The Malta Book Festival – the Bookshop opens to the public tomorrow!

The 2021 Malta Book Festival – the Bookshop opens to the public tomorrow Wednesday 3 November with a varied programme of events and the participation of 40 exhibitors. Following last year’s virtual edition, the Malta Book Festival is returning with an in-person Festival which is still retaining an online presence. This evening already, audiences are invited to follow the official opening of the Festival with the awards ceremony for the Terramaxka National Book Prize for children and adolescents – the ceremony will be streaming live on the National Book Council website and Facebook page. 

The Events Programme features more than 70 events and activities for audiences of all ages, including book launches and presentations, meetings with authors, seminars and panel discussions, and a host of activities for children. Among the international guests for this edition the Festival will be welcoming the celebrated Scottish author of Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh. Welsh will be speaking at the Festival on two occasions – sitting for an interview with Wayne Flask, and joining an exchange with author Immanuel Mifsud and Mark Vella.

The Malta Book Festival is also looking forward to once again welcoming children on their school visits. 10,000 students have been registered by their schools to visit the Festival or follow streamed interactive performances based on Terramaxka Prize winning works in class. All registered students will also be receiving a €5 book voucher which can be redeemed from the Festival Bookshop or a number of online stores from participating exhibitors.

In view of the current public health guidelines, visitors should note that the Festival will be taking place across two distinct areas – the Bookshop area, and events halls. Visitors to the the Bookshop area, gathering all the participating exhibitors under one roof, will be subject to a temperature check at the door and must wear a face mask at all times. The presentation of a valid vaccination certificate or of a negative PCR test is not required. No pre-registrations are required for visits to the Bookshop area.

Pre-registration for all events is however mandatory – the online Events Programme contains relevant information about registrations for each event. Admittance to all Festival events, except those for children, shall be exclusively upon presentation of a valid vaccination certificate.

For more information visit the Malta Book Festival 2021 – the Bookshop Facebook page or the NBC website. 

The Malta Book Festival – the Bookshop runs between 3-7 November at the following opening hours: on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9am-1pm and 5:30pm-9:30pm; on Saturday from 9:30am-10:30pm, and on Sunday from 8:30am-8pm.