Dubai: The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature concluded on Saturday following three weekends of live and virtual appearances and sold-out sessions from Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, Elif Shafak, and Lemn Sissay. Programme highlights also included internationally acclaimed authors and Booker nominees Avni Doshi (Burnt Sugar) and Oyinkan Braithwaite (My Sister the Serial Killer), behavioural specialist and author Thomas Erikson, and a dedicated day to Emirati talent. Three weekends, three venues For the first time, the Festival took place across three weekends and three venues: Jameel Arts Centre (January 29 to 30), the middle weekend at the event’s home InterContinental Dubai Festival City (February 4 to 6) and finally Alserkal Avenue (February 12 to 13). Also, the festival’s digital ticket provided access to more than a dozen live streamed sessions including Malala, Amin Maalouf, and Elif Shafak. It enabled creative professionals from as far afield as Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait and the US to view the sessions.