When Saba Brelvi launched The Squatters at Dubai’s Fiker Institute, she returned to the programme she had joined as a writer in its second cohort. Her debut follows two families whose lives intersect against the backdrop of the UK refugee crisis. The occasion also opened the sixth cycle of First Chapter, the fellowship run by the Emirates Literature Foundation and Seddiqi Holding.
For a UAE resident partway through revising a novel, the most valuable detail may be what happens between meetings. Each fellow works on the manuscript that earned them a place. A mentor reads material sent in advance, giving writer and mentor a specific scene, character or structural problem to discuss when they meet.
What the year involves
The free programme has ten places for writers working in Arabic or English. It includes six individual mentoring hours, monthly workshops in Dubai’s Al Shindagha neighbourhood and a modest bursary that can go towards editing or another course. Fellows must live in the UAE throughout the programme and be able to follow workshops in English.
What to prepare
Applicants working on adult or young-adult fiction need three Word documents: an English cover letter, a synopsis of up to 400 words and the opening 2,000 words of their near-complete manuscript. The synopsis and extract can be in the language of the novel. The form also asks for a one-sentence pitch. Entries must be the writer’s own work, and the Foundation prohibits AI-generated manuscripts.
The Foundation’s current programme page and application link list 31 January 2027 as the closing date. Read the form before formatting your extract, especially if you write for younger readers, whose age categories are described differently across the guidance.
Launch photograph courtesy of the Emirates Literature Foundation.
