Isobel Abulhoul came to Dubai in 1968 and co-founded bookshop chain Magrudy’s in 1975, which is still thriving and now has eleven bookshops across the UAE.
In 2008, Abulhoul founded the international Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the Middle East’s largest award-winning celebration of the written and spoken word. In 2013, HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and also the Festival patron, issued a Decree establishing the Emirates Literature Foundation, naming Abulhoul as one of the trustees on the Board and holdsthe position of CEO. She is also a Trustee of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction Board, Secretary General of the Kalimat Foundation, and a director of the Board for the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library. In addition, Abulhoul was elected to the Supreme National Committee for Tolerance, and selected as member of the Police Advisory Council for Community Service. In September 2021, she was appointed as Chairperson for Global Council (Nexus Model).
Abulhoul has received several awards and accolades over the years, including Cultural Personality of the Year by Dr. HH Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah in 2010, the OBE award by HM Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain in 2012, and the Pioneer’s Award in 2016 from HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.