Malta

National Library of Malta, Valetta, Malta, exterior

Articles

Though Malta is officially a bi-lingual country, with Maltese and English sharing the load, Maltese remains the country’s national language, a fact amply exemplified by its literary output. Malta’s National Book Council (NBC) has recorded upwards of 700 contemporary Maltese authors in its database, the majority of whom write in Maltese.

Interviews

Book Fairs/Literary Festivals

Since 2014, the Campus Book Festival is organized annually in March in collaboration with local publishers, the University of Malta Departments, and student organizations. The aim is to encourage literature, Maltese writers and research in all its forms, as well as to provide students with the opportunity to engage with the latest novels, research and their authors.

Held in October since 1984, the Malta Book Festival offers extensive networking opportunities for professionals of the literary industry. The program includes about 100 events over five days free of charge in designated halls, ranging from shows and activities for families and students to book launches and discussions, writing workshops, performative readings, and encounters between the public and book industry stakeholders.

The Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival, held in July, is a well-established annual international literary festival organized by the voluntary cultural organization Inizjamed in collaboration with the European network Literature Across Frontiers and other national and international partners. First held in 2006, the festival brings together active writers and literary translators from Malta, the Mediterranean and beyond, to showcase contemporary writing and thinking, promote interaction across languages, geographies and artistic genres, and to discuss some of the major issues of our time.

Literary Awards

The National Book Prize is the highest literary prize assigned to authors, editors, translators, publishers and illustrators for books published in Malta during the preceding year. Titles are shortlisted and awarded according to the various categories of the National Book Prize and Terramaxka Prize for children and young adults.

Translation Awards

The National Book Prize is divided into several categories including an award for translation. The prize honors a linguistic interpretation of a literary text of any literary genre, originally written in any language, into Maltese.

Literary Residencies

The Ulysses’ Shelter is a cooperative project co-funded by the European Union aimed at building a network of exchange literary residencies across Europe for emerging writers and literary translators. Launched in 2016 with three partners, it now includes eight countries: Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Malta, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain (Mallorca) and the United Kingdom (Wales). With internationality as a top priority, this residency program offers emerging writers the opportunity to work, perform and express themselves in diverse locations across Europe.

Spazju Kreattiv, in collaboration with the Valletta Design Cluster, is recruiting for a residency at a community space for cultural and creative practice in the renovated Old Abattoir building in Valletta. Artists will have the opportunity to use the Valletta Design Cluster facilities, including digital fabrication equipment, co-working facilities, workshop rooms, food spaces, and public areas including a roof garden.

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