The Malta Book Festival, held yearly, is the most important book event in the Maltese calendar. The event currently has an attendance rate of 30,000 people and the participation of more than 40 exhibitors. Its cultural programme features well over 50 events in book launches, book presentations, poetry readings, meetings with authors, conferences and seminars.

The Malta Book Festival is held at what used to be the old hospital, now the Mediterranean Conference Centre. It evolved from the Malta Book Fair, which was first held in 1979, into a festival that celebrates the book culture and seeks to represent the book in its entirety – not just as any object of consumption but as something that involves the reader beyond the confines of the book.

The Festival has since expanded in scope both in terms of participation and as a cultural event. Weekday mornings during this festival are reserved for school children and students and a special programme of events is prepared for them.

This year the Festival will take place over five days starting on Wednesday 7 November and ending on Sunday 11 November. There will be two exhibition halls within the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta – La Sacra Infermeria will host publishers, NGOs and libraries (both local and foreign), whereas book sellers and bookshops will be hosted in the La Vallette Hall.