Announcing the Shortlist for the National Book Prize 2026 

The National Book Council (NBC) is announcing the shortlist for the 2026 National Book Prize and the National Book Prize for Children and Young Adults (NBP), for books published in 2025. Running since 1971, the National Book Prize is the highest literary prize assigned to authors, editors, translators, publishers and illustrators of books published in Malta.

The winners in each category will be announced during an award-giving ceremony on 25 September 2026. Winning books will be promoted across various channels, and showcased further at the upcoming edition of the Malta Book Festival 2026, taking place from 4-8 November at MFCC, Ta’ Qali.

The 47 finalists making the 2026 National Book Prize shortlist have been unanimously selected by an independent panel of adjudicators according to a set of established criteria; 32 books have been shortlisted across the six National Book Prize categories, and 15 books for children and young adults have been shortlisted in the Children and Young Adults categories.

The titles were published by 14 publishers and four self-published authors, and authored by 49 different authors, translators, editors and illustrators. Seven different illustrators contributed with their illustrations in books shortlisted in the Children and Young Adults categories.

The eight categories of the National Book Prize for adults are Novels, Short Stories, Poetry, Drama, Non-Fiction, Prose Fiction in Translation, Research, and Historiographic Research. The categories of the Children and Young Adults Prize include Picture Books for children (ages 0–7), Children’s Literature (ages 8–12), Young Adult Literature, Picture Books in Translation (ages 0-7) and Children’s Literature in Translation (ages 8-12). No works were submitted towards the remaining categories of Young Adult Literature in Translation and the newly-introduced Sport Literature for Children and Young Adults (ages 8-16), which was made possible in collaboration with Sport Malta. 

In contrast to previous years, all of the categories that received submissions feature in the shortlist. 

The adjudication process for the 2026 National Book Prize began on 24 February 2026 with the vetting and classification of all the titles which were submitted by the end of the submissions period on 20 February. When this first phase of adjudication was finalised, a total of 163 eligible books were confirmed to compete for the current edition of the National Book Prize. This list was published on 30 March 2026.

Adjudicators expressed enthusiasm for the high quality on display in the Poetry and Short Stories categories in particular, with the former exhibiting great examples of experimentation with structure and form, while the latter had entries of a high standard delivered through distinctive, original voices. 

Similarly, Research and Non-Fiction categories boasted works of great variety and fresh perspectives, some of which were further distinguished by a high level of visual production, while the shortlisted works in Prose Fiction and Translation were described as having a welcome degree of literary ambition, delivering works of clear cultural and literary significance in the Maltese language. 

However, while the Novels category yielded some truly strong works that confidently found a place in the shortlist, a distressing majority of works submitted featured characters that lacked psychological depth and clear motivations for their actions (“events happen simply because they happen, things are said simply because they are said”), while works written in English lacked an idiomatic and natural grasp of the language – which was also true of English-language submissions in the Short Stories and Poetry categories. 

AI usage was also flagged by the adjudicators: in one of the texts of the Novels category, while it also featured heavily in books submitted to the 0-7 category of the Children and Young Adults Prize, resulting in repetitive and overly generic works. 

Informed by similar feedback during adjudication for the previous editions of the NBP, as well as its ongoing engagement with various stakeholders, the NBC will continue in its efforts to strengthen the Maltese literary sector through a number of capacity-building initiatives, as further empowered by its Five-Year Strategic Vision for 2025-2030. Just this year, the Council has made available, free of charge, prestigious online courses on both literary editing and novel-writing, which garnered immediate interest from local literary practitioners.

And by 2027, the NBC intends to fully formalise its position on AI usage, which will apply across the board to all of its initiatives and contests. 

The vast majority of the National Book Prize shortlisted books are available in local bookstores and online shops, and will be available at the upcoming 2026 Malta Book Festival (4–8 November) to be held at the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre (MFCC), Ta’ Qali.

For further news about the 2026 National Book Prize and all other National Book Council initiatives, follow us on Facebook or visit www.ktieb.org.mt

The full list of shortlisted titles for the National Book Prize 2026 can be accessed here, or as listed underneath

Novels

Short Stories

Poetry

Drama

Prose Fiction in Translation

Non-Fiction

Research

Historiographic Research

Picture Books for Children (0-7)

Children’s Literature (ages 8-12)

Young Adult Literature

Picture Books in Translation (ages 0-7)

Children’s Literature in Translation (ages 8-12)