Launch of Malta Book Fund – 12/05/2015

The Hon. Evarist Bartolo, Minister for Education and Employment; Permanent Secretary, Mr. Joseph Caruana and Mr. Mark Camilleri, Executive Chairman of the National Book Council have just launched the Malta Book Fund in a press conference which took place in the Board Room of the Ministry of Education. The Malta Book  Fund is an initiative launched by the National Book Council to foster cultural growth in the local book market.

After a consultation process with authors and publishers, and after having studied the local book market in detail, the National Book Council has noted a particular issue which deserves considerable attention. We have come to realise that there are many authors and publishers who have planned very interesting Melitensia publications of significant cultural, educational and intellectual value, however, said projects may not necessarily be easily profitable due to their very specialised nature, or are rather difficult to publish and distribute due to shortcomings within the infrastructure of the market itself.

Furthermore, the NBC, in its drive to contribute to the development of the Maltese book, would also like to support authors and publishers by financing projects to further enhance their skills and capabilities by providing them with grants to attend workshops, courses and cultural initiatives which might help further improve his or her skills and capabilities.

For the above mentioned reasons the National Book Council is issuing a minimum of eight grants totaling €40,000 – with €32,000 reserved for publication grants, and €8,000 to be distributed between education and foreign marketing funds. The grants are to be distributed following a rigorous application process vetted by an appointed adjudication board.

 This initiative forms part of the NBC’s vision to take the role of a cultural-agent within society, meaning that the NBC becomes a pro-active and progressive contributor to the cultural, educational and intellectual development of our society. While small amounts of funding can make a great difference to publishing projects in our small yet thriving book market, especially to projects in Maltese and/or of local and cultural significance; the NBC strives to ensure that financial allocations are made to those applicants who would make the best use of their funds.

The application deadline for 2015 is 30th June at 12:00.

Download a Malta Book Fund Application Form

Download the Malta Book Fund Criteria in English

Download the Malta Book Fund Appendix A

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