Winners of First Chapter 2025 Announced: Ten UAE Writers Hand-Picked for Prestigious ELF Seddiqi Writers’ Fellowship
This year’s winners of First Chapter, the ELF Seddiqi Writers’ Fellowship, were announced tonight at the Gala Opening ceremony of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. The prestigious mentorship programme could lead them to winning an international publishing deal.
The fellowship pairs ten winning writers with internationally published authors, providing one-on-one coaching, workshops, and access to publishing industry experts. The winners are selected from nearly 100 applicants writing their first fiction novel in Arabic or English. This is the fellowship’s fourth year, making it the region’s only mentorship program of global standard for aspiring fiction writers.
The authors mentoring the winners this year are Ali Sparkes, Alwyn Hamilton, Annabel Kantaria, Freya North, Greg Mosse, Iman Humaydan, Jalal Barjas, Shahla Ujaily, Sona Charaipotra and Yrsa Siggurdottir.
The winners are:
- Ahlam Jahaf chosen by Jalal Barjas
- Ellie Salkeld chosen by Ali Sparkes
- Habiba Tahir chosen by Yrsa Sigurdottir
- Huda El Waleely chosen by Iman Humaydan
- Rend Beiruti chosen by Freya North
- Sarah Madani chosen by Annabel Kantaria
- Shaikha Al Shamsi chosen by Shahla Al Ujaily
- Shalaka Paradkar chosen by Greg Mosse
- Shyama Krishna Kumar chosen by Alwyn Hamilton
- Shylin Sam chosen by Sona Charaipotra
“This Fellowship is really putting the writing scene in the UAE on the map, attracting the attention of publishers internationally by highlighting the amazing writing talent we have here,” said Ahlam Bolooki, CEO of the Emirates Literature Foundation and Festival Director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. “Our talented homegrown writers thrive on this programme, thanks to the incredible authors who dedicate their time to mentor the fellows and provide them with one on one feedback. We are so grateful to Seddiqi Holding for believing in the vision and value of this unique fellowship and partnering with us to make writers’ dreams a reality.”
Two previous graduates of the programme have now won publishing deals. First year graduate Sara Hamdan won a major two-book deal with US publisher Holt. Her novel, What Will People Think will be published in May 2025. Saba Brelvi, from year two, will have her novel, The Squatters published by The Dial Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House, for distribution in North America. It comes following her signing by New York Literary agent Alexa Stark at the Writers House.
The mentorship programme was launched in 2021 by the Emirates Literature Foundation in partnership with Seddiqi Holding, with the aim that over five years the Fellowship will create a notable pool of authors based in the UAE, with audiences all over the world.
“I am truly amazed at the milestones we have achieved with this Fellowship; it goes to show the immense talent we have in this region, and we are incredibly honoured to provide a platform for talented writers in partnership with Emirates Literature Foundation. As we head into another year, we remain confident this platform will continue to be instrumental for the Fellows and for other aspiring writers in the region,” said Hind Abdul Hamied Seddiqi, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Seddiqi Holding.
In addition to six hours of one-to-one mentorship from their mentor, the fellows take part in a regular series of workshops led by resident mentor Annabel Kantaria, along with meetups and talks from authors and experts spanning the whole of the industry and encompassing all stages of writing, publishing and promoting a book. The programme also provides introductions to international agents, editors and publishers and access to short writing classes from international partner writing institutions. Each year the group undertakes a field trip, with the previous groups visiting the Gotham Writers Centre in New York and the Faber Academy in London to take classes and meet literary agents.
