This year’s edition of the Malta Book Festival will be taking place between Wednesday 18th to Sunday 22nd of October.
The theme for this year’s festival has been announced as #kotbakitbauaktar (books, writing and more) as a way to focus on the significance of an artistic medium which goes beyond writing and can shape itself into other mediums such as sound, theatre and film adaptation.
The details about this year’s program of activities in relation to the festival were announced by Minister for Education Clifton Grima alongside Ministry Permanent Secretary Matthew Vella and the CEO of the National Book Council Mark Camilleri.
Minister Grima said that with the world constantly moving towards digital means, it is important to acknowledge the wealth of information contained in books. He said that reading is one of the foundations of education and that it is important to encourage reading from an early age as literacy is a key pillar of education and is therefore being given significance in the National Strategy for Education, “which is currently at an advanced stage.”
It was declared that the festival will be free of charge and open to everyone with programs consisting of around 100 activities intended for families and students. Some of the activities included will be book discussions, animated readings and writing workshops. The festival will have 50 exhibitors alongside the planned activities and will include participation from local and international guests. The venue for these activities will be in designated halls at the Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta’ Qali.
The guests who will be participating in the festival include Irish bestselling author Sam Blake, children’s book writer and editor Charlie Castelletti, publishing consultant and literary agent Simon Trewin, Jen Calleja and Kat Storace of Praspar Press as well as Maltese author Clare Azzopardi who will be discussing her novel Castillo and its film adaptation.
National Book Council CEO Mark Camilleri said that the international guests will be doing several writing and editing workshops as well as sharing what they know about foreign markets with Maltese professionals.
Permanent Secretary Matthew Vella said that the National Education Strategy 2024-2030 will be giving a boost to literacy in the early years, and that literacy is the foundation for students to get where they want and be able to fulfil their dreams. “Therefore we will move from initiatives to stronger programs to see that every boy and girl has these much needed skills,” he concluded.
Those interested in finding more information about the program and related activities can do so by visiting the website https://ktieb.org.mt/.