This year’s Malta Book Festival will register a rise in female representation, with the festival’s line-up comprising more than 50 per cent of women authors.

Clare AzzopardiClare Azzopardi

Representing Malta together with local guests of the likes of Victor Fenech (who won the National Book Prize’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017), there will be Lou Drofenik, who won the prize for best novel in 2017 with The Confectioner’s Daughter (published by Horizons), in a category that has traditionally been dominated by men.

Drofenik will be part of the panel of local and international speakers in the festival’s opening conference, Literature in the Diaspora, on November 7, while on November 11 an event hosted by Horizons and the National Book Council will be celebrating the writer and her works.

Drofenik’s fiction is founded on extensive historical research, and focuses on the migrant experience, specifically in a Maltese-Australian context. Her work is notable for its engagement with questions of Maltese and migrant identity, and has been praised for its engagement with female perspectives and experiences as distinct from the ‘predominantly patriarchal outlook’ of much of Maltese literary tradition.

Naomi Klein. Photo: Kourosh KeshiriNaomi Klein. Photo: Kourosh Keshiri

Another notable event involving a Maltese female author is the short film premiere of Camilla (produced by Martin Bonnici – Shadeena and directed by Stephanie Sant) on November 8.

Camilla is the winner of this year’s short-film literary contest organised by the National Book Council and is based on Claire Azzopardi’s short story that goes by the same name, adapted for the screen by Teodor Reljic.

Azzopardi is popularly known for her children’s books, which have been regular recipients to the National Book Prize.

She has also captivated readers with her unique award-winning collection of short-stories Kulħadd ħalla isem warajh, of which Camilla forms part, that features a deci­dedly female voice and Maltese landscapes, both interior and exterior.

The writer delves into the mysteries and dilemmas of the lives and experiences of her female characters, and her work gra­vitates around the voices of women. In 2018, Merlin Publishers also released Azzopardi’s first novel, Castillo.

Trending an increasingly strong participation of women writers over the past few years, the festival undoubtedly reflects a significant turn

The special foreign guest of this year’s Malta Book Festival is Naomi Klein, world-renowned and award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist, and author of the international bestsellers No Logo, The Shock Doctrine and This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate.

Her books on the crisis of capitalism and climate change are a call to her readers to move away from a passive stance, be actively conscious and engage in a programme of action.

Lou DrofenikLou Drofenik

The ever-recurring economic and environmental crisis of our times makes Klein’s work as relevant as ever, as is her call for action: the power to make change, Naomi believes, lies in the popular will.

Also part of the panel of the conference Literature in the Diaspora, with Lou Drofenik and international guests Nikola Petković and Philip ò Ceallaigh, Cape Verdean novelist and poet Vera Duarte will be discussing her polyphonic novel A Matriarca with University of Malta visiting professor Teresa Andrade on November 8.

Throughout her career, Cape Verdean human rights activist, government minister and politician Vera Duarte has been involved in various national and international organisations related to women’s rights, culture and human rights.

Her poetry and prose portray issues on the women’s emancipation process and human rights, and her view on the world in which we live, particularly reflecting the problems in Africa and Cape Verde.

Vera DuarteVera Duarte

On November 10, an event will be dedicated to the memory of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was murdered in a car-bomb explosion on October 17 last year. The popularity of Daphne’s news and commentary blog earned her the reputation of one of Malta’s most widely-read and influential writers. Led by James Debono, the event will feature Maltese journalists and authors who will discuss her legacy and the circumstances of her murder, her work and the controversies surrounding her.

Female writers are increasingly giving voice to their characters and to women in the Maltese society, and contributing to shape the new local intellectual and literary scene. The Malta Book Festival welcomes people from all walks of life, and serves as an open space for authors and publishers to promote their work.

Trending an increasingly strong participation of women writers over the past few years, the festival undoubtedly reflects a significant turn away from the traditional male writers-dominated publishing scene in Malta.

The Malta Book Festival takes place between November 7-11 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta.

Mark Camilleri is chairman of the National Book Council.

www.ktieb.org.mt

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