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Festivals, Funds and Initiatives in 2022: Key Dates

Festivals • Funds • Initiatives • Literary Contests • Literary Exports • London Book Fair • National Book Prize • News

25th January, 2022

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On 22 January the National Book Council held its Annual Consultation Meeting for authors and publishers in which it announced important dates for its main initiatives in 2022, including the strategic revision of dates for the Malta Book Festival and the National Book Prize. The Council informed stakeholders of the amendments to the Malta Book Fund and the ISBN/ISMN application procedures, and communicated the Council’s vision for the next twelve months.

The National Book Council’s development plan for the years 2022-2024 continues to aim for growth for all our stakeholders and raise the status of the Maltese book, locally and beyond our shores. The Council’s objective is to improve on transparency and sharing of information relating to the administration of our contests and prizes, and in all services offered to our stakeholders. In this context, the 2021 Publishing Entities Survey will be launched in collaboration with NSO in the coming weeks.

In a process of renewal for our major events, in 2022 the Malta Book Festival will be held nearer to the festivities, between 23-27 November, thus aiding the industry to capitalise on Christmas sales. The National Book Prize ceremony will take place on 4 November 2022 in a revamped ceremony awarding both the Terramaxka Prize and National Book Prize on the same night. This will increase the status of the National Book Prize and allow for better promotion of the winning titles during the Malta Book Festival later in the month. Informed by an analysis of the publishing market, the Council will be adding two much needed additional categories to the Malta Book Fund, which are aimed at supporting the republication of Maltese classics and the translation of book excerpts intended to be pitched to local or international publishers.

Promotional and marketing multimedia campaigns and initiatives for the promotion of books are also in the pipeline, including an audiovisual book trailer campaign, a best Maltese books initiative and a literary podcast.

Literary exports are a vital aspect for the Maltese book industry and the National Book Council continuously strives to liaise with and help local authors network with foreign publishers. The Council’s commitment for 2022 and 2023 is to strengthen foreign ties and set up a dedicated literary agency initiative, and an infrastructure to support authors and publishers to enter the foreign publishing market.

We look forward to a successful working year full of books and literature.

KEY DATES

NATIONAL BOOK PRIZE

Call open: 8 March – 28 March 2022
Ceremony: 4 November 2022
More info at: https://ktieb.org.mt/nationalbookprize/

At a glance

– 8 prizes between literature and research categories, and 6 Terramaxka Prize categories (books for children and adolescents)
– Competitive contest
– Independent adjudication
– Prize for Original Works: €4,000
– Terramaxka Prize for Translated Works: €2,000
– Special Prizes: €4,000

CAMPUS BOOK FESTIVAL

Festival dates:
23-25 March 2022
Application for exhibitors:
27 Jan – 3 Feb 2022

MALTA BOOK FESTIVAL

Festival dates: 23-27 November 2022
Application for exhibitors:
24 May – 24 June 2022
More info at: https://ktieb.org.mt/mbf

LONDON BOOK FAIR – 5-7 April 2022

The National Book Council will represent Maltese authors and publishers during the London Book Fair.

At a glance

– we will pitch for the publication of Maltese Books in translation;
– engage in meetings with old and new contacts and literary agents to broker new deals;
– hold a seminar and reading sessions to promote and advertise Maltese literature to prospect readers and publishers

DOREEN MICALLEF NATIONAL POETRY CONTEST

Call open: 14 June – 19 August 2022
More info at: https://ktieb.org.mt/doreenmicallef-poetry-contest/

At a glance
FIRST PRIZE: €1,000
SECOND PRIZE: €100
THIRD PRIZE: €50

– Independent adjudication
– Poems evaluated anonymously
– Competitive contest
– For poems in Maltese not exceeding 36 verses in length

MALTA BOOK FUND

Call open: 19 April – 30 June 2022
Closing date: 30 June 2022
Results announcement: 24 August 2022
More info at: https://ktieb.org.mt/malta-bookfund/

At a glance
Annual Budget: €120,000
Maximum Grant: €500-€5,000

– For books at project stage (unpublished)
– To subsidise non-commercially viable publications
– To support translations from and into Maltese
– To support the republication of Maltese classics locally
– To support the translation of book excerpts intended to be pitched to local or international publishers
– Independent adjudication

PUBLIC LENDING RIGHTS (PLR)

Applications accepted all year round
Application form and further information at: https://ktieb.org.mt/public-lendingrights/

At a glance
ANNUAL BUDGET: €60,000
MAXIMUM YEARLY PAYMENT: €5,000

– For authors; co-authors; illustrators and photographers (50% or more of the publication’s content); editors
– Remuneration issued every 3 months
– Extended to University of Malta library books with a local ISBN numbers – payment issued annually
– Allocated funds for every period are divided percentage-wise according to lending statistics

ISBN and ISMN

Applications accepted all year round
Application form and further information at https://ktieb.org.mt/isbn-2/

The National Book Council – What do we do?

– we organise national and international events, from large to smaller-scale ones: the Malta Book Festival, the University Campus Book Festival;
– we act as literary agents for authors and publishers at foreign book fairs;
– we organise literary contests;
– we administer public lending rights (PLR) payments and ISBN & ISMN;
– we coordinate, facilitate and subsidise local, and translations and export projects (Malta Book Fund);
– we administer audio-visual funds for books and literature-related productions.