Home / National Book Prize / Joe Friggieri Lifetime Achievement Award Joe Friggieri Joe Friggieri was born in Lija in 1946 and studied at the Lyceum and the University of Malta, where he graduated B.A. in English, Italian and Philosophy, and where he has been teaching for the last 54 years. He holds doctorates from Milan and Oxford and was guest research scholar and lecturer at a number of universities, including Rome, Venice, Amsterdam, St Andrews, Durham, Augsburg and Genoa. He was chairman of the Manoel Theatre Management Committee (1990-93), member of the Broadcasting Authority (1993-96), chairman of the Arts Council (2003-05), and president of the National Council for the Maltese Language (2017-20). He is also chairman of the Institute of Maltese Studies at the University. His academic works include the first history of philosophy in Maltese, In-Nisġa tal-Ħsieb, in three volumes, two books on the contemporary English philosopher J.L. Austin, Selected Philosophical Essays, Miti Platoniċi, and numerous contributions to local and international books and journals. In the literary field, Joe Friggieri is the author of six poetry collections, five full-length plays, and many short stories, including Ħrejjef għal Żmienna (1996 and 2015), that have been translated into English, French and Italian, and were favourably reviewed in the Times Literary Supplement (TLS, 22 October, 2004). Joe Friggieri wrote the libretto for the first opera in the Maltese language, Charles Camilleri’s Il-Wegħda, as well as the lyrics for the same composer’s Kanti Popolari, Għanjiet minn Malta/Songs from Malta, andMal-Kant tal-Baħar. He produced and presented a number of cultural programmes on radio and television, and is a regular contributor to debates on current affairs. For the theatre, Joe Friggieri has directed eight Shakespeare’s plays, as well as his own acclaimed translations of works by Sophocles, Ibsen, Chekov, Pirandello, Ugo Betti, Arthur Miller, and Eugene Ionesco, together with plays by Tennessee Williams, Alan Ayckbourn, and Maltese playwrights Francis Ebejer, Alfred Sant, Vince Vella, and Oreste Calleja. He was also artistic director of operas by Verdi and Puccini and of a revival of Carmelo Pace’s I Martiri at the Teatru Manoel. For his contribution to education, culture and the arts, Joe Friggieri was made a Member of the National Order of Merit in 2008. Lifetime Achievement Award 2026 Selected bibliography Philosophy Linguaggio e Azione: saggio su J.L. Austin, Milano, Vita e Pensiero, 1981. Actions and Speech Actions in the Philosophy of J.L. Austin, Malta, Minerva, 1991; Kite, 2022. Interfaces: essays in philosophy and bordering areas in honour of Peter Serracino Inglott, co-edited with Salvino Busuttil, Malta, University of Malta, 1997. In-Nisġa tal-Ħsieb. Storja tal-Filosofija, vol. 1, Mill-Griegi tal-Qedem sar-Rinaxximent, Malta, Media Centre, 2000. In-Nisġa tal-Ħsieb. Storja tal-Filosofija, vol. 2, Minn Descartes sa Kant, Malta, Media Centre, 2007. In-Nisġa tal-Ħsieb. Storja tal-Filosofija, vol. 3, Mill-Idealiżmu sal-Postmoderniżmu, Malta, University Publishing, 2014. Selected Philosophical Essays, Malta, Kite, in collaboration with the Department of Philosophy, University of Malta, 2019. Miti Platoniċi, Malta, Kite, 2022. Poetry Ċagħaq fil-Qolla (Pebbles in the Pitcher), Malta: BOV, 1987. Intervalli (Intervals), Malta: Grima Printing and Publishing, 1991. Kadenzi (Cadences), Malta: Filprint, 1992. Mitt Ħajku (A hundred haikus), Malta: Filprint, 1997. Sekwenzi: poems 2017-2022, Malta: Kite Group, 2022. Jgħaddi Maħrub it-Tren, poetry collection, Malta: Kite Group, 2024, 101 pp. Short stories Ħrejjef għal Żmienna (Malta: Pin, 1996). Tales for Our Times (tr. Paul Xuereb, Malta: Progress Press, 2004). Contes de notre temps (tr. Thomas Burgel, Julie Miclot and Sophie Tazé, Malta: Filprint, 2004). Erzählungen für unsere Zeït (tr. Christine Kunkler, Berlin: Artodrome, 2015). Nismagħhom Jgħidu (Malta: Kite, 2016). Il-Gżira l-Bajda u Stejjer Oħra (Malta : Kite, 2017). Il-Fiera tal-Fuħħar u Stejjer Oħra (Malta : Kite, 2018). Widnet il-Baħar u Stejjer Oħra (Malta : Kite, 2020). Straight to the point (tr. Clare Vassallo) Malta: Kite (2019), 260 pp. Bejn Storja u Oħra, short stories, Malta: Kite Group, 2024, 145 pp. Drama Drammi (Plays), Malta: Publikazzjonijiet Indipendenza, 1989. Mid-Djarju ta’ Sara (From Sara’s Diary), Malta: Merlin, 1997. Żewg Drammi: Tkun darb’oħra Mikelanġ u Trappisti (Two Plays), Malta: Filprint, 2003. It-Tulipan l-Iswed u drammi oħra qosra (The Black Tulip and Other Short Plays), Malta: Progress Press, 2004. Caravaggio: l-Inkjesta (Caravaggio: the Inquest), Malta: Klabb Kotba Maltin, 2007. L-Għanja taċ-Ċinju u Il-Ġnien ta’ Esopu (Swansong and Aesop’s Garden), Malta : Horizons, 2012. NEED ANY HELP? GET IN TOUCH contact us