Nadwa 2016

November 2016 saw the eighth IPAF Nadwa, or writers’ workshop, take place in Abu Dhabi. Over seven days, six 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 Mohammed Hasan Alwan and Hammour Ziada, 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 mentor's guidance, the writers were encouraged to meet daily to examine each other’s work and discuss broader subjects of literary interest.

Ranging from 30 to 38 years in age, the four female and two male writers came from six countries across the Arab world: Bahrain, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the UAE. These authors had been identified by former IPAF judges as ‘ones to watch’.