Maltese bookshops are failing to move with the times, making it harder for local publishers to shift their output, according to the chairman of the National Book Council.
“With the arrival of Amazon, people have radically changed the way they buy their books,” Mark Camilleri said during the opening of the Malta Book Festival.
“Bookshops are no longer just places to buy a book, but cultural centres providing a wider experience. Our bookshops are not adapting to these changes, and local publishers are losing out as a result.”
Mr Camilleri said that with statistics showing bookshops selling less and less each year, publishers urgently needed new alternatives.
Positioning the annual Book Festival as one such alternative, he announced that next year’s event would for the first time feature a second exhibition hall, with one hall dedicated to booksellers and the other to publishers.
“With this change, we expect to double the number of schoolchildren and general visitors,” he said.
Mr Camilleri announced that payments under the Public Lending Rights scheme, which pays authors when their books are checked out of libraries, would be increased by 80 per cent as of next year.
Moreover, a large building in Old Mint Street, Valletta, has been allocated to the council for the creation of a National Book Centre, which he said would be given a €1 million restoration and eventually host various projects and events.
READ: Malta Book Festival: 'In a good review everything has to be riveting!’
The Malta Book Festival opened at the Mediterranean Conference Centre on Tuesday and runs until Sunday. It is the largest book event of the year and features more than 40 exhibitors and a cultural programme including book launches, book presentations, poetry readings, meetings with authors, conferences and seminars.
Among several events, the programme for today includes an event honouring last year’s winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, the author, poet and playwright Mario Azzopardi.
A special children’s programme will include dramatic performances based on the winning titles of this year’s Terramaxka Book Prize, while actors dressed up as well-known literary figures will guide young visitors around the festival.