Children’s author Natalie Portelli was the most borrowed local author from public libraries last year, with her books being loaned out a total of 14,728 times.
Figures of which Maltese authors local readers have gravitated towards emerge as the National Book Council has published the latest remuneration figures for the public lending rights scheme for 2021.
Introduced in 2014, the scheme allows authors, illustrators and photographers to make passive income every time one of their publications is checked out of a public library. The going rate offered is around 44c per book.
Co-authors and illustrators responsible for more than 50 per cent of a book are also entitled to this remuneration, as are editors responsible for putting together publications that feature several contributors.
Portelli, who has authored several Maltese fairy tales and popular children’s books featuring animals, made €5,000 from loans of her books.
The next most popular author was Clare Azzopardi, whose works range from picture books for young children to prose for adults. Her most recent novel, Castillo, has been adapted into a stage play due to be performed next month.
Azzopardi’s books were borrowed 11,708 times, earning her €4,572.80 from library loans last year.
Maltese readers were also greatly drawn to prolific novelist and illustrator Trevor Zahra, whose books were checked out 8,803 times from public libraries last year, earning him €3,466.61.
The 74-year-old has written over 120 books and won Malta’s national book prize 15 times, among other literary awards.
Other Maltese authors favoured by library-goers include Charles Casha with 6,240 loans, Chris Azzopardi with 6,205 loans, Charles B. Spiteri with 4,131 loans, Rebecca Vella with 4,002 loans, Lina Brockdorff with 3,235 loans, Joseph Serracino with 2,571 loans and Carmel G. Cauchi with 2,501 loans.
The Deputy Librarian for Public Libraries, Margaret Bugeja told Times of Malta that, despite the challenges libraries faced during the pandemic, loans from the public library had managed a slight increase from the year prior.
“Despite the unforeseen circumstances caused by the pandemic, total book loans in 2021 amounted to 621,202, from 617,820 in 2020, an increase of 0.5 per cent. Of these, 580,302 were physical loans from the network of public libraries spread across Malta and Gozo,” she said.
Some 44 per cent of total physical loans were Maltese language books, with the library also launching a digital book service for Maltese books in 2021.
“The top five libraries with the greatest number of physical book loans registered were the Central Public Library, in Floriana followed by the regional libraries in Birkirkara and Luqa respectively, the branch library of Nadur and the Mosta regional library,” she said.
Some 40,900 ebooks were also loaned out by the public libraries last year.