The National Book Council (NBC) is pleased to announce the 2019 Malta Book Festival, the most prominent and prestigious book celebration of the year, which will be taking place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta, starting from Wednesday 6 November up to Sunday 10 November. The poster for this year’s Festival has been produced by the popular illustrator Lisa Falzon and graphic designer Steven Scicluna. Falzon has also produced the visual work for last year’s edition.

The full programme of events and activities will be published in the second week of September and will be delivered in printed format to all households in Malta and Gozo.

As is customary, the Festival will open with a conference, which will this year relate to the literary genres of sci-fi and fantasy, and will be led by a number of local and overseas authors. Among them is Loranne Vella, the Brussels based author of Rokit (Merlin Publishers) and winner of the 2018 National Book Prize. The foreign authors attending the conference are Malta-born Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Kali Wallace and Dave Rudden.

On weekday mornings the Festival will welcome school visits. Students will be treated to a special programme of cultural and fun activities that is being prepared for them, including theatre pieces, readings, and meetings with writers. Apart from these activities, a group of professional actors, lead by Antonella Axisa, will adapt last year’s Terramaxka Prize winners for the stage. These performances are being held at the Republic Hall, MCC, which will also facilitate the management of school visits in all Festival halls.

Following last year’s success, the famous comedy duo Danusan will be once again staging performances inspired by the works which will have just been awarded the 2019 Terramaxka Prize. Tickets will be available for sale on the MCC’s site in the first week of September and further information on receiving tickets to Danusan shows complimentary to book purchases at the Festival will be announced at a later stage.

The NBC will also be retaining an extended exhibition space for this year’s MBF, which will include an extra hall for booksellers and NGOs, and a bigger activity area for the many book presentations, discussions, launches and cultural activities that will be taking place.

In the coming weeks the NBC will also be revealing the name of a renowned international author as this year’s special guest.

Members of the public are urged to follow the FB page of the National Book Council for more updates. Updates on the festival can be followed on our 2019 Malta Book Festival FB event page and on our website.