DOHA: Qatari writer Abdulaziz Al Mahmoud will discuss his translated historical novel tonight as one of the highlights of the 24th Doha International Book Fair being held at the Doha Exhibition Center (DEC).
Entitled The Corsair, Al Mahmoud’s novel is set against the backdrop of an important period in history for the Arabian Peninsula and British Empire.
During the event, Al Mahmoud will discuss the historical context of his translated work with GCC expert Dr Abdullah Baabood. It will be held at 6pm at the UK Pavilion in DEC.
An engineer and journalist, Al Mahmoud has a BA in engineering from Clarkson University in New York and an aviation and engineering diploma from the UK. He worked as editor-in-chief of Al Sharq, The Peninsula newspaper and Al Jazeera’s Arabic website.
The Corsair was his first novel and considered to be the bestselling Qatari novel of all time.
The book discussion is one of the cultural and educational events at the book fair in which UK is the guest of honour. It is also part of the year-round events organised under the umbrella of Qatar UK Year of Culture.
Among the other activities tonight are Maktaba Story Time, which includes writing exercise and group presentations for ages 6 to 10 at 4pm and a screening of the 1968 edition of the acclaimed British film Oliver at 6pm.
An array of other important activities are scheduled in the next days such as innovative exchange Walking Cities: Doha and Derry Londonderry on Sunday, a two-day literary translation summit on December 11 and 12 and story times which offer a variety of creative activities such as puppet show, book making and collaborative story making for children of different age groups. The book fair is open to the public until December 14, from Saturday to Thursday from 9am to 1pm and 4pm to 10pm and on Fridays from 4pm to 10pm.
The Peninsula
