Two books published and printed by Allied Publications won prestigious prizes yesterday in the 2010 edition of the National Book Prize ceremony.

A book by Karen Mugliett called Seasonal & Sustainable: Cooking For Healthy Living won the first prize in the nonfiction prose category.

Meanwhile, Media Maker won a special prize in the category Book Production in Maltese for the highly popular book – which was reprinted twice, also by Allied Publications – Strada Stretta by George Cini.

Joseph Schembri, head of design at Media Maker, collected the special prize in the ceremony, presided over by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, at Auberge de Castille.

In Strada Stretta, Valletta-born journalist George Cini recreates life in the heyday of Strait Street, up to the early 1970s the city’s red-light district, and known to generations of British servicemen as The Gut.

Meanwhile, Seasonal & Sustainable draws upon Ms Mugliett’s experience as a home economist and her holistic philosophy of sustainable living centred round the home.

Both books are available for sale at Word for Word, Castille Place, Valletta.