Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/441179
XV This week maltatoday, Sunday, 4 January 2015 tor; nonetheless I am pretty sure that the 30,000 people who attended last year's Book Festival did not attend to simply fish for cheap holiday paper- backs. Last year''s Book Festival was marked by an evident shift in attitude with more and more attendees hoping to either get their hands on new and well-advertised quality material or to listen and participate in one of the several ongoing cultural and educa- tional events. It is true that local authors and publishers have to work around constraints which are not found elsewhere in highly developed econo- mies and with much larger markets, but the National Book Festival is a testament to the fact that the demand for good quality reads, both local and foreign, is ever present and the Festival serves as an excellent pit-stop to quench this taste. This is why we are labouring to change the previ- ous model of the Book Fair, by most importantly removing the bazaar component to make way for cultural and educational value. Rather than promoting the sale of large stocks of remainders, we are promoting exhibitors who act as cultural agents; mainly publishers. Furthermore, our aim is for the National Book Festival to not simply serve publishers as a quick sales boost, but also as a platform from which to promote their brand and image with the general audience, and thus affecting sales in the long-term. I truly believe that in the past, too much blame has been apportioned to the local reader for the lack of growth in our small yet thriving book market. I feel that comments implying that Maltese people are not avid readers were largely misplaced, fatalistic and ultimately too simplistic. If one could compare the Eurobarometer Surveys on Culture of 2007 and 2013, one would find that in this gap, Maltese respondents who said that they have read a book at least once a year, increased by 10% from 45% to 55%. One can not solely rest on the results of the Eurobarometer surveys to elic- it a conclusion, but statistics released by the National Statistics Office (118/2014) also invoke optimism for they show that from 2010, to 2013, the importation of printed books has risen from €7,009,000 to €10,607,000 while the private consumption of books has risen from €26,734,000 to €29,489,000. Another statistical comparison which should shed more light on this issue, even though it has been widely criticised by academics and educators, is the forthcoming results of the PISA report, which yet again will investigate the literacy and numeracy rates of 15-year old pupils in OECD countries. Now, for the sake of clarity, I want to ensure that I do not come across as overly optimistic here, but statistics are showing slight indications that in the recent past the consumption of books and reading in general have been on the ascent. Still, there are things and matters which go beyond the National Book Council and the Book Festival's re- sponsibility when it comes to health- ier reading statistics. Nowadays, we know all too well, that the consump- tion of books and the pleasure of reading is particularly widespread in highly developed countries with strong economies and a high standard of living such as Holland, Denmark and Sweden. Economic conditions are after all a main component in determining the private consumption of culture. The National Book Festival can only exist as one such impor- tant contributing component to the cultural, educational and intellectual development of our society so long as our economy grows and people will keep having enough money to buy books. Mark Camilleri is the executive chairman of the National Book Council the Maltese book Rita Saliba's adventure stories for children, and Simon Bartolo's young adult novel adaptation Kważi kważi lil Tamara nżommuha, rounded up a strong year for translations. Among Merlin's traditional strengths are educational titles, and 2014 saw the launching of Merlin's brand-new Maltese literacy scheme for primary, Tikka Malti. And to- wards the end of the year, Merlin pub- lished Trevor Żahra's long-awaited Stampakelma, a massive endeavour of a picture dictionary that entailed more than two years of research and work. Over a thousand words, and illustrations, make this the most detailed, comprehensive and Maltese culture-grounded picture dictionary ever. Of course, for the past months we've been working full-on on our 2015 publishing list, which promises to be one of our strongest in years. We will shortly be publishing Mejlak's EU Literature Prize-winning book in English translation, following an extensive, rigorous translation and editing process. Among the returns of 2015, Mark Camilleri's Inspector Gallo will return with his third investigation. Prize-winning author John A. Bonello will debut in a category that's new to him – children's literature – with a very different sort of detective: Irvin Vella, l-investigatur virtwali, illus- trated by Lisa Falzon. We're very excited to be publishing not one but two English-language novels in 2015: Lizzie Eldridge's Vandalism, as well as a lovely atmospheric novel set in and around the Lazzaretto back in the 1950s, written by Jenny Wilson. Both these manuscripts are currently in their final stages of editing. Merlin is also honoured to be publishing the highly-anticipated biography of young Jacob Cachia, also known as The Titanium Man after his battle with a horrific ill- ness, as written by his indomitable mum Sarah together with Kristina Chetcuti. And, towards the end of the year, we have in store a unique surprise – a beautiful book on Maltese life in the Holy Land. But more on this later… Children's literature adaptations into Maltese will see the welcome return of Loranne Vella and Pierre J. Mejlak in two very special picture storybooks. Plus, needless to say, many other new titles by a mix of established a new authors. Chris Gruppetta is Director of Publishing at Merlin Publishers Culture Commissioner Tibor Navracsics presenting Pierre J. Meljak with the EU Prize for Literature last October in Brussels