Malta Book Festival 2024 Expands to Record-Breaking Space at MFCC

The National Book Council (NBC) is pleased to announce that this year the Malta Book Festival’s exhibitors space will occupy a record footage at the Malta Fairs and Conference Centre (MFCC) in Ta’ Qali. 

Accommodating over 40 exhibitors, the Malta Book Festival (MBF 24) will take up an unprecedented 1,800+sqm of stands, up from 1,668sqm in 2023 and 1,200sqm in 2022. Custom stands will be an integral part of the space, while a further 1,600sqm will be dedicated to the central ‘Pjazza’ area, ensuring that visitors can comfortably relax with a fresh book purchase or simply take some down-time from the many stalls and events during Malta’s most long-running and prestigious literary-themed event. 

“In this day and age, it’s crucial to ensure that any book-selling environment is enhanced by an impeccable visitor experience. In competition with a wide variety of media and a vibrant cultural calendar in Malta, book culture has learned to adapt to the times, and the Malta Book Festival is ideally positioned to lead the charge,” National Book Council Executive Chairman Mark Camilleri said, stressing that the Malta Book Festival is not only the leading book-based event on the island but a mass event for the whole family in its own right. 

“For this reason, we are also pleased that a number of exhibitors have opted to participate with custom stands, lending a sense of uniqueness and individuality both to their own offering and to the look and feel of the Festival space,” he said, adding that both the variety of exhibitors and the dynamism of their participation brings to life this year’s theme of #bindingworlds, celebrating the diversity and richness of the written word. 

Comprised chiefly of publishers and booksellers, the exhibitors also include a number of NGOs, organisations and other entities, including the book-based and cultural arms of various diplomatic bodies on the island, as well as self-published authors. 

A number of exhibitors will also be organising events, both at their stands and across the various activity areas of the venue. Complementing the activities planned by the NBC, these events are crucial in providing a snapshot of the book scene on the island, and they include book launches and presentations, thematic discussions, seminars and entertaining activities for children and their families.

The international dimension will receive a further boost this year, with the welcome participation of entities such as the China Cultural Centre in Malta and the Embassy of Spain in Malta, as well as returning entities such as the Istituto Italiano di Cultura La Valletta and the German-Maltese Circle. 

MBF 24 will also welcome a number of first-time participants, proving that the festival remains an attractive and relevant avenue for book culture in Malta. 

NBC has teamed up with several exhibitors this year to enhance the national event, creating a robust platform for publishing professionals and expanding its audience reach. In partnership with Arts Council Malta, the Festival will feature the third edition of the exhibition From Illustration to Book, showcasing works by Maltese and international illustrators. This exhibition will be open to the public free of charge. Additionally, the Festival will feature a Sensory-Friendly Room, a dedicated space for individuals on the autism spectrum or children children who would benefit from a calm environment away from the bustling atmosphere of the festival. Inspire Malta will oversee this space and organise various children’s events, and APS bank will financially support the setting up of the space. The Energy and Water Agency will return to the festival, hosting reading activities for children focused on energy efficiency, while also sponsoring one of the event spaces at the venue. 

The full programme of events for the 2024 Malta Book Festival (6-10 November) will be published in the coming weeks. For the latest updates, please follow the NBC website, and the NBC Facebook page and The Malta Book Festival Facebook event page.

The NBC would like to give a warm welcome to the Malta Book Festival 2024 Exhibitors: