The 2025 Malta Book Festival

THE 2025 Malta Book FESTIVAL

The National Book Council is proud to launch the 2025 edition of the Malta Book Festival, taking place from 5–9 November at the MFCC, Ta’ Qali. This year’s Festival embraces a bold new vision, with a theme that captures the spirit of change and transformation — writing anew. The new logo and tagline reflect this direction, marking a refreshed chapter in Malta’s leading celebration of books and reading.

At its heart, writing anew speaks to the essence of literature as a transformative force — where life is shaped into words, stories are reimagined across forms, and every genre opens a door to discovery. Whether through gripping narratives, personal reflections, or poetic experimentation, all books are expressions of change of some kind. This year’s Festival honours that journey, inviting readers of all ages to explore the power of storytelling to renew, rethink, and re-enchant our world.

Attendance to the Festival and to all other events is free of charge.

€20 BOOK VOUCHERS FOR ALL STUDENTS!

5-9th November, 2025

MFCC, Ta' Qali

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At the 2025 Malta Book Festival, all primary and secondary school students are eligible for a €20 book voucher redeemable from all the booksellers at the Festival, during all our opening hours.
Unlock your child’s next great adventure – register for their free book voucher!

How do I register?

School groups and classes wishing to attend must book their visits in advance. We have already started reaching out to schools to invite them to book their visits online, starting this September. Students visiting as part of a school group will be automatically receiving their voucher at the Festival venue, and cannot register for their voucher independently.
All other students visiting independently or with their families and guardians (not with their class), are invited to register and retrieve their free book voucher online via our online portal. You can register for your voucher through the portal from Saturday 11 October 2025.

EVENTS

Programme

Discover the full programme of the Malta Book Festival online. Explore a wide range of events for all ages – from book launches and discussions to performances, workshops, and activities for children and families. Browse the schedule, plan your visit, and join us in celebrating books and reading throughout the Festival.

Explore events

SPECIAL GUESTS

Samantha Harvey

Author

British author Samantha Harvey is the winner of the 2024 Booker Prize 2024 for her novel Orbital. Her debut novel The Wilderness (2009) was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and won the Betty Trask Prize, drawing praise for its poignant exploration of memory loss and identity. All Is Song (2012) was widely commended for its philosophical depth and elegant prose, while Dear Thief (2014) was longlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and hailed by The New Yorker’s James Woods as “a strange and exhilarating journey, unlike anything I have recently encountered.” In 2018, The Western Wind was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize and longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, with critics celebrating its daring medieval setting and inventive narrative structure. Harvey’s non-fiction work, The Shapeless Unease (2020), a memoir of insomnia, was described by author Nathan Filer as “a profound meditation on language and loss and time, and on how we construct ourselves through stories”. Harvey is also a tutor on the MA course in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.

Jeff VanderMeer

Author

Jeff VanderMeer is the author of Hummingbird Salamander; the Borne novels (Borne, The Strange Bird, and Dead Astronauts); and the Southern Reach series (Annihilation, Authority, Acceptance and Absolution), the first volume of which won the Nebula Award and Shirley Jackson Award and was adapted into a movie by Paramount. Environmental nonfiction by VanderMeer has appeared in Time, The Nation, Current Affairs, and Esquire, among others. VanderMeer also co-edited (with wife Ann VanderMeer) ground-breaking anthologies such as Best American Fantasy 1 and 2, Steampunk 1 and 2, New Weird, The Weird, The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities, The Time Traveler’s Almanac, The Big Book of Science Fiction, The Big Book of Classic Fantasy, and The Big Book of Modern Fantasy.

Ann VanderMeer

Publisher & editor

Ann VanderMeer is an award-winning editor and anthologist. She currently serves as an acquiring editor for Reactormag.com. She was the editor-in-chief for Weird Tales, during which time she won the Hugo Award. Along with multiple other nominations, she has won a World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award and a British Fantasy Award for The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories. She has also taught many writing workshops, including Yale University Writers Conference, Clarion, Odyssey and Shared Worlds (teen writing camp) as well conducting creativity seminars for such varied audiences as the librarians of the state of Arizona and Blizzard Entertainment.

ACTIVITIES FOR FAMILIES & CHILDREN

The Malta Book Festival makes for a great family outing, and it’s no different this year. Throughout Festival week (Wednesday 5 – Sunday 9 November) we’re putting up events the whole family.

TERRAMAXKA THEATRE SHOWS

Experience Maltese children’s literature on stage at the Malta Book Festival 🎭📚
Four theatrical productions, curated by Simone Spiteri, bring award-winning books to life in a dedicated theatre space at MFCC, Ta’ Qali. See the full schedule of shows.
Admission is free but seats are limited - book your place here ✨

FESTIVAL RESOURCE PACKS

New for 2025! The Malta Book Festival is launching Resource Packs for primary, middle, and secondary students, built around the theme “How do I choose a book?”. These interactive packs include activities to spark curiosity and reading confidence, tools to explore genres and authors, and materials for parents and teachers to extend learning at school or at home.

👉 Download the Resource Packs