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WIN: Bookworms Assemble! The Malta Book Festival Is Back And Here’s Why It Needs To Be On Your Radar

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If you’re a fan of reading, writing, books or anything literature related, you need to get excited about the Malta Book Festival hitting the Mediterranean Conference Centre this November.

From 6-10 November, the MCC will become a haven for book lovers for five full days of events, workshops, talks and, of course, sales.

The MBF is going to be jam-packed with over 90 events covering everything from interviews to book signings sessions, and here’s some of what you can expect to experience if you stop by.

1. Get things started with a sci-fi themed conference

The Malta Book Festival will kick off with ‘Strange New Worlds’; a conference based on sci-fi and fantasy literature.

The participating authors, both local and international, are Malta-born British author Jon Courtenay Grimwood, American novelist Kali Wallace, Irish writer Dave Rudden, and Loranne Vella – the Brussels-based Maltese writer and winner of the 2018 National Book Prize with Rokit.

2. Meet Judge ‘Barracuda’ Aquilina

American-Maltese Judge Rosemarie Aquilina is most known for presiding over the 2018 USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal and sentencing coach Larry Nassar to up to 175 years in prison. Her vow to let every victim speak turned the hearing into a cathartic forum that has emboldened dozens of women who had remained silent to come forward with accounts of abuse by Nassar.

She’ll be present for an interview with Times of Malta editor Herman Grech, and she’s going to meet University students during a workshop on her role as a judge and family law practices. You’ll also get to meet her and ask her some questions about her published books.

3. Kids will have stuff to do too

If your little ones are stubborn when it comes to books and reading, a trip to the Malta Book Festival might be just what they need. The festival will be full of activities and stalls that promote a culture of reading and love of books among children and teens.

The Malta Book Festival invites teachers to apply for a school visit, which is a great way to entertain the kids on a rainy November school-day. And to get them excited about literature.

4. Performances of award-winning books

Danusan will be present, so you know there’s bound to be (more than) a few laughs. In their performance of Il-Kotba Jieħdu l-Ħajja (Books Come to Life) they’ll be staging performances inspired by the works which would have just been awarded the 2019 Terramaxka Prize during the festival opening night.

A group of professional actors led by Antonella Axisa will also be adapting last year’s Terramaxka Prize winning works for the stage.

5. Catch a short-film premiere

Ġulina, the winning project from the Malta Literary Short Film Contest 2019, will premiere during the festival as part of an event that will also feature a discussion about film adaptation with the director and the author.

Production company Sajjetta will also be presenting the first episode of their new docudrama series Storja ta’ Storja which focuses on the work of eight Maltese authors, including Alfred Sant.

6. Literary awards and celebrations

The winners of the newly launched Doreen Micallef National Poetry Contest will be announced in a ceremony featuring an intimate set of poetry readings.

The Festival will also be celebrating the career of Dr. Lillian Scibberas, whose contributions to Maltese literary culture as an author, librarian and a pioneer in the field of library studies have been recognised through the 2018 National Book Prize Lifetime Achievement Award.

7. Loads of language and culture events

From book readings in German and Czech, workshops and games in French and Italian, and an insight into Chinese and Arabic culture, this year’s Malta Book Festival will take you all over the world.

And of course, there will be a more than healthy dose of Maltese and English in there too. You can check out the full programme of the five-day festival here.

Entrance to the MBF is totally free, and there’s free transport all day straight to the door

The Malta Book Festival has teamed up with Malta Public Transport to offer a free shuttle service to and from the MCC. The two buses will leave from the Valletta Bus Terminus (Bay A) to the MCC every thirty minutes.

We have two tickets to give away to Il-Kotba Jieħdu l-Ħajja!

One lucky Lovin Malta reader can snag two free tickets to the show on a night of their choice. All you have to do is let us know who you’d take with you to the show in the comments below!

For opening hours, more information on events and tickets for Il-Kotba Jieħdu l-Ħajja by Danusan, check out the National Book Council’s website and Facebook page.

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National Book Council (Malta)

The National Book Council is the public entity which caters the Maltese book industry with several important services whilst striving to encourage reading and promote the book as a medium of communication in all its formats. It organises the Malta Book Festival and the National Book Prize amongst other national as well as smaller scale events, administers Public Lending Rights, organises several literary contests and is also the local agent for ISBN and ISMN. The National Book Council’s markedly cultural mindset and multi-mediatic approach enables it to work directly with the book industry, however as an entity, it falls under the remit of the Ministry of Education and Employment and has always been considered as part and parcel of the public educational infrastructure. Malta Libraries which is the public entity responsible for all public libraries including the National Library is a separate and distinguished entity which works in close collaboration with the National Book Council.

Visit National Book Council (Malta)

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