The first edition of the Malta Book Festival was held in 1979, then called the Malta Book Fair (1979-2012), and has since grown into a festival that celebrates the book culture in all its forms.

The international dimension of the Festival is increasingly reflected in the lineup of guest authors and publishers which in previous years have included Gilbert Sinoué, Ros Barber, Shad Alshammari, Basma Abdel Aziz, Patrick McGuinness, Alek Popov, Marie Darrieussecq, Maram al-Masri, Dan Sociu, Ros Barber, Vera Duarte, Tim Parks, Philip ò Ceallaigh, Naomi Klein, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, Sir Salman Rushdie, Irvine Welsh, Joe Sacco, John Boyne, Sam Blake, Paul Lynch, Anthony Horowitz, Jeff VanderMeer and Samantha Harvey.