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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 28 MAY 2017 49 This Week MARK CAMILLERI SUMMER is coming, schools will be closing and National Book Prize judges will be busy reading through their book lists. The adjudication process has already started, yet it will take as long as October for the jury to reach their final verdict, right before Malta Book Festival which traditionally opens with the announcement of the Terramaxka Prize for children's books. The winners of the Prize for adult lit- erature and research categories are announced later in December in a separate ceremony. Children's books are becom- ing increasingly more attractive. Merlin publishers dominated last year's Terramaxka prize and this comes as no surprise to anyone who has leafed through its books. Merlin's in-house designer Pierre Portelli needs no introductions, and is well-known in the literary and artistic scene. Merlin prides itself in its varied choice of pres- tigious artists for its productions. Mingu, penned by renowned au- thor Clare Azzopardi, is illustrated by Lisa Falzon, a Maltese artist who has made a name with her mystical and dream-like paint- ings. Mingu tells the story of a flamingo that was shot down by a hunter and the book is indicative of a new trend in children's books, in which authors seek to bring out contemporary and controversial themes in their work. It is hoped that this trend will, in due course, completely supersede the more traditional children's book type, which depends so heavily on slap- stick humour. Other winners in the children's categories included Pierre J. Me- jlak, a recipient of the European Union Prize for literature, Lo- ranne Vella and John Bonello with his book Irvin Vella: investigatur virtwali a fantasy crime novel for children to ages from 8 to 12. The winner for the ages from 12 to 16 was Djamantini, a collection of poems, stories and illustrations by children from Pembroke's second- ary school; an interesting project made possible thanks to school teacher Sharon Micallef Cann. The prize for adult novels was once more awarded to a publica- tion by Klabb Kotba Maltin, Alex Vella Gera's Trojan. Klabb Kotba Maltin has recently emerged as the dominant winner in this category with authors such as Immanuel Mifsud and Walid Nabhan, both recipients of the European Union Prize for Literature. A second- time winner of the Prize, Vella Gera needs no introduction, and his work speaks for itself. With Trojan Alex Vella Gera takes a more sublime route to existential crisis, in contrast to his highly controversial Is-Sriep Reġgħu Saru Velenużi. I will not spoil the book for those who have not read it yet, but in Trojan, a story about a con- servative author who made a name from the only book he published, you only get the significant and relevant background at the very end of the story, in a way which il- lustrates perfectly the art of keep- ing a secret with all its dark, deep and hidden implications. A new publisher to enter the college of Book Prize winners is Kite with its astonishing picto- rial album of Antonio Sciortino's models, written and compiled by Gerald Bugeja. Antonio Sciortino: The Lost Album is a collection of a significant number of photographs of models of works by Antonio Sciortino complemented with Bugeja's insightful commentary on Sciortino's life and work. The prize in the historiography section went to Keith Sciberras with his impor- tant study of the Baroque art of Malta Caravaggio to Mattia Preti, which he shared with Paul George Pisani's The Battle of Lepanto, 7 October 1571, an unpublished Hospitaller account, a study of the account of the Battle of Lepanto by Abbot Luc Cenni. The transla- tion category prize was awarded to Edmund Teuma with his transla- tion of the Arabic Nights, pub- lished by BDL. The poetry prize was won by Na- dia Mifsud, a Maltese translator working and living in France, with her collection of poems Kantuni- era 'l bogħod. This was probably the most difficult category to adju- dicate given that the other entrants included some well-established names such as Adrian Grima and Norbert Bugeja, not to mention Joe P. Galea, whose Bla Qiegħ: Poeżija mit-Trab, published by Horizons, impressed the reading public to the point that the book seemed certain to win the prize. It is being said that Galea will be publishing a novel soon and this is surely a book to watch out for. A veteran author and a house- hold name, Trevor Żahra carried off the prize in the short-story cat- egory with a collection of dark and mysterious stories, Vespri. Pub- lished in 2015, the book had been received with accolades of acclaim by both critics and members of the reading public. There can be no doubt that this is one of his best works to date. Last year a new prize was intro- duced to award emerging authors, that is, authors who have one or very few publications to their name but who have nonetheless man- aged to win the attention of critics. The first winner of the Emerging Author Prize is Leanne Ellul, who had already made a name when her debut novel "Gramma" won the National Book Council's and Aġenzija Żgħażagħ's Literature for Youth Contest. Gramma is a young-adult novel about anorexia and body-issues with a female voice. This year round, we once again expect some great titles to awe us and grab our full attention. With regards to the administration and the adjudication of the Prize, the National Book Council continu- ally strives to raise the standards and the level of the adjudication process. The prize will always be highly controversial, since giving a prize to a book and not to an- other may always be reduced into subjective criteria even though we have a system which is aimed to create the best possible objective outcome. Authors are always in- vited to speak about the National Book Prize at our consultation meetings and the National Book Council has always given due con- sideration to their feedback, along with that of the publishers. As the Prize becomes ever more popular, prestigious and sought-after, the National Book Council will find itself more and more intensely scrutinized by the critical eye of our many authors and the reading public. Meanwhile the National Book Council's adjudication board is busy evaluating last year's pub- lished books. Happy reading everyone. Mark Camilleri is chairman of the National Book Council Truly great expectations COURT NOTICE The Registrar of Civil Courts and Tribunals informs that the Civil Court, First Hall ordered the following sales by auction: Date Time Judicial Sale No Place Items 12 th June 2017 10.00am 13/17 One Blue Lemon Limited C 35631 vs Print Shop Limited C52250 EM 447, Triq Il-Kbira San Ġuzepp, Santa Venera Two (2) Printers of the make Espon, Heat Press machine red in colour, Two (2) mug presses, monitor of the make Funai, monitor of the make View Sonic, monitor of the make V7, Tower of the make Dell, Fan of the make Evernal, Hot plate of the make Ufesa, Roll up banner, various T shirts, Bench with drawers, Mugs, Table with in colour and various other objects. 19th June 2017 11.00am 32/11 Brian Cutajar noe. ID vs Cutajar Salvatore C JGL First Floor Law Courts, Republic Street, Valletta One hundred (100) ordinary shares within the company S.C. & Company Limited C-6050 21st June 2017 10.00am 19/15 J. Zammit Limited C37945 vs O'brien Dennis Charles ID364999M JGL Garage Number Three (3), 'St. James Court' In Triq Is-Sienja, Ħ'Attard Van of the make Ford Transit, white in colour with the registration number BGV103 valued at €3600. Vehicle of the make Jaguar, black in colour with the registration number FBZ 947 valued at €2300 26 th June 2017 10.00am 16/17 JMC Properties Limited et C52422 vs Schembri Victor ID 148177M AZ Aries House, Triq Tal-Ħlas, Ħaż-Żebbuġ Vehicle of the make Mercedes model E220 CDI with the registration number LCR 074. 28 th June 2017 10.00am 5/17 A.Gatt Trading C52422 vs Kaplan Sadik ID 46115A. AZ J & J Boatyard, Triq L- Għadmija, L-Imqabba Ten (10) cane tables and forty (40) cane chairs, television of the make Samsung, three (3) fridges counters, stainless steel tables, kebab grills, food warmer of the make Tuman Gelih, Chip pan of the make Tuman Gelih, Chip warmer of the make Tuman Gelih, stainless steel fridge of the make Olis, stainless steel fridge of the make Ilsa and other various objects. Further details can be obtained from the website: http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/courtservices/JudicialSales/search.aspx The bidders taking part in the auction must present their identity card Rudolph Marmara' For the Registrar Civil Courts and Tribunals The National Book Prize adjudication process has already started but it will take as long as October for the jury to reach their final verdict