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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 AUGUST 2019 17 LITERATURE THE National Book Prize is a major event in Malta's literary calendar, bestowing prestige and recognition to the best lo- cally published books from the previous year. The short-listed titles and the winning titles in the eight cat- egories of the National Book Prize for Adults and the six categories of the Terramaxka Prize (National Book Prize for Children and Adolescents) are selected by an independent ad- judication board, whose deci- sions follow a set of established criteria, thus ensuring the high- est degree of transparency and fairness. Year on year, the shortlist pre- sents the best locally produced literature and original research, just in time to catch up with summer reading. Here's some highlights from each category of this year's shortlist. Novels A significant drop in compari- son to last year's eight short- listed books, only three works have been shortlisted this year. Two of them are by established writers making their debut in long form fiction, both with a page-turning murder mystery. Castillo by Clare Azzopardi re- visits the events surrounding a state visit by Libyan Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 1976, in the process writing into being a number of fictitious police pro- cedurals from the same year. Replete with twists and mys- teries, John P. Portelli's Kulħadd Barra Fajża is also a revelation for what it says about the lives of Maltese immigrants in Canada, where the central crime takes place. Lou Drofenik returns with The Reluctant Healer, her ninth novel, once again travers- ing continents between Aus- tralia and Malta, and a tale of cross-generational relationships shaped by the narrow streets of a Gozitan village. Short stories None were shortlisted last year, but the number of short- listed short story collections have this year outnumbered novels. Owing to their concise form, short stories have an in- herent potential to bring back the habit of daily reading. Tre- vor Żahra ingeniously enhances this aspect in 365, with a col- lection of 365 short stories, one for every day of the year. Rita Saliba, on the other hand, uti- lises snapshot-writing strategy, in Fuq Widnejn Torox u stejjer żbukkati oħra, a collection of flash fiction with a dose of magi- cal realism. The latest short story collec- tion by Joe Friggieri, Il-Fiera tal- Fuħħar: U Stejjer Oħra employs the author's minimalist style, negotiating the liminal zone between daily life and fable. The normal and the extraordi- nary is also to be found in the everyday encounters narrated by John P. Portelli in his collec- tion Inkontri ta' Kuljum: Skizzi. Lina Brockdorff, who won the National Book Prize in 2015 for her work of non-fiction about the besieging of Malta during World War II, Sireni u Serenati, was shortlisted for her collec- tion of post-war stories about about our common ancestors, Minn Żmien l-Għerien. Poetry The two shortlisted poetry collections are rich in their a wide reaching observations on relationships, nature, and per- ception. Louis Briffa's second poetry collection, Bil-Boqxiex explores the tensions between humanity and modernity across themes as diverse as the envi- ronment, suffering and journey- ing. Framed, the latest offering by veteran poet Maria Grech Ganado, explores the complexi- ties of family relationships, food and aesthetic practices with un- failing emotion and raw diction. Literary non-fiction Two entries have been short- listed in the new category of literary non-fiction. No Man's Land: People Place Pollution is a tragicomic exposition of people polluting public places, and is useful to continue rais- ing awareness related to im- portant environmental issues. Richard England's literary auto- biography Chambers of Mem- ory: Roaming the Mansions of Mnemosyne offers numerous insights into the renowned ar- chitect's life, career and wide spectrum of interests and artis- tic pursuits. Translation The four shortlisted books this year are translations of Euro- pean classics into Maltese that continue to enrich the vocabu- lary of the national language. They include Jean Anouilh's Antigone and Annie Ernaux's Simple Passion translated from the French by Toni Aquilina; Kafka's The Metamorphosis translated by Emmanuel Cuta- jar; and Thomas Mann's Death in Venice translated by Alfred Palma. Research (general, biographical and historiographic) Both the General Research and the Biographical and Histo- riographic Research categories remain among the most original of categories, ranging on vari- ous themes, from Maltese cul- ture, traditions and folklore, to history, football, art and literary criticism. In his book dedicated to the history of Għarb, Patrick Formosa records interviews on long lost skills and rural prac- tices conducted in the seventies, with residents speaking about the various traditions belonging to Gozitan rural life. Charles Briffa continues to en- rich our perspective on various Maltese authors with his latest study on poet Victor Fenech. Among historiographic books feature an extensive study about Valletta composed of essays by various authors, Humillima Civitas Vallettae; an illustrated analysis of the Wignacourt Psalter, a late thirteenth-cen- tury illuminated liturgical book written on parchment, The Wignacourt Psalter: A Medieval Carthusian Treasure in Malta; a historical account of Malta's immediate pre-independence era and the fourth volume in Joseph M. Pirotta's extensive history of the post-war years, Fortress Colony: The Final Act 1945-1964; Vol. 4 1961-1964; and Christine Muscat's follow- up study on prostitution in Val- letta between 1630 and 1798, in which the author argues that these women were not simply prostitutes, but entrepreneurial women of significant ambition and business acumen. Biographical research fea- tures books on various Mal- tese and foreign public figures, namely on playwright Carlo Magri; on classical composer Francesco Azopardi; on Gozi- tan wine merchant Giuseppe (de)Brincat; on Sister Maria Adeodata Pisani, who was a mystic nun in Mdina in the 1850s; on Judge Maurice Caru- ana Curran, founder of Din l- Art Ħelwa; on war-time artist Leslie Cole, who was sent to Malta in 1943 to document the dramatic and historic scenes through painting; and on the paintings, prints and sketches of Malta by artists Julian Trev- elyan and Mary Fedden, who visited Malta several times be- tween 1958 and 2002. Terramaxka Among the books instilling a love of books in children for years to come there will always be a place for the works short- listed in each of the Terramax- ka categories of original and translated works. All shortlisted original and translated works in the Terramaxka category are written in the Maltese language, and continue to serve as an ir- replaceable means to stimulate curiosity in children and en- courage reading in Maltese. Among the original works for children aged 0–7 feature a number of picture books, namely four books by Saviour Sam Agius on the adventures of Frollu, a book by Sherise Zam- mit on the adventure of Ġanni who visits Paris, and Il-ħanut tal-ħelu li mar dawra by Clare Azzopardi. Five books by differ- ent authors were shortlisted in the ages 8–12 category, ranging from an adventure on a ship and football in Malta, to magic and witches, another mystery to be solved by investigator Irvin Vel- la, and the adventure of Lorella who meets a genie who doesn't know how to read. Only one book was shortlisted in the cat- egory for adolescents: Amina by Antoinette Borg. Another nine books in the categories ages 0–7 and 8–12 were shortlisted in the translation category. The winners of the Terramax- ka Prize will be announced on Tuesday 5 November at the of- ficial opening of the Malta Book Festival 2019, where you'll be able to shop for present and past winners of the National Book Prize in fiction, poetry, non-fic- tion, young people's literature and research publications. The winners of the National Book Prize will be announced at an award-giving ceremony that will be held at Auberge de Cas- tille later this year. Summer reading Highlights from the 2019 National Book Prize shortlist