Promoting and encouraging reading during self-isolation or quarantine is not a cheap trick employed by publishers or booksellers who want to ride the gravy train. Books, literature and reading are truly significant bastions to which we need to hold strong not to lose our innermost social trait: connectivity.
Now is the time to engage with literature, books and the arts. The National Book Council has long been driving the multifaceted engagement of Maltese society with books through its competitions, festivals, prizes, funds and audiovisual programmes.
Here are some ways the public can interact with literature – as a reader or writer.
National Book Prize
The National Book Prize is the most important literary prize in the country and every stakeholder in the book industry benefits from it.
For authors who win it, it’s a stepping stone in their career, while publishing houses hold on tight to their winning authors because their books sell.
For readers, the National Book Prize shortlist and winners list provide a reliable guide to the best quality literature published during the preceding year. For suggestions about new books, visit www.ktieb.org.mt and www.facebook.com/NationalBookCouncil/.
Stretching literature to other artistic forms
The National Book Council invests a lot in audiovisual initiatives to reach non-readers: adaptations of books into feature films (the NBC Film Adaptation Fund), documentaries (the NBC Docudrama Series), short films (the Malta Literary Short Film Contest) and radio programmes (Taħt il-Qoxra). The aim is to widen the scope of Maltese literature, go beyond the limits of the written word, and present the public with new literary experiences.
Looking forward to the Malta Book Festival next November
The Malta Book Festival and the Campus Book Festival are the two most important book festivals locally, allowing all relevant publishing stakeholders to meet under one roof. The sale of books during these events is one of many aspects of the festivals: during every edition readers and the public alike can expect book launches, presentations, poetry readings, meetings with authors, conferences, seminars and workshops. It’s an all-round experience for adults and a fun educational trip for children. We look forward to the Malta Book Festival next November 11-15.
Malta Book Fund: coming up
The National Book Council has introduced this fund to support authors and publishers with good quality book projects which, if left alone to the constraints of the small Maltese publishing market, would not hit the shelves. This is an investment allowing the public to have access to more good books, even those not normally commercially viable.
As of 2020, the Malta Book Fund will be revamped. The National Book Council has allocated €105,000 to three different categories: publication grants, education grants, and translation grants (to and from Maltese). The call for application will be launched in April.
Current offers
Various Maltese publishers have geared themselves up and readers can take advantage of their offers. Merlin Publishers are offering a 25 per cent discount off all their catalogue; they post your order the day after. Postage is free (www.merlinpublishers.com). Midsea Books/Klabb Kotba Maltin are selling 50 selected titles for €3.99 (www.midseabooks.com). Kite Group have extended a 30 per cent discount on all their books on inputting the voucher READ30 (www.kitegroup.com.mt), while Faraxa Publishing is offering free delivery, no minimum spend.
The NBC has also kickstarted the #oqgħodġewwa #aqraktieb campaign to encourage reading at home: send us a picture of yourself reading a book (as a FB message) and we will upload it on our Facebook page.
Stay safe, implement social distancing measures, enjoy reading and encourage others to do so, especially children.