Book publishing is one of the industries that has been placed in imminent danger of dying due to the COVID-19 crisis. Ġorġ Mallia talks to a number of publishers and paints a clear picture of an industry bursting with creativity, but which is nonetheless in trouble.

As has been glaringly clear from articles and interviews published in these pages, nothing is normal in the cultural scene in Malta because of the COVID-19 pandemic partial lockdown. Although we are seeing an enormous amount of cultural activity online, the industry itself is in free fall.

Culture is synonymous with creativity, which is why musicians have found ways of playing together from their own homes, visual artists are posting a large amount of works to brighten up social media pages otherwise filled with dread and doom, books are being read out for anyone to listen to, and in my case I even wrote and gave a book away for free.

But what does all of this imply for Malta’s publishing scene? Already embattled before the societal upheaval brought about by the virus, what is the fallout for an industry that is essential to the very identity of the island, and yet one that has so small a market as to almost make it untenable?

Joseph Mizzi, of publisher Klabb Kotba Maltin (KKM), confirmed the problems. “The Maltese book sector had been in difficulty long before the pandemic began,” he said. “A lot of things have contributed to decimating the book in Malta. This pandemic has only added tons of salt in these open wounds, exposing problems which have been swept under the carpet for a long time.”

Publishers (left to right, top to bottom): Chris Gruppetta, Merlin Publishers; Gordon Pisani, Kite Publishing; Joseph Mizzi, Klabb Kotba Maltin; and David Bezzina, Horizons.

Merlin Publishers’ Chris Gruppetta described the fallout as “catastrophic”. Most bookshops were closed or reporting low sales, and with schools also closing the key customers were decimated. “All new book publications had to be cancelled, or at least postponed to an indeterminate date in the future, which means we have virtually no new titles to sell. We’re in an unprecedented situation where financially there’s not enough income from sales to cover the bare minimum ‒ salaries.”

And he is certainly not alone in this. David Bezzina, from Horizons, said: “We have rescheduled all our current books in progress for later on n the year. It does not make sense launching these books now.”

Gordon Pisani of Kite Publishing also mentioned that a lot of books had to be put aside as the very source dried up because of measures. “For example, we couldn’t take photos of documents necessary for book content, some of which were abroad,” he said.

There is no doubt that we cannot afford to lose our publishers. They are the recorders of a nation’s soul

The publishers have all taken mitigating actions to at least partially, offset the problems being faced. Gruppetta said that with online becoming the sole source of income, Merlin had to retool their business model overnight to promote and publicise their online service much more intensively. KKM had to do the same, but, according to Mizzi, online sales do not make up for the losses from the closure of shops, schools, the tourism sector, the cancellation of new titles, and the activities organised to showcase books.

Horizons scrambled to provide book offers for the general public, throwing in free delivery with the offers. Something that all publishers seem to be doing. Kite Publishing gave a hefty percentage off their entire line. Pisani said that no matter the value of the books, it had to be across the line to encourage buyers. The other publishers agreed with this.

So what solutions are there, if any? Because the crisis in Maltese publishing predated the pandemic, the industry was already in perilous waters and many publishers actually closed down. Gruppetta said that, at least, the government extended its wage support to publishers, a welcome move that, however, does not make up for lost sales. Pisani said that the National Book Council had taken immediate steps to help the publishers, but this was a temporary measure.

Mizzi demanded more recognition and more structured help. Publishers never saw a boom. “Most of us work for the love of books and literature,“ he said. It is important that authorities heed the industry’s persistent calls on these issues.”

Gruppetta insisted that “there will need to be concrete assistance to help publishers recover, as the costs of publishing a book in Maltese are virtually identical to those a foreign publisher incurs to publish in a much larger market. But obviously our customer base – Maltese-speaking people – is much smaller, and economies of scale simply do not materialise.”

But, in spite of the massive problems, the industry has still done its best to help a society in crisis. And it did this in its own unique way. Bezzina and Horizons encouraged the public to spend time reading, to while away the long hours at home. “The response has been magnificent,” he said. Both Mizzi and  Pisani talked about the massive reduction in sale prices of their books, making them accessible, and deliverable, to all who ordered.

Gruppetta said that since Merlin were children’s publishers they had to help students and teachers and they did this by significantly relaxing copyright licences for use of materials online; making a new audiobook in Maltese available each week for free; and, in a very original move, “launching our first-ever podcast for children in Maltese. It’s called Xpatapumm!, produced together with author Clare Azzopardi. A new episode is uploaded every Tuesday morning. It is a much-needed resource to give children more exposure to reading and conversation in Maltese. It’s also being used by schools.”

We cannot afford to lose our publishers who are the recorders of a nation’s soul. Once this is over and ‘normalcy’ is restored, the authorities will need to put their money where their mouth is and explore avenues to ascertain that this industry is kept alive and thriving.