With the initial spring lockdowns lifting, much remains to be sorted as to what the Maltese book publishing industry is facing. Here are the lessons learned and the upsides to publishing during a pandemic.

On the first day, there would be an opening ceremony and party. Then corridors would be packed with 6,000 students from Malta and Gozo visiting over three days. And then a five-day-long programme of back-to-back events at each of the halls and theatres.

Year after year, the Malta Book Festival has been a staple event for the local publishing market. Since 2013, it has grown into a festival celebrating book culture in all its forms and has acquired a strong international dimension, increasingly reflected in the line-up of guest authors and publishers. It is also the major revenue-generating event for local publishers, as well as the ideal platform for networking opportunities among industry professionals.

Then 2020 happened.

The world of writing, reading and publishing has been no exception to the unexpected changes the pandemic forced into every sphere of our lives. But for all the strangeness, there were some upsides to publishing during a pandemic. Largely staying home, people were looking for ways to escape. The coronavirus pandemic has also pushed us to take huge leaps into the digital world and the online 2020 edition of the Malta Book Festival and of the 2021 Campus Book Festival taught us new ways to reach the Maltese book-loving community, and to convey the same spirit of inventiveness, exchange and creativity as every year. Free events for adults and children were streamed online and are still available for the general public to watch on ktieb.org.mt, Facebook and Youtube.

Countries like Malta with a weaker brick-and-mortar and online sales infrastructure suffered more, but local publishers accelerated their transition to online retail and tapped into as many online sales as possible. Since March 2020, the book industry at large recreated some of the festival effect into many online events. The virtual transition has made book launches, readings and other author events more accessible than ever. The model took time to solidify, but having authors in conversation, whether in person or online, made a difference in terms of sales and helping reach old and new audiences.

Although virtual events did not translate into book sales in quite the same way in-person events would do, measures such as an online Book Festival, extraordinary book purchases from publishers, and donations of books to public libraries did mitigate the crisis and provided local publishers with a lifeline.

The uncertainty of the pandemic last year and earlier this year caused the extra complication of having to postpone book release dates. Publishers and authors were faced with the challenge of deciding whether to release – and print – books; they scrambled to avoid releasing valued content into a closed market. But be it for a growing sense of resilience and empowerment in local publishers, be it because authors in the quiet months at home allowed themselves to finally finish the manuscripts that have been on the back burners, the amount of books published in 2020 is astounding and as good as ever. By looking at the number of submissions for this year’s National Book Prize, there is much hope in what the future holds.

With high expectations for the autumn and Christmas season, which represents the largest share of annual book sales in Malta – more than in other countries – the planning for the Malta Book Festival is going full steam ahead, with an option to capitalise on last year’s productive learning curve and reach as wide an audience as possible with a hybrid edition.

While the dust of the pandemic is yet to settle and is imposing its effects on the Maltese book industry, all stakeholders will continue to work together and adjust to the new challenges.

For the latest 2021 Malta Book Festival and National Book Prize updates follow the Council’s website (www.ktieb.org.mt) and FB page – National Book Council (Malta).