Lovers of books are in for a treat starting today as the Malta Book Festival kicks off in Valletta.
This event will feature a good number of conferences on a wide variety of topics, book launches and presentations, meetings with authors and an exhibition on book-binding. As is now customary, a number of authors of international renown will make an appearance at the festival and participate both in conferences and in workshops dedicated to their lives and work.
The participants for this year include virtually all local publishers, major bookshops and book distributors, public entities and non-governmental organisations.
In particular, Malta Libraries has taken a very active role in this year’s edition of the festival, working with both the National Book Council and the National Literacy Agency to set up activities meant to encourage the young to read more.
Foreign languages are also represented with the very active participation of the Italian Cultural Centre, the Spanish Embassy and the French Embassy, whose stand will be host to Librairie La Boucherie Paris and Biblionef, an NGO that distributes books in over 66 countries.
The winner of last year’s Lifetime Achievement Award, poetess Maria Grech Ganado, will have an event dedicated to her work and life. This is a unique opportunity to meet the poetess in person and also to listen to her poetry being recited by professional readers.
Today’s highlights include: a conference on literature and totalitarianism with the participation of Basma Abdel Aziz, Patrick McGuinness, Alek Popov and Immanuel Mifsud (7pm, Temi Zammit Hall); Desperoflora: A Case Study, a presentation on the journey undertaken from the written word to a paper installation to video and, ultimately, to a book by poet Caldon Mercieca (8.30pm, Activity Area); a conversation with Ignazio Vecchio (professor of neurology, Catania University), Cristina Tornali (physiatrist) and Alfio Antonio Grasso (professor of neurology, Catania University) on bioethical and clinical quandaries (in Italian, 8.30pm, at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Stand).
■ The festival is open to the public mornings and evenings until Sunday. Weekday mornings are reserved for young readers and schoolchildren with special activities planned, including drama and adventure. There will be other child-oriented activities in the evenings as well. A shuttle service will operate from next to the Independence monument in Floriana to the Mediterranean Conference centre all day at the weekend.
This space will highlight special events on a daily basis. For more info on the festival and to download the full programme of events, visit http://ktieb.org.mt .