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Malta Book Festival going online this season
The National Book Council has announced that The Malta Book Festival for 2020 will be moving exclusively online.
Why? Well, in light of the risk mass events posed due to COVID-19, it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to have thousands of people hanging out in one single area. That being said, a number of small events, with a limited amount of audience numbers will still be held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre.
Although the decision is made with a heavy heart, it is deemed necessary in the interest of audiences and the long-term existence of the event. We cannot take the risk of being responsible for one single infection at the Festival and we cannot hold an event that would endanger our clients, stakeholders and staff…”
The council added that should a vaccine be distributed in the coming months (or years), they ‘ll be super happy and ready to host the events in its traditional format, but as it stands, it will be held virtually.
The general public will be able to participate in events that are streamed online on the National Book Council Facebook page, as well as on the Malta Book Festival event page.
The council is working hard to deliver the same level of experience between readers, authors and publishers that the community expects from the festival. Even in virtual form, the events, which feature the participation of local and international authors, still have the potential to convey the same sort of change, among a growing book-loving community.
The reserve
Photo: BirdLife Malta
“The National Book Council sees this as an opportunity to facilitate the industry’s transition into the online retail sphere. We have to make sure that Maltese books are available for purchase in an easy and accessible way via websites and smartphone applications – the survival of the Maltese book industry depends also on this”.
The festival will be held between the 11 and 15 of November. The full programme, with all the activities, will be issued in the coming weeks.
For further updates, click here.
