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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 FEBRUARY 2020 7 CULTURE BOOKS THERE will be no award for the best novel in Maltese and English, the highest hon- our awarded in the National Book Council awards, after the judging panel felt none of the three short-listed novels possessed the 'exceptional' quality required to win the prize. The three short-listed books were Castil- lo (Merlin) by award-winning writer Clare Azzopardi, The Reluctant Healer (Hori- zons) by Lou Drofenik, and John P. Portel- li's Kulħadd Barra Fajża (Horizons). This is not the first time the top award is not given out. In 2004 the First Prize in Fiction (today's novel category) was not awarded. Only the second place was given and it was awarded to Guze Stagno's Xemx Wisq Sabiha. According to present NBP rules there is only a one award per category, following a shortlisting process. The award-giving ceremony of the 2019 edition of the National Book Prize was held at San Anton Palace under the auspic- es of the President of the Republic of Mal- ta, George Vella. The ceremony was hosted by TVM news anchor and journalist Keith Demicoli. In his opening speech, National Book Council (NBC) Executive Chairperson Mark Camilleri noted that this was the first time the National Book Prize Ceremony is being held under the auspices of the Presi- dent of the Republic. "While the NBC and the book industry have received unprecedented support from the Office of the Prime Minister over the past years, the latter's implication at the end of 2019 in the investigation into the assassi- nation of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and the Council's duty to the safeguard the interests of its stakeholders, have led to the decision for the NBC to distance itself from the in- stitution." Camilleri remarked that, albeit not a writ- er of books, Daphne Caruana Galizia "was one of us, a fellow writer, and her being killed because of her writing is an unaccept- able state of affairs to say the least." In such challenging times, Camilleri ap- pealed to President George Vella to take up the very important role of a patron and champion of writers' and publishers' inter- ests through the President's support to the NBC. "The book industry and its writers remain a bastion of hope to address the challenges of fear, censorship, and political degradation, and therefore all the more of a reason to protect them. "In tandem, the NBC will keep on work- ing to support the book market and foster a love for reading. Year after year, the Coun- cil has striven to raise the monetary value of the National Book Prize, as well as the rig- orous process of its adjudication, and will continue to do so." The NBC Chairperson celebrated the high level of fiction and academic works competing for this year's Prize, congrat- ulating all of those shortlisted. In closing, Camilleri invited writers to look beyond the competition and recognise their strength in influencing society to overcome its present challenges. Minister for Education and Employment Owen Bonnici congratulated all shortlisted and winning authors and remarked on the positive developments in the Maltese lit- erary sector, particularly the growth of the Malta Book Festival. Bonnici encouraged writers to keep practising their craft, stating that they play a crucial role in the develop- ment of society, at once reflecting it, and in the process, shaping its future. President George Vella expressed his ap- preciation for the efforts made by Maltese authors and their talent and expressed satisfaction that publishers are supporting Maltese writers, while remarking that there has never been a time when so many Mal- tese books were being published as there are now. While congratulating the National Book Prize winners, he wished upon them that they keep on writing in freedom and provide readers with more information about the Maltese culture and identity through their books. Winning authors and publishers received their awards from the President. These included prizes for books (pub- lished in 2018) shortlisted across eight re- spective categories. The Prize for 'Novels in Maltese and English' was not awarded. The winner in the category 'Short Sto- ries in Maltese and English' was Trevor Żahra's 365 (Merlin Publishers). The winning title in the 'General re- search' category was Il-Maltin: Għemil- hom, Drawwiethom, Ġrajjiethom; It-Tieni Volum by Steve Borg, published by Klabb Kotba Maltin. Fortress Colony: The Final Act 1945-1964; Vol. 4 1961-1964 by Joseph M. Pirotta (Midsea Books) won in the 'Biographical and historiographic research' category. Marie Brigulio and Steve Bonello won the category for Literary Nonfiction with No Man's Land: People, Place & Pollution (Kite Group). Parallel Existences. The Notarial Archives: A Photographer's Inspiration published by Kite Group won the Prize for Best Book Production. Maria Grech Ganado won the first prize for Poetry with her collec- tion Framed (Merlin Publishers). Having previously won the Prize for poetry in 2000, 2006 and 2015, she is also the first recipi- ent of the Poet Laureate Award. The Award for Best Emergent Writ- er went to Gioele Galea. The Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of an accomplished literary ca- reer and long list of publications including plays, short stories, novels, and non-fiction, was conferred to Dr Alfred Sant. The National Book Council thanked the members of the jury who served on the adjudication board for the National Book Prize 2019: Yosanne Vella, Mario Ellul, Maria Giuliana Fenech for the categories 'General Research', 'Biographical and his- toriographic research' and 'Literary Non- fiction'; Kevin Saliba, Slavomir Ceplo and David Hudson for the categories 'Novels in Maltese and English' and 'Poetry in Maltese and English'. Judges do not award prize for top novel National Book Prize Above: President George Vella with Trevor Zahra, National Book Council chairman Mark Camilleri and Chris Gruppetta from Merlin Publishers • Right: Maria Grech Ganado receiving the first prize for poetry