2025 Doreen Micallef National Poetry Contest Winners Announced

The winners of this year’s Doreen Micallef National Poetry Contest were announced at a ceremony held at the Malta Book Festival, presented by Antonella Axisa. This year, over 42 poems were submitted for the contest.

Stefan Borg’s ‘skeda: fr(amment)i’ has been awarded the first prize with an award of €1,000 by the jury made up of Virginia Monteforte, Joe Gatt and David Aloisio.

The contest judges described Stefan Borg’s poem as possessing “a strong original style conveying fresh images very well weaved among themselves which accompany us through a trip across the frequencies of the radio, whose voice is fragmented as the thoughts of the author.”

The poem ‘Masturbazzjoni’ by Duncan Borg Ellul took second place – adjudicators noted the standout imagery which beautifully and delicately conveys an experience which is rarely treated in poetry. The third prize was awarded to Rita Saliba for her poem ‘Mhux affarija’, a reflection on apathy towards the other’s suffering, and the line between empathy and indifference.

During his speech at the ceremony, National Book Council Chairman Mark Camilleri commented on the enduring importance of the Prize to Malta’s writing community.

“In its own modest way, the contest continues to serve as a key reference point for all of Malta’s poets, regardless of age, level of expertise or style. As is clear from the three winners, the country is hardly short of talent and variety on this front, and the Council will continue to incentivise all poets to try their hand at producing the best work they can, in a way that reflects their unique voice,” Camilleri said.

The Doreen Micallef National Poetry Contest is held annually and is open to everyone. The poem submitted has to be original, in Maltese, unpublished, not longer than 36 lines, and through a pseudonym, making the evaluation anonymous. The National Book Council thanks all those who submitted poems and the members of the jury for their work. The next edition of this contest opens in May 2025.

During the ceremony, the shortlisted poets were invited on stage to read their works. They were also joined on stage by Leanne Ellul, who placed first in the competition last year with the poem ‘ix-xnigħat ta’ xmux u dwalijiet għammiexa’

During the ceremony, the winning poets were invited to read from their work. They were also joined by Carmel Scicluna, the winner of last year’s Contest with the poem ‘Ħniex’. Marielle Zammit sang original compositions and musical adaptations of poems by Oliver Friggieri and Joe Friggieri.

The full results have been published here.