Michael Micallef has tried out the audiobooks. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Maltese-language books have finally become accessible to children with visual impairment, as a local publisher and a team of actors have got together to produce the first set of professional audiobooks.

While there are audiobooks of children’s literature in English, and these are very popular abroad, there are none in Maltese, except for the occasional homemade book.

This has seen several parents of children with visual impairment call for audiobooks in Maltese, Merlin Publishers director Chris Gruppetta told this newspaper.

And that is what inspired Merlin to produce 12 audiobooks of original children’s literature in Maltese, including classics such as Fra Mudest and more contemporary novels like Irvin Vella Investigatur Virtwali.

Thanks to funding by Premju tal-President għall-Kreattività, the audiobooks are available for free to anyone who is visually impaired or has reading difficulties.

It was an exciting challenge bringing books to dramatised life

Mr Gruppetta said there was a demand for audiobooks from the blind community, and the availability of part-funding from the Premju tal-President għall-Kreattività allowed Merlin, for a change, to be able to work unfettered by commercial considerations.

“At Merlin, we’ve always worked closely with the theatre community – our book launches, for instance, often tend to have a theatrical bent – so bringing children’s books to dramatised life was an exciting challenge for us.

“The time we spend on the creative sides of our job is good for the soul.”

The publisher also sought feedback from the Foundation for Information Technology Accessibility, where Michael Micallef tried out the audiobooks.

The 53-year-old, who lost his sight completely at the age of 23, said it was easier for him to access books in Maltese through audio, rather than Braille, as the Maltese version of the latter was quite complex. Mr Micallef said that for English text, he usually used a speech synthesiser or a book player designed specifically for blind and low-vision people.

This is the first time he has come across audiobooks of Maltese literature. Commending Merlin, Mr Micallef expressed hope that other agencies would pick up on the initiative and join forces with the publisher.

Mr Micallef also called for a national project that would make ‘on demand’ radio programmes available to the public. He urged the reintroduction of radio plays, which seem to have disappeared. Merlin’s audiobooks were recorded by actors Ray Calleja, Rachel Portelli, Roderick Vassallo, Daniela Carabott Pawley, Ruth Borg, Chris Galea, Ruth Borg and Antonella Mifsud under the artistic direction of Josette Ciappara.

The audiobooks are available in MP3 format and readable on any electronic device.

Contact Merlin Publishers at info@merlinpublishers.com or 2124 6472 for more information.