Montegrappa: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature

The winners of the Montegrappa First Fiction Competition were announced at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2015, with Claudine Pabst named the winner of the competition and Kim Adams and Steven Bainbridge chosen as runners-up. The three winners were presented their prizes at the festival by leading UK literary agent Luigi Bonomi, Annabel Kantaria and Rachel Hamilton, former winners of the competition and now-published authors. The ceremony was held following Bonomi's talk on 'Getting Published'. Montegrappa, in a bid to support and promote the culture of writing, had launched the 'First Fiction' competition at the 2013 Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. Since then, the competition has grown tremendously attracting a huge number of aspiring writers offering them the much-needed platform to get their work evaluated by a leading UK literary agent and potentially get published. The number of entries has tripled in the past 3 years, which only goes to show the pool of writers that is available out there and how successful the competition has been in being the first step towards a publishing deal. It is no-looking-back for the 2013 competition winner Annabel Kantaria and runner-up Rachel Hamilton, who are now published authors and the 2014 competition winner Lucinda Martin who has just signed a publishing deal with a leading UK-based publisher. The writing competition has transformed their dreams into reality. The third Montegrappa First Fiction Competition saw a substantial increase in entries, receiving over 130 submissions. The competition is held between October and January and is open exclusively to UAE residents over the age of 21 years who have never had a novel published. Participants of the Montegrappa First Fiction competition send in a 400-word synopsis and the first 2,000 words of their fiction manuscript via the Festival website. All entries are read and evaluated by top UK Literary Agent Luigi Bonomi. "It has been an excellent year for the competition," said Luigi Bonomi. "The quality of the entries keeps improving making it so much harder to choose winners. The diversity in ideas and genres, as is evident from the winners, is testament to the multi-cultural nature of Dubai's society. Most entrants come to Dubai to do very demanding jobs, that they should also find the time to write such terrific fiction is something that they should all be very proud. It is an excellent initiative by Montegrappa and the Literature Festival giving the budding authors, the chance to get their works professionally looked at. I feel very honoured to be associated with this competition." Giuseppe Aquila, CEO of Montegrappa, said "We have had amazing success with the competition with two writers already being published and another earning a book deal this year. We have high expectations from the winners of the 2015 competition who have taken their first crucial step into the world of writing. Encouraging the art of writing is central to Montegrappa as we make the world's most exclusive and striking writing instruments. We are glad to be a part of aspiring writers' journeys with the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature." Winner Claudine Pabst's young adult fantasy manuscript 'The Reluctant Thief' follows teenager Mara Bloom as she discovers a hidden world and new powers that can help save its people. Luigi Bonomi spoke highly of Pabst's writing. "I was hooked from the opening paragraph of Claudine's manuscript. She has crafted her story and writing to appeal to a young adult audience, an extremely difficult task to accomplish. What is even more commendable is that Claudine has created a relatable but off-beat protagonist that sets her apart from other young adult writers. I have high hopes for 'The Reluctant Thief'." Kim Adams was first runner-up for her contemporary novel, 'The 9 Lives of Catherine Lewis' which is set in a world where technology is a backdrop for the daily grind. The books follows Alice Green, an ordinary woman who becomes determined to learn more about the titular Catherine Lewis, whose death she witnessed. Second runner-up for 2015 was Steven Bainbridge for his Japan and Korea-set mystery story, 'Comfort Men'. Bonomi applauded Bainbridge's premise and plot twist saying "this is a novel in which all is not as it appears – it makes for great drama!" The Festival is took place in Dubai from 3 to 7 March under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and in partnership with Emirates and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate's dedicated Authority for culture, arts, and heritage. The Festival is now part of the Emirates Literature Foundation, which was established in 2013 by Royal decree. Each year, the festival attracts a host of authors from across the globe and this year's line-up was as impressive, including some famous names such as Julia Donaldson, Philip Ardagh, Grahame Baker Smith, Jung Chang, Bettany Hughes and Michael Morpurgo among others. Montegrappa gifted a NeroUno fragrance to all the authors at the festival. For more details on the competition, visit https://www.emirateslitfest.com/First-Fiction-2015