Winners of the 2025 National Book Prize Announced at Verdala Castle

News • National Book Prize

26th September, 2025

Image of Winners of the 2025 National Book Prize Announced at Verdala Castle

The winners of the 2025 National Book Prize – for books published in 2024 – were announced earlier this evening during a ceremony held at the Verdala Castle under the patronage of Her Excellency the President of Malta, Myriam Spiteri Debono. The National Book Prize is presented annually by the National Book Council (NBC), with winning titles selected by an independent board of adjudicators following a rigorous evaluation process.

This year’s winning works were commended for their originality, thematic depth, and technical assurance. According to the adjudicators, the strongest titles succeeded in marrying intellectual rigour with emotional resonance, drawing readers into vividly rendered worlds while engaging with pressing social, historical, and cultural concerns.

The winning books were chosen from a shortlist of 23 finalists, drawn from an initial pool of 149 submissions across 12 categories: 86 in the National Book Prize and 63 in the Terramaxka Prize for children and young adults. As it has done for the past two years, the NBC is once again awarding an additional €1,000 to the publishing house of each winning book.

Apart from the visibility bestowed upon them by the Prize and its ensuing campaign – on both traditional and social media platforms – the NBC has this year invested in additional promotion for the winners at the Malta Book Festival, where they will be prominently promoted by means of eye-catching venue artwork.

In his opening address, NBC Executive Chairperson Mark Camilleri reflected on the role of the Prize in recognising the most accomplished works of Maltese literature while also driving the industry forward. He outlined key initiatives, including the expansion of the Malta Book Fund, which this year supported 31 projects, among them the first Maltese short story collection to be translated into Japanese.

During her speech, Her Excellency Myriam Spiteri Debono, President of Malta, said that Maltese literature helps shape the identity of the people of Malta and Gozo, and that as such is needs to be safeguarded and strengthened, particularly in light of the many new challenges that the Maltese language faces in this day and age.

The Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation, Hon. Dr Clifton Grima, praised the Prize as the highest honour for locally published books and a benchmark of quality for readers. He noted that the calibre of this year’s winning titles places Maltese publishing on a level comparable with other European literatures. He commended the NBC for its commitment to professionalism and for initiatives that broaden the visibility of Maltese literature both locally and internationally.

The National Book Council would like to thank the members of the adjudication board of the 2025 National Book Prize and Terramaxka: Rachel Baldacchino, Kristy Borg, Sandro Debono, Ramona Depares, Giuliana Fenech, Francesco Grech, Omar N’Shea, Michael Refalo and Kyle Xuereb Cunningham.

Special thanks go to Margaret Callus from Malta Libraries for the classification of the submitted books in their respective category.