Nadwa 2014

October 2014 saw the sixth IPAF Nadwa, or writers’ workshop, take place in Abu Dhabi. Over eight days, nine promising young writers from across the Arab World participated in a workshop at the Qasr al Sarab resort, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Ruler's Representative in the Western Region.

Guided by mentors Bahaa Taher, Zhor Gourram and Ibrahim Nasrallah, the writers worked to each produce a new piece of creative writing, which will be published on the IPAF website in due course. Under the mentors’ guidance, the writers were encouraged to meet daily to examine each other’s work and discuss broader subjects of literary interest.

All under 40 years of age, the three female and six male writers came from six countries across the Arab world: Egypt, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the UAE. These authors had been identified by former IPAF judges as ‘ones to watch’.