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On 26 January 2023 the National Book Council held its Annual Consultation Meeting for authors and publishers in which it announced the 2023 dates for its main initiatives, and the strategic revision of dates for the Malta Book Festival and the National Book Prize based on the feedback from the NBC’s stakeholders during the meeting, in which the Council’s vision for the next twelve months was illustrated.

The National Book Council’s development plan for 2023 continues to aim at further professionalising the publishing industry, raising the status of the Maltese book locally and beyond our shores, and improving on transparency in the sharing of information relating to the administration of contests and prizes, and in all services offered to the  stakeholders. In this context, the 2022 Publishing Entities Survey will be launched in collaboration with NSO in the coming weeks, with an amended questionnaire that better reflects the specific reality of the Maltese publishing industry.

The annual Malta Book Festival will take place at the MFCC from 18 till 22 October this year, while the National Book Prize ceremony will be held on 24 November awarding both the Terramaxka Prize and National Book Prize. The NBC is looking at increasing the status of the Prize by seeking for patronage.

Promotional and marketing multimedia campaigns and initiatives for the promotion of books and reading are also in the pipeline, including an audiovisual book trailer campaign and the second series of 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 and publishers network with foreign publishers. The Council’s commitment for 2023 is to strengthen foreign ties and continue working on the setting up of a 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.

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KEY DATES

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NATIONAL BOOK PRIZE 2023

Call open: 14 February

Call closes: 7 March

Ceremony: 24 November
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

Prize for translated works (Terramaxka only): €2,000

Special prizes: €4,000[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row bg_type=”bg_color” bg_override=”1″ css=”.vc_custom_1643113159711{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-left: 10px !important;}” bg_color_value=”#efeae6″][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]

CAMPUS BOOK FESTIVAL

Festival dates: 22-24 March

Application for exhibitors: 30 January – 6 February

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MALTA BOOK FESTIVAL

Festival dates: 18-22 October

Application for exhibitors: 15 May – 12 June

More info here.

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NOVELS FOR YOUTH LITERARY CONTEST

Call opens: 24 January

Call closes: 1 September

Ceremony: 12 January 2024

More info here.

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THE LONDON BOOK FAIR

The National Book Council will represent Maltese authors and publishers during the London Book Fair, which will be held between 18 and 20 April.

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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row bg_type=”bg_color” bg_override=”1″ css=”.vc_custom_1643111110060{margin-right: 20px !important;margin-left: 20px !important;}” bg_color_value=”rgba(161,178,203,0.37)”][vc_column][vc_column_text]

DOREEN MICALLEF POETRY CONTEST

Call opens: 13 June

Call closes: 22 August

More info here.

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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row bg_type=”bg_color” bg_override=”1″ css=”.vc_custom_1643111455842{margin-right: 20px !important;margin-left: 20px !important;}” bg_color_value=”#efeae6″][vc_column][vc_column_text]

MALTA BOOK FUND

Call opens: 12 April

Call closes: 5 June
Results announcement: 1 August

More info here.

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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row bg_type=”bg_color” bg_override=”1″ css=”.vc_custom_1643112287262{margin-right: 20px !important;margin-left: 20px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]

PUBLIC LENDING RIGHTS (PLR)

Applications accepted all year round.

Application form and further information at https://ktieb.org.mt/public-lending-rights/

At a glance:

Annual budget: €60,000

Maximum yearlyt 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 (ISBN numbers) – issued every year

– 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 here.

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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.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]