Sharjah:The fifth Thriller Festival is set to delve into the psychology, ethical dilemmas, and storytelling techniques of crime fiction. This event will take place from November 7th to 10th during the 45th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) at Expo Centre Sharjah, featuring ten Arab and international authors.
According to Wam, the festival, organized in collaboration with Thriller Festival New York and Capital Crime London, will include panel discussions, creative writing workshops, and interactive sessions for students. British novelist Clare Mackintosh will launch the panel discussions on November 7th, alongside Egyptian novelist Noha Dawood and Emirati writer and filmmaker Ibrahim Al Marzooqi. Their session, "Why Does the Whole World Read Crime?", will investigate the universal appeal of crime fiction and the impact of cultural settings on storytelling.
Dawood will also conduct a three-day workshop titled "Writing Crime and Mystery Novels", focusing on developing story ideas, constructing plots, and crafting compelling characters and endings. On November 8th, British novelist Abir Mukherjee, Syrian novelist Islam Abu Shakir, and Emirati writer Adil Al Sumaiti will discuss the intersection of truth and fiction in their session, "Where Truth Ends and the Novel Begins".
On November 9th, American novelist Karen Dionne and author Elizabeth Moore will discuss the allure of morally complex characters in their panel, "Inside the Dangerous Mind Villains, Narcissists and Why We Can't Look Away". Dionne will also engage with students in a session titled "The Book That Changed Everything", sharing insights from her career and the adaptation of her novel into a film.
The festival will conclude on November 10th with a session by British novelists Vaseem Khan and David Fennell, who will challenge traditional detective archetypes in their panel, "Who Gets to Solve the Crime? The Detective Beyond the Old Template". Khan will also lead an interactive session for students titled "How to Write the Opening of a Mystery", encouraging them to create their own mystery fiction openings.
