Booker Prize-winning author Ben Okri will launch Expo City Dubai’s Connecting Minds Book Club at the Terra Auditorium on 1 June, spearheading a movement that will celebrate the power of books to catalyse awareness and action around climate change and sustainability.

The Book Club, in collaboration with the Emirates Literature Foundation, will connect a community of readers to stories that matter and offer opportunities for everyone to engage with some of the world’s most thought-provoking authors. The series begins with the global launch of Okri ‘s Tiger Work – a blend of fiction, essays and poetry inspired by environmental activism and a powerful and personal appeal for climate course-correction.

Ben Okri said: “Climate change is the single most important issue of our time and I feel a great responsibility to draw attention to it using the immense powers of literature. Introducing Tiger Work to the world at Expo City Dubai, an innovative city committed to advancing sustainability, makes the launch even more meaningful. It is important to be having these conversations in advance of COP28 to lay a solid foundation.

“For me, it is all about perspective and consciousness. With the right perspective, we can see that it is possible to alter our path and make a new destiny for humanity. With the right consciousness, we can act with love and courage to save our world. We need greater awareness, but a quantum leap in action.”

Poised to become a home for some of the greatest storytellers from across the globe, the Connecting Minds Book Club will regularly feature talks, author signings and children’s workshops, with more details on upcoming events and prominent writers to be revealed soon.

Its launch begins on 31 May with a series of events that includes Okri teaming up with the Expo School Programme to host a workshop with UAE students, evoking the magic of nature with a talk focused on his 2021 children’s book Every Leaf a Hallelujah. It culminates at 1900 on June 1, when the Nigerian-British author will unveil Tiger Work during a discussion moderated by Emirates Literature Foundation CEO Ahlam Bolooki.

Nadia Verjee, Executive Director, Expo Dubai Group, Expo City Dubai, said: “The Connecting Minds Book Club brings together a community of book lovers committed to harnessing the power of stories to inform, inspire and spark action on our changing climate. I can think of no better author to raise the curtain on this exciting new cultural series than Ben Okri. As Expo 2020 Dubai showed, there is a large community of people making a difference every day in the UAE. Expo City Dubai looks forward to bringing them together for a wide range of programmes and events at COP28 and beyond.”

Ahlam Bolooki, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates Literature Foundation, said: “As a foundation, we believe culture is a human right. And as a book lover, I believe that the answers to all big questions can be found between the covers of a book. Climate action is the most pressing issue of our times, and we are pleased to set the wheels in motion for our ground-breaking collaboration with Expo City Dubai.”

To register for the event and to become a member of the Connecting Minds Book Club, please visit Expo City Dubai. Tickets for the launch are priced at AED 50 each.