The Malta Book Festival opens tomorrow!

The Malta Book Festival 2023 kicks off tomorrow! Carrying the theme of #beyondbooks, this year’s edition of the islands’ main book-based event aims to offer a multi-sensory experience which goes beyond the written word and encompasses illustration, music, theatre, film and more.

Taking place at the MFCC, Ta’ Qali from tomorrow until 22 October, the event will feature the participation of some 50 exhibitors, and a rich programme of around 100 events.

Highlights include workshops and masterclasses by a number of international guests. Bestselling Irish crime writer Sam Blake will be sharing insightful tips on how to calibrate your manuscript for market and turn it into a bestseller, while also delivering a separate session on inspiration and the writing process aimed at post-secondary students. Blake will also participate in a discussion with renowned Maltese author Leanne Ellul. The event, Finding the Words, will be moderated by Blake’s own literary agent Simon Trewin, a returning guest to the festival who will also be delivering Inside Publishing – a seminar on the realities of the publishing industry and how aspiring authors can best strategise their professional trajectories.

As ever, the Festival is thrilled to welcome thousands of school children over its weekday schedule, giving them a chance to engage directly with both its exhibitors and the programme. Acclaimed playwright Simone Spiteri will lead a theatre show geared at young audiences and inspired by a selection of Terramaxka winning books, while Il-Kamra Sensorja — an autism-friendly space set up by Inspire Foundation in collaboration with APS Bank — will host a number of events, including live animal sessions and reading sessions.

The showstopping event of the festival will be VII/Fidwa – a collaboration between the NBC and Teatru Malta featuring rising-star musical duo The New Victorians, presenting an hour-long show with songs taken from sold-out shows Sette and Il-Fidwa tal-Bdiewa.

The visual arts will also be amply represented, with the From Illustration to Book exhibition once again taking place, while the Interactive Mural — a collaboration with the Malta Community of Illustrators — will stress the potential of illustration to foster social change. The Festival will also be paying homage to the Maltese language itself, with the Heritage Malta exhibition Il-Malti: Il-Mixja Sal-Għarfien Uffiċjali tracing the history of the Maltese language through a showcase of intriguing books and documents.

The Energy and Water Agency will actively engage young attendees at the Festival by offering interactive reading sessions and conducting scientific experiments focused on the reliable, sustainable, and accessible provision of energy and water resources.

The Malta Book Festival runs between 18-22 October at the following opening hours: on Wednesday and Thursday from 9am-1pm and 5pm-9pm; on Friday from 9am-1pm and 5pm-10pm; on Saturday from 9:30am-10pm, and on Sunday from 9:30am-8pm.

The full programme of events for the 2023 Malta Book Festival is available online here. For the latest updates, follow the NBC website, and the NBC Facebook page and Malta Book Festival 2023 Facebook page.