Notices published in Govt Gazette No 20,362 of 10 March 2020

National Book Prize and Terramaxka Prize – Applications are open

Applications for the 2020 edition of National Book Prize and for the Terramaxka Prize – the National Book Prize for children and adolescents – are now open. As always, the call for applications is for books published the preceding year (2019 for this year's edition) and is open to all local publications in English or Maltese that fall under one of the accepted categories of both the National Book Prize and for the Terramaxka Prize.

The prizes award the authors of those publications that are judged to have high literary and cultural or academic merit. An independent adjudication board, appointed specifically and solely for the purpose of adjudicating the Prize, will evaluate the submissions according to the set of criteria specific to each category. These criteria, along with the applications and regulations, can be downloaded here.

New to this edition of the National Book Prize for adults, the Poetry category was split into two categories: Poetry in English and Poetry in Maltese. There is now a total of nine categories for the National Book Prize for adults: Novel, Short Story, Poetry in English, Poetry in Maltese, Drama, Literary Non-Fiction, Translation, General Research, and Biographical and Historiographic Research. The six categories for the Terramaxka Prize for children and adolescents are three categories for original works for children and adolescents divided by age group (0-7, 8-12 and 13-16), and another three categories for translated works for children and adolescents, again one per age group.

The prize value allocated to all categories in the Prize (including the Best Emergent Writer, Lifetime Achievement Award and Poet Laureate, and excluding the Terramaxka categories of translation) is €4,000, while for the translation categories for the Terramaxka Prize, the prize money is €2,000.

The Poet Laureate Award will be assigned to the writer who, being the recipient of the National Book Prize for poetry, has previously won any other National Book Prize Award. The prize sum will be paid in four equal instalments on a yearly basis on the condition that during that year the poet writes a substantial amount of poetry to be published as a single collection.

A prize may be selected from each and every category, and no more than one prize is to be allocated to each category. It may happen that no winner is chosen for a given category if the required level is not achieved by any of the entries in that category, as per the Prize regulations, guidelines and criteria.

Submissions are to reach the National Book Council by not later than Monday, 20th April, 2020, at noon, together with a filled-out application form and four copies of the submitted book or books. It is important that the applicant indicates the right category for each submission.

Application forms can be downloaded from (www.ktieb.org.mt) and sent to the following address:

National Book Prize 2020

National Book Council

c/o Central Public Library

Triq il-Professur Joseph J. Mangion

Floriana FRN 1800

Regulations for the National Book Prize

National Book Prize for Adults (NBP) and the Terramaxka Prize for Children and Adolescents (TP) 2020 (Books 2019)

I. Definitions and Structure

The National Book Prize, organised by the National Book Council, is the highest literary prize assigned in Malta to authors, publishers and illustrators for work published locally during the preceding year.

The National Book Prize is comprised of the National Book Prize for Adults (NBP) and the Terramaxka Prize, the National Book Prize for Children and Adolescents (TP).

The shortlisted titles and the winning titles in the 9 categories of the NBP and the 6 categories of the TP are selected by an independent board of adjudication. The members of this board are obliged to follow a set of criteria in their evaluation in order to ensure the highest degree of transparency and fairness as is appropriate for such important and prestigious prizes.

The prize-giving ceremony for the TP is held during the opening night of the National Book Festival, while the prize-giving ceremony for the NBP is held a few weeks after the Festival.

For the purposes of these regulations, the National Book Council is providing these definitions:

Author – the writer of creative works of an original nature.

Translator – the writer who concerns himself with translation of literary texts.

Book – a printed book or an ebook with an ISBN issued by the National Book Council.

Publisher – an individual or group of individuals that have published at least one book.

II. Eligibility

1. All the categories of the National Book Prize, excluding the translation categories, are bilingual (Maltese and English).

2. Publication date: 2019.

3. 80% of the book's content must not have been published before.

4. The ISBN number must be issued by the National Book Council.

5. The book must not have won a prize in any of the previous competitions organised by the National Book Council.

6. A copy of the publication must be already legally deposited at the National Library of Malta.

III. The Prizes

1. Every book will be evaluated according to criteria set down by the National Book Council and as outlined in the guidelines and criteria documents for each respective category. The Adjudicating Board is responsible for compiling a shortlist for each category and from which they may then choose a winner. At shortlisting stage the adjudicators are to ensure each shortlisted publication satisfies the set criteria, but no marks are given. Those publications that do not meet the set criteria will not feature in the shortlist.

2. During the final adjudication stage, the adjudication board will judge each of the shortlisted publications according to the established criteria and marking scheme for each respective category. A winner is selected only if the required level (90 marks) is reached. The Board may not award the prize if no publication satisfies the set criteria and does not reach the required level.

3. In the last week of August the shortlisted nominees for all categories in both the NBP for adults and the TP will be announced.

4. Only one prize may be awarded in each and every category, if the required level is met.

5. Any winning publication in every category (excluding the translation categories for children and adolescents) will be given an award of €4,000, a trophy and a certificate. In the translation categories for children and adolescents an award of €2,000 is given, alongside a trophy and a certificate.

6. The Terramaxka prizes in the categories for original books for children and adolescents (not translated) are awarded to both the writer and the illustrator, if any. The prize is split between writer and the illustrator, if any.

7. A certificate will be awarded to the publishers of the winning books in every category of the NBP and TP, as well as to every author and publisher whose book has been shortlisted.

IV. The Categories

Adults (NBP)

1. Novels

2. Short-stories

3. Poetry in Maltese

4. Poetry in English

5. Drama

6. Works in general research

7. Works in biographical and historiographic research

8. Literary non-fiction

9. Translation*

Children and Adolescents (TP)

1. Books for children (ages 0-7)

2. Books for children (ages 8-12)

3. Books for adolescents (ages 13-16)

4. Books translated into Maltese (ages 0-7)*

5. Books translated into Maltese (ages 8-12)*

6. Books translated into Maltese (ages 13-16)*

*For these prizes, only translations of literary texts into Maltese from the following languages will be accepted: (a) English; (b) Italian; (c) French; (d) Spanish; (e) German. In cases of translations from any other language into Maltese, the submitted publication must be accompanied by a bridge language text in English. Books translated from English, Italian, French, Spanish and German must be accompanied by the original version of the work in question. Books submitted for the competition unaccompanied by the original version or bridge language text will not be considered as eligible.

V. Other prizes

1. A trophy, certificate of merit and a prize of €4,000 will also be awarded to the publishing house that has produced the best looking book for 2019. This prize can be awarded for any of the publications in the NBP and the TP sections of the National Book Prize.

2. A trophy, certificate of merit and a prize of €4,000 will be awarded to the writer who has given a notable contribution to the fields of literature or book publishing (Lifetime Achievement Award). This prize is adjudicated by the National Book Council. Only the name of the winner will be announced.

3. A trophy, a prize of €4,000 and a certificate of merit will be awarded to an emerging author who is a promising young writer or a debut writer, and who has distinguished himself/herself by his/her writings and books. This prize is adjudicated by the National Book Council. Only the name of the winner will be announced.

4. A prize-winner who wins the poetry prize, and that has previously won any prize of the National Book Council, shall be given the title of Poet Laureate with a total money sum of €4,000, granted in four equal instalments on a yearly basis. The prize will be given on the condition that the poet writes a substantial amount of poetry which can be published as a single collection.

VI. Submissions

Participants must submit an application for every book entered for the competition. The application form can be found on the NBC's website (www.ktieb.org.mt).

Entries for the competition may be submitted by: the authors themselves or those who own the authors' publishing rights with the consent of the publishers; as well as publishers with the consent of the authors or those who own the authors' rights.

Entrants are to indicate clearly under which category the book is being entered. The National Book Council reserves the right to change a category indicated by the authors and/or publishers if, in the opinion of the pre-adjudicating board, it is decided that works were entered in the wrong category. In this case participants will be notified accordingly.

Participants are to deliver four copies of the book to this address:

National Book Prize 2020

Attn. Mr Michael Mercieca

National Book Council

The Central Public Library

Triq Joseph J. Mangion

Floriana FRN 1800

The four copies submitted (not returnable) should reach the offices of the National Book Council not later than noon, Monday, 20th April, 2020.

All decisions taken by the National Book Council and the adjudication board are final and binding.

Traffic and Parking Suspension

The Rabat (Malta) Local Council notifies that on Friday, 3rd April, 2020, and on Saturday, 4th April, 2020, Triq Ġorġ Borg Olivier shall be closed for traffic, including public transport from 10.00 a.m. till 2.00 p.m.

Comunity officers will be on site to divert traffic flow.