'Dak li l-Lejl Iħallik Tgħid'

Author Pierre J. Mejlak

Publisher: Merlin Publishers/ 2025

One of the most influential books in contemporary Maltese literature returns to the spotlight. Merlin Publishers are proud to announce the reissue of Dak li l-Lejl Iħallik Tgħid by Pierre J. Mejlak. This special edition celebrates the internationally-acclaimed and much-loved collection with the inclusion of three stories that, until now, were only available in its English translation.

The new edition of Dak li l-Lejl Iħallik Tgħid is bound to excite both long-time fans of Mejlak and those discovering his work for the first time. It features three new stories that have never been published in Maltese: Il-mejda tal-mogħdija, Iċ-ċawlun and L-għajta tal-pappagall. These stories had only appeared in Having Said Goodnight, the English version of the collection.

Dak li l-Lejl Iħallik Tgħid, which won both the National Book Prize and the prestigious European Union Prize for Literature, places readers at a crossroads - caught between the familiar world they know and a mysterious one that irresistibly draws them in. Mejlak's characters move from one point in their existence to another, trying to understand a life they have lived but perhaps never fully comprehended.

According to the jury of the European Union Prize for Literature: "This is a book about storytelling, not only as a form of pleasure that is shared between writer and reader, but more importantly as a gift that's given with love and needs love to be appreciated." 

In Dak li l-Lejl Iħallik Tgħid, Mejlak demonstrates his extraordinary ability to observe human moods. We meet a woman who rejoices at the news that her husband has been found dead; a crow that enters an apartment and turns a young couple's world upside down; a small boy who builds friendships with burnt matchsticks and a widow who takes her husband's manuscript and makes it her own... These are just a few of the unforgettable characters that Mejlak creates in stories that pulse with sensitivity and emotion.

Mejlak, born in Malta and now living in the United States, is considered one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Maltese literature. In addition to the European Union Prize for Literature, he has won many other prestigious awards, including five National Book Prizes, the Commonwealth Essay Writing Award and the Sea of Words European Short Story Contest. His stories reveal a unique ability to explore the intricacies of human emotion, particularly through the short story form.

Dak li l-Lejl Iħallik Tgħid, now translated into 15 languages, confirms Mejlak's place among the foremost contemporary Maltese writers, with a voice that resonates far beyond our islands' shores.

"Mejlak writes with subtlety, quietness, beauty, and doubt. An important writer, and an important work," says Rodge Glass, winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, while describing Having Said Goodnight as a collection of "exquisite stories".

The special new edition is available at all major bookstores and online at www.merlinpublishers.com