The Hype Is Real! Here’s Everything You Need To Know About This Year’s Virtual Malta Book Festival 2020
This year’s version of the Malta Book Festival (MBF) might be pretty different – but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be any less fun.
The special online edition of this locally-renowned festival will exhibit a carefully-curated programme of events that will most definitely match up to previous years, and there’s pretty much something for everyone. Stretching over five days starting on the 11th November – 15th November.
Kids and adults alike will get to attend the online festival for free and indulge in a spirit of inventiveness, exchange, and creativity. From Q&As with world-renowned writers to book sales and performances, all of the Malta Book Festival’s events will be live-streamed straight to your home via this page and Facebook.
So if there’s a single good thing about the pandemic, it’s the sheer increase in the festival’s accessibility.
But before we get into the ins and outs of this festival’s chock-full schedule, here are a few details you’re not gonna want to miss out on.
All students participating in the festival will be given a €5 book voucher to spend at any of the online stores of festival exhibitors and publishers. So even though you can’t exactly visit physical stalls, you can still look through the hundreds of books available online. Check out the full list of virtual exhibitors at this year’s MBF right here.
But that’s not all!
Globally-renowned writers Salman Rushdie and Eran Katz will be making special appearances throughout the festival – and rest assured we’ll be getting into all that soon.
Let’s go ahead and dive into some of the Malta Book Festival’s key events – specifically the ones targeting children.
A good part of the MBF’s programme has been tailor-made with the kiddies in mind. In fact, local actors Danusan and Antonella Axisa, have got some pretty interesting stuff up their sleeves.
First and foremost, on Wednesday 11th November, Axisa will be leading a professional team of actors in a spectacular theatrical performance – and it can all be streamed straight to schools classrooms!
This performance, which was carefully curated for children aged from 0 to 7, has been inspired by the works of some of Malta’s biggest and best children’s authors and adapted from the 2020 Terramaxka Prize-winning works.
Sounds enticing, right?
The name of this mysterious performance is yet to be unveiled, so make sure to check it out to satisfy your curiosity. Also! The Terramaxka Prize-winning works, which served as the performance’s inspiration, will be unveiled the day before the performance – so keep an eye out!
Student-centric events come to an end on Friday 13th November – and it’s safe to say they’re going out with a bang.
On this day, world-renowned memory trainer and bestselling Israeli author Eran Katz will be revealing some jaw-dropping techniques to help you boost your memory power.
This live-streamed event is perfect for school children aged eight and over.
Amongst other things, Katz will teach you how to recall dates, events, and long numbers with the Gematria system, upgrade your memory’s performance with the Brita effect, and remember tasks, lists, and jokes with the Modena Files cue system.
Katz will also be showing off some pretty amazing memory stunts, after which point students will be invited to follow an interview between Coryse Borg and Katz himself.
Now that that’s covered – here’s something for the grown-ups…
Award-winning novelist Salman Rushdie will be facing former Prime Minister Alfred Sant in a one-of-a-kind conversation, as well as holding a digital Q&A the following day with 40 lucky participants and it will all be live-streamed!
Rushdie is behind a flurry of modern classics, including ‘The Satanic Verses’, ’The Moor’s Last Sigh’, and ‘The Ground Beneath Her Feet’.
His most recent work, ‘Quichotte’ has received universal acclaim – so much so that it has been included in TIME magazine’s list of 100 ‘Must-Read Books of 2019’ and named one of The Financial Time’s ‘Best books of 2019’.
Now there’s going to be a whole lot more going on at the Malta Book Festival – so much so that we can’t possibly fit it all in one article.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t keep up with all these book-related activities! Simply check out the MBF’s programme of events right here and get planning.