Literary Contest – Novels for Youth 2018

The National Book Council reminds the public that the deadline for submissions to “The Literary Contest – Novels for Youth” is 7 September 2018. The contest, set up annually by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ in collaboration with the NBC, is open to writers of all ages. Submitted works should be original, written in Maltese and between 20,000 and 25,000 words long. Texts that have been published before are not eligible.

The winners will be rewarded with a trophy, a certificate and a sum of one thousand euros. A publication grant will be offered to the winners, who will be expected to look for and secure a publication deal for their manuscript with a local publisher.

The winning entries will explore themes that are highly relevant to the social and psychological realities young people have to face in this stage of their lives, without adopting a didactic stance. The development of the plot and the register and style of narration will be evaluated in terms of originality, imaginative effort and contextual appropriateness.

The main aim of the contest is to boost the availability of quality literature for young adults in the local market. The contest can also help raise the profile of an author in the local literary scene. Among previous winners of the contest we find well-known local authors such as Leanne Ellul, Rita Saliba, Roberta Bajada, Stephen Lughermo, Simon Bartolo and Antoinette Borg.

For more information on the contest and the submission process please follow this link.