Presentation by Gavin Esler, BBC Journalist and Presenter

Gavin Esler, BBC journalist, presenter and novelist, will give a talk and Q&A session for aspiring writers and journalists during his visit to the Sharjah Book Fair. Esler joined BBC in 1977 as a Northern Ireland reporter, extending his responsibilities with Newsnight in 1982, then becoming Washington correspondent and chief North America correspondent for the BBC during the George H. W. Bush and Clinton administrations. Esler now presents Dateline London on BBC News and BBC World News most Sunday mornings. A deputy presenter of the BBC News at Five 'Clock on the BBC News channel on Fridays, he has hosted Radio 4's factual series, Four Corners along with fellow Scottish broadcaster, Anne MacKenzie. Esler, who wrote regular columns for The Scotsman, The Independent and other publications, is author of five novels. His talk is sponsored by the Department of Mass Communication and the College of Arts and Sciences.