers.

Held at Multaqa Al Qasba, 1001 Titles’ workshop was hosted by Dr. Fatima Al Briki, Editorial Consultant of Sama PPD and author of the book ‘Creative Writing Techniques.’ The session saw Dr. Al Briki address the elements, concepts and fundamentals of creative writing through exercises aimed at educating the participants on the linguistic and substantives standards that should be met when writing, with particular reference to children’s and young adults’ literature.

“Since its inception, the 1001 Titles initiative has devoted its efforts to advancing the Emirati cultural product by encouraging talented Emirati authors to publish their titles. To this end, we cooperated with Sama PPD to organise this workshop, which aims to support all those who are willing to develop and hone their writing talents, as well as assist them publish their first literary titles,” said Majd Al Shehhi, Manager of 1001 Titles.

“When first founded, 1001 Titles focused on achieving a set of specific objectives, but after the significant engagement and success it enjoyed, we felt it essential to expand the scope of those objectives. We now provide publishers with direct services, legal support and an appropriate working environment to help elevate the publishing sphere in the UAE. Our commitment to organising a set of training programmes for promising authors forms part of expanding the initiative’s vision, which is to achieve inclusiveness and sustainability,” Al Shehhi added.

For her part, Dr. Fatima Al Briki said: “Sama PPD is delighted to cooperate with 1001 Titles initiatives as we share the same vision and objectives. Our specialisation in the field of publishing children’s books sees us continuously strive to bring young people and books together – something we achieve through publishing contemporary titles that meet children’s passions and which align with their aspirations.”

“Through this workshop we sought to encourage participants to realise their potential for creative writing. We wanted to discover the raw talents of the authors and writers attending and to enable them to hone their skills and enrich their experiences,” she added.

Al Briki highlighted that creative writing starts with a desire to engage in the process, with its rewards dependent on how much dedication, time and effort the writer is willing to expend on the discipline. She pointed out that prior to actually putting pen to paper, authors should take into consideration that each written text should have an idea, an objective, a target audience and a distinct literary style.

Launched by KwB in February 2016, 1001 Titles aims to publish 1,001 Emirati books over two years, with its goal being to enrich the cultural and intellectual sphere in the UAE and ensure the creation of a sustainable publishing industry both inside and outside of the country. The project functions to support Emirati authors as well as Emirati publishing houses - in particular the smaller ones - to enable them to compete in the global publishing sector. So far, 1001 Titles has published 80 per cent of the overall target books it seeks to bring out in 2016-2017. These titles cover a variety of fields and cater to all age groups.