The National Book Council announced the 49 finalists for the 2024 National Book Prize and Terramaxka Prize Tuesday. 

This is the 47th edition of the National Book Prize, the highest literary prize assigned to authors, editors, translators, publishers and illustrators of books published in Malta in 2023.

There are 12 categories, ranging from the best short stories to historiographic research, to the best children’s literature works.

This year, no novels were shortlisted for the National Book Prize and the council received no entries for the Drama category.

The winners in each category of the National Book Prize and the Terramaxka Prize will be announced during an award-giving ceremony on 20 September 2024. 

Winning books will enjoy an adequate period of promotion, and a suitable showcase at the upcoming edition of the Malta Book Festival 2024 on 6-10 November. 

The finalists that made it to the shortlist have been unanimously selected by an independent panel of adjudicators according to a set of established criteria.

What are the categories? 

Twenty-two books have been shortlisted across the six National Book Prize categories, and 27 books for children and young adults have been shortlisted in the six Terramaxka Prize categories.

The titles were published by 10 different publishers and authored by 27 different authors and translators. 

Nine different illustrators contributed with their illustrations in books shortlisted in the Terramaxka Prize categories. As per regulations, the adjudicators were asked to select a maximum of five entries for each shortlisted category. 

The categories of the National Book Prize for adults are Novels, Short Stories, Poetry, Drama, Non-Fiction, Translation, Research and Historiographic Research.

No novels were shortlisted for the National Book Prize and no entries were submitted in the Drama category.

The six categories of the Terramaxka Prize are:

Picture books for children (ages 0–7), Children’s Literature (ages 8–12) and Young Adult Literature, as well as Picture books translated into Maltese (ages 0-7), Children’s Literature translated into Maltese (ages 8-12), and Young Adult Literature in Maltese Translation. 

Panel decided not to shortlist any titles in Novels category

The adjudication process for the 2024 National Book Prize was launched in February 2024 with the publication of the longlist. By 2 April 2024, publishers and authors had submitted a total of 173 longlisted and eligible books to be considered for the current edition of the National Book Prize.

The adjudication panel for the National Book Prize decided not to shortlist any titles in the Novels category in this year’s competition.

"This choice reflects a commitment to maintaining the highest literary standards and ensuring that the integrity of the prize is preserved. The panel found that, while many submissions demonstrated thorough research, the overall literary quality fell short of the expectations for a national award," the statement read.

The decision was made after careful deliberation, with the panel agreeing that the focus remains on raising the bar for what constitutes exceptional literary work in Malta. In light of their comments, the panel suggested exploring opportunities to support authors through initiatives such as masterclasses, which could help bridge the gap between popular writing and literary excellence.

Adjudicators highlighted the quality of research books, spread out across a wide range of publishers and boasting diverse themes.

The poetry category was strong enough to warrant lively debate among adjudicators ahead of the final selection — speaking to the variety of interesting voices among the shortlisted entries — while the translation category featured works with significant cultural relevance and impressive efforts in translation. In the Terramaxka categories, the shortlisted books stood out for their engaging illustrations and well-crafted narratives. 

As per regulations, only one prize will be awarded per category, and prizes will only be given in categories where the shortlisted titles meet a high standard of literary, cultural, or academic merit, with a minimum score of 90 marks.

The prize money awarded in each National Book Prize category, including the special prizes, is €4,000. The only exception is the prize money for the translation categories of the Terramaxka Prize, which is €2,000. The publisher of each winning book will also receive an additional prize of €1,000 per winning book. 

All of the National Book Prize shortlisted books are available in local bookstores and online shops, and will be available at the upcoming 2024 Malta Book Festival (6–10 November) to be held at the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre (MFCC), Ta’ Qali.

For further news about the 2024 National Book Prize and all other National Book Council initiatives, follow us on Facebook or visit ktieb.org.mt.