In conversation with Dubai-based author Julia Johnson

Julia Johnson, a drama teacher-turned-children’s author, storyteller and performer, who came to Dubai 1975 – barely four years after the UAE was founded. She has appeared on stage, TV and radio in the United Kingdom and in Dubai and has recorded over 100 audio books. Her tales focus on the history and culture of the Arabian Peninsula. She has been a regular speaker at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, including this year’s edition, which concluded last weekend, and her books have twice been chosen for the Chevron Readers’ Cup.

Excerpts from the interview:

Where is Everyone? is a wonderful read amid the Covid-19 pandemic. What was the inspiration?

Thank you! It was inspired by the many curious wild animals, which began to explore the empty streets in cities all over the world during lockdown. Since I like my stories to take place in the Arabian Gulf I focused on a group of camels who were keen to find their trainers. The littlest camel is particularly keen to find her friend Ali. On the way to the city, they are joined by lots of inquisitive desert creatures. They discover that not everyone is as eager to find the humans as they are, and that some good things have come out of the lockdown. The story explores our relationship with wildlife, and the impact we've had on the natural world. It is a reassuring story and ends hopefully, suggesting that each and everyone of us can affect a change and make the world a better place.

How do you see the trend in children’s literature since your tender years and now?

More diverse, more issue-based, more multicultural, more inclusive, more variety of style perhaps, but the main aim of a story remains the same, to draw the reader in and tell an absorbing tale!

How can children’s literature be more imaginative in a globally connected world and dominance of the internet of things?

Being globally connected means that we can be transported all over the world through literature. Multicultural settings and characters teach us to tolerate and respect other cultures, and to understand that we share similar emotions wherever we come from, by allowing us to empathize with characters and see the world from different perspectives.

When and why did you choose to relocate to Dubai?

We came here in 1975 in search of adventure, and planned to stay just a couple of years, but things changed and here we still are!

How has the UAE’s literary scene evolved since you moved here?

It’s grown hugely over the years. The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature has had a massive impact on the literary scene. Book groups have sprung up all over the place, both for children and adults. Schools are keen to host authors so that students can experience meeting the writer behind the story and inspire the authors of tomorrow. The aim behind my first book – The Pearl Diver – was to provide a story about the age-old pearl diving industry which had sustained the Arabian Gulf countries for hundreds of years. I wrote it because I couldn’t find a story suitable for seven plus on the subject. Now, new writers in the UAE are emerging all the time, many of them Emiratis, which is fantastic. Who better than the local people to tell their own stories!

How does your daughter Emily Styles complement you?

Emily has illustrated several of my stories, usually the ones for younger readers. She was born in Dubai and spent her childhood here, so she knows all about the local culture and traditions, from clothes and food to religion and dancing and celebrations, so my stories are in a safe pair of hands. I love her naïve style and her use of colour, and the sense of humour she brings to her work.

joydeep@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai