Man wins Dh10,000 holiday, one-year free coffee in Dubai debate

  DUBAI – A literary fan in Dubai won a holiday worth Dh10,000 and free coffee for an entire year by arguing why fiction is better than fact in a recent debate. Ahmed Al Shaali’s compelling argument for fiction proved to be the valiant victor over the more prosaic fact, answering one of literature’s most contentions questions on what is best, fact or fiction? The Costa Debate was held at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature to encourage people of all ages to join in the great debate over a subject of literary interest. Debate contestants showcased their creative skills with a 300-word piece of prose in Arabic or English championing their chosen viewpoint. Four runners up were also chosen to receive a month's supply of free coffee from Costa. “Reading the Costa Debate entries is always tremendous fun, getting to the heart of what the community in the UAE thinks on a range of literary issues, and this year was no exception, with very strong, persuasive arguments on both sides. I wholeheartedly agree with the winning side!" said Shemaine Jones, Head of Marketing at Costa Coffee UAE. Here are the winners: Champion: Ahmed Al Shaali (Dh10,000 dnata travel voucher and one year of free coffee) Arabic runners up: Mohamed Waleed Aleyan and Youssef Homma El Idrissi (one month of free coffee) English runners up: Sarah Rinne and Shrish Janarthanan (one month of free coffee)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