Official Statement by the National Book Council

The National Book Council is committed to fostering a positive and supportive environment for the Maltese book industry, representing the interests of writers and publishers, and promoting the love of reading in all its forms. We deeply regret the recent incident on social media involving one of our employees.

We want to assure our stakeholders, followers and the public that the issue has been internally addressed. The concerned employee remains dedicated to their role at the Council. The National Book Council is eager to collaborate with stakeholders to uphold fairness and inclusivity in Malta’s literary environment.

We extend sincere apologies for any hurt caused to the Maltese author community and the public. We view this as an opportunity to foster greater support and transparency moving forward. The National Book Council is committed to serving people from all backgrounds and promoting diverse voices in the literary community, enhancing our cultural landscape.

Moving forward, the National Book Council will be implementing additional training programmes for our staff to reinforce the importance of maintaining a professional and respectful demeanour in all interactions, especially in the online sphere. We will also be reviewing our social media policies to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.

We appreciate the feedback we have received from the book community, and we encourage an open dialogue with Maltese authors, publishers, editors, translators and illustrators to address concerns, and strengthen our collaboration for the betterment of the literary landscape in Malta.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support.