The Malta Book Festival, the most prominent and prestigious book celebration of the year, will be taking place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta, between November 6 and 10. The poster for this year’s festival has been produced by popular illustrator Lisa Falzon and graphic designer Steven Scicluna. Falzon also produced the visual work for last year’s edition.
The full programme of events and activities will be published in the second week of September and will be delivered in printed format to all households in Malta and Gozo.
As is customary, the festival will open with a conference, which will this year relate to the literary genres of sci-fi and fantasy, and will be led by a number of local and overseas authors. Among them is Loranne Vella, the Brussels-based author of Rokit (Merlin Publishers) and winner of the 2018 National Book Prize. The foreign authors attending the conference are Malta-born Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Kali Wallace and Dave Rudden.
On weekday mornings the festival will welcome school visits. Students will be treated to a special programme of cultural and fun activities being prepared for them, including theatre pieces, readings and meetings with writers. Apart from these activities, a group of professional actors, led by Antonella Axisa, will adapt last year’s Terramaxka Prize winners for the stage. These performances are being held at the Republic Hall, MCC, which will also facilitate the management of school visits in all festival halls.
Following last year’s success, the well-known comedy duo Danusan will once again be staging performances inspired by the works that will have just been awarded the 2019 Terramaxka Prize.
Tickets will be available for sale on the MCC’s site in the first week of September and further information on receiving tickets to Danusan shows complementary to book purchases at the festival will be announced at a later stage.
The National Book Council will also be retaining an extended exhibition space for this year’s MBF, which will include an extra hall for booksellers and NGOs, and a bigger activity area for the many book presentations, discussions, launches and cultural activities that will be taking place.
In the coming weeks the NBC will also be revealing the name of a renowned international author as this year’s special guest.
Members of the public are urged to follow the Facebook page of the National Book Council for more updates. Updates on the festival can be followed on the 2019 Malta Book Festival Facebook event page and on the website.