(Brief) history of the Merlin book launch

We’re all set for another Merlin book launch, tonight (Friday 12th April) at Bottegin Palazzo Xara, Rabat.

Merlin launches have evolved over the years. One of the first things we did was to banish the formal, heads-on-a-panel, reading speeches into a mic, format. Nothing wrong with that of course, it’s a perfectly valid form of celebrating a new book, but it just isn’t the Merlin style. The keyword in our launches tends to be - with a few exceptions depending on the context, naturally - informal. We like our launches to be casual get-togethers, where everyone can relax, chill out possibly with some wine and nibbles, chat about books and generally have a good time.

We’ve had all sorts of launches: from the large-scale Valletta mutant invasion of the Wied Wirdien launch, to Stagno’s retro każin-tal-futbol launch, to Żahra’s dramatised characters in the St James Cavalier theatre-in-the-round, to Mejlak’s Strait Street-cellar and jazz after-party launch with live doodling. To, of course, our unforgettable tsek-tsik format, reprised over three years during the Malta Book Fair.

Tonight’s launch - for Mark Camilleri’s second police thriller, Volens - is one of our informal get-togethers, what we fondly call our “Niltaqgħu” evenings that date back to the Riħ Isfel launch in 2007. Don’t expect speeches, re-enactments, interviews or acrobats (all things we’ve done in the past). It’s a very casual, chilled evening with wine, Pastizzi Gourmet, live jazz and Camilleri’s new novel. And lots of friends, hopefully!

Plus, it’s the perfect opportunity to get your copy of Volens signed by the author.

If you’re free tonight, we hope to see you at Bottegin Palazzo Xara, Triq San Pawl, Rabat, from 8.00pm onwards. We hope you’ll have as much fun at one of our launches as we always do.

Bologna. Day Three.

For the past few years, it’s always been “this is the year of digital”. At every major fair - and Bologna is definitely no exception - “digital corners” have sprouted, with mini-stands of app creators, e-content conversion companies and all flavours of digital pushing their wares. Who can forget the massive Audi structure at the Frankfurt Book Fair of a couple of years back?

And yet - my impression while roaming the aisles is that while there’s undoubtedly lots of interest around digital, it is the good old-fashioned print book stands that are doing the most business. Back-to-back meetings, and quite a few of these end in acquisition or coedition deals. In the publishing world, and seen from a publishers’ point of view, digital is this giant shiny toy in the middle of the room, that no-one has figured out quite what to do with. Apps that cost tens of thousands to make yet need to be sold at under five euro, and more so the Free-to-Play model that is increasingly taking hold in the app world, are not a viable commercial proposition. Piracy and fragmented delivery platforms keep publishers away from making the shift in a significant way to digital, and most are still being relatively cautious.

Of course from a user point of view, digital reading is massive. Ironically, everyone is reading on e-readers or tablets (guilty as charged, here). But until all these issues are resolved, print remains the foundation that keep the industry alive and viable.

The shiny digital stands bring in the “ooh ahh” from the crowds, but at the end of the day the biggest draws of the fair are the huge tables strewn with print books (pictured, above) that visitors spend their break time leafing through.

It’s arrivederci Bologna for 2013. I need to get back to the office to work on the exciting new Merlin books that will have originated from this year’s fair.

Bologna 2013. Day Two.

Children’s books are not just picture books, of course. Far from it. According to The Bookseller, children’s books in 2012 amounted to a whopping 21% of the entire book market by value, its largest ever market share. But picture books are the visiting card of the children’s book market. Their sheer sumptuousness, the stunning variety of illustrations, the paper quality (for print picture books still far outnumber apps) and the tremendous technique required to deliver a story in a couple of hundred words to young children with a limited vocabulary, means they get the lion’s share of attention.

Yet, back home in Malta, picture books in Maltese struggle to take off. Many parents seem reluctant to buy and read to their kids picture books in Maltese, and when they do most opt for the safer, more traditional picture books (in both design and content). Some complain about the relative lack of range available, however this is very much a chicken-and-egg situation as a wide selection of titles requires a stronger market for them, justifying the considerable investment. Picture books are among the most expensive children’s books to produce, and the best ones are a veritable showcase of writing, illustration and production.

And yet, overseas the picture book market flourishes, with even unconventional topics explored and edge illustration styles. Picture book publishers’ stands are chock-a-block with people browsing, browsing some more and buying (or ‘begging for’) copies. On our modest stand, Clare Azzopardi-Derek Fenech’s Guzeppina has been the star exhibit, with countless foreigners leafing through it, reading the translation with interest and enthusing about it.

Here at Merlin we’re working on more picture books, different in style and genre but all books that we’ve fallen in love with. Here’s hoping you’ll like them :)

Bologna 2013. Day One.

Bologna Book Fair 2013. Day One. Always overwhelming, and it’s invariably tricky to write about exciting ‘discoveries’ because these need to, by definition, be kept under wraps for the time being. But there’s something that makes Bologna (the fair, though the city too) unique, and that’s the artistic, creative vibe of the fair.

Frankfurt and London are bigger beasts, but definitely more business-oriented. In Bologna on the other hand there’s an unmissable artistic mood throughout. Young illustrators queueing to pitch their portfolios, authors roaming the halls with their manuscripts but especially priceless water cooler moments in every aisle, coffee shop and space where creatives involved in the publishing industry share stories, experiences, chat about the “next big thing” and dream of future successes.

This, pictured below, is my favourite spot of the entire fair - the illustrators’ wall. As the fair progresses, the wall overflows with thousands of illustrators’ samples, visiting cards and mini-portfolios. It’s every commissioning editor’s dream come true.

Our latest publication, Audrey Friggieri’s Avventuri mill-Klassi ta’ Miss Ambrozja Pulis Kiftaranipengini, is partly a Bologna creation. Its illustrations are the work of Spanish illustrator Jose Luis Ocana - the result of a pitch last Bologna. Let’s see what will be born of this year’s edition.

Warming up for another Bologna

Another Bologna Book Fair coming up next week, and once again Merlin Publishers will be exhibiting some of its most exciting contemporary children’s and YA fiction – courtesy of the Fiera organisers who so kindly invited us to represent Maltese literature at the Fair.

Each year, the Maltese offering is stronger than the year before, and with a decidedly critical and down-to-earth eye I still feel grounded to say that Maltese children’s and YA literature is shedding its Cinderella complex. And about time too.

Content was of course never in doubt. We have had terrific Maltese authors for a very long time. Over the past few years, professionalisation in editorial skills and other pre-publication areas has introduced elements of fine-tuning and tightening that are turning already great manuscripts into international-level books.

Packaging has of course also moved ahead in leaps and bounds. Cover and production value-wise, Maltese books stand with head held high at book fairs such as Bologna – the world’s leading children’s book fair where the best and fairest of publications from around the world exhibit.
This year’s Merlin Publishers stand will showcase some of Malta’s best exportable talent: award-winning and bestselling children’s and YA authors Clare Azzopardi, Trevor Żahra, Loranne Vella, Simon Bartolo, as well as newer talent including Tricia Fenech Fabri and newcomer Audrey Friggieri.

Merlin Publishers’ next big project is of course its new e-imprint, launching later this year, and Bologna this year will be all about strengthening this exciting new venture. Meanwhile, we are always on the lookout for great new talent – last year’s Bologna Book Fair resulted in Merlin’s collaboration with amazing Spanish illustrator José Luís Ocaña.

So if any of you happen to be around the Fair next week, do stop and say hi!

Our 2013

Happy new year!

Our 2013 is full of new exciting projects, which we’re dying to share with you. First and foremost, our new titles, of course - many of which you’ve already heard about. Our new ‘Sena kotba Merlin’ showcases our key 2013 titles and guarantees you copies of each of them, hot off the press, at reduced prices and in the comfort of your home.

We’re looking forward to new fiction by Merlin stalwarts Trevor Żahra, Mark Camilleri, Ġużè Stagno, Clare Azzopardi, Carmel G. Cauchi, John A. Bonello, as well as titles by newcomers to the Merlin family: Sandra Hili Vassallo, Ivan De Battista, Audrey Friggieri, Carmel Scicluna, Lawrence Gatt, and others.

Our children’s books promise to be as beautifully illustrated as always, featuring the work of Lisa Falzon, Derek Fenech, Mark Scicluna, Frank Schembri, as well as newcomer José Luis Ocaña.

But that’s not all - we’re hard at work on new ideas and concepts for fun events to talk about books in a casual atmosphere, and on new formats and a brand new imprint. All coming soon in 2013.

Last but not least, we want to congratulate the authors who have yet again made us proud by winning the National Book Awards last 21st December. Held under the auspices of the Prime Minister, at Castille, Merlin yet again scooped up the largest number of awards. Drum roll:

First Prize, Fiction: Dak li l-lejl iħallik tgħid, Pierre J. Mejlak

First Prize, Drama: L-Interdett taħt is-sodda, Clare Azzopardi

First Prize, Children’s Fiction: Ħadd ma jista’ jkanta jew idoqq strumenti tal-banda, Trevor Żahra

Second Prize, Young Adult Fiction: Magna™ Mater, Loranne Vella

First Prize, Textbooks: 2.mt, Clare Azzopardi

Random postings from a book event

Venue: a meet-the-author session last week, with Clare Azzopardi at an independent secondary school 

Clare spoke about Frejp, her new young adult novel. And against all odds, that most difficult of all audiences – teenagers – sat quietly for an hour, listening to extracts from the book being read out, chatting animatedly with the author, joking, and watching a video made by one of the students.

Here was a group of teenagers – that age where reading, and especially reading in Maltese, is not necessarily considered cool – enjoying a chat and a reading about a book. Honestly, it’s not something any of us thought we’d see anytime soon.

You could read the surprise on some of the students’ faces, as Clare read out a few extracts. The first bit, a conversation between two girls about to frape a classmate, is held in the Maltingliż that so many of us speak daily. Students asked, but is it ok to write in Maltese and English? And the ensuing conversation was priceless.

A second extract, also a conversation but this time between a girl who works in her dad’s pastizzerija and a male friend, provoked equally fascinating reactions. The characters here spoke in Maltese, not a word of English, yet the girl’s background wasn’t the stereotypical “financially lower class” one we associate with that sort of spoken Maltese. A socio-cultural analysis of Maltese class realities within linguistic “communities” – all from a group of 14 year olds and a small red book.

Clare, we couldn’t help notice during the session, has evolved into Malta’s most accomplished and savvy author of her generation, having built herself a large fanbase the hard way: through years of sharp writing, commitment to quality and detail, and that essential of elements – constant contact and interaction with her readers. She moves effortlessly from speaking to toddlers and the very young (the above picture is from a Ġużeppina workshop she held in Bali earlier this year), to chatting about books and social media with young adults.

Brava Clare!

Postmortem of a book fair

There’s nothing quite like a book fair to get a feel for what you readers are loving, what you want more of and what you’re intrigued by. Here at Merlin we’re always very excited - as are our authors - to know what the Merlin top sellers at the fair were. So, here goes:

1.

No surprises here. We’d have been very surprised had this not been the case. Alex Vella Gera’s bestselling Is-Sriep Reġgħu Saru Velenużi is all that everyone is talking about. We couldn’t replenish the shelves fast enough with this one. A brilliant novel, its runaway success couldn’t have been more deserved.

2.

Just launched for the fair, the concluding book in Trevor Żahra’s Kartaksan trilogy: Ħadd ma Jista’ Jsaltan jew Jieħu Tron li Mhux Tiegħu. This was our bestselling children’s novel by far. Żahra remains the unrivalled master and faithful young fans flocked to get their hands on this new book. 

3.

It’s fantastic - and a huge vote of confidence in contemporary Maltese literature - that all top 5 titles are our new book fair offerings. Third place for Clare Azzopardi’s young adult fiction debut with Frejp. By one of Malta’s leading and most admired authors, Frejp - a novel on a facebook-rape prank gone wrong - is as intriguing in its writing and narrative as it is in its innovative packaging, courtesy of Merlin art director Pierre Portelli. The stainless steel-mounted cover limited edition made this a collectors’ item.

4.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is this fourth placing - hot on the heels of three giants comes a classy, polished debut novel by Philip M. Magri, Il-Poeta. At Merlin we loved it from the moment we first read the manuscript, but it’s heartening that so many of you seem to be sharing our judgement of this beautiful, lyrical novel. Read it now if you haven’t done so yet.

5.

Fifth spot for a poetry book. Yes, you read right - almost unbelievable, but true. Trevor Żahra’s other new publication - Tqasqis - brilliantly continues Żahra’s efforts over the years to bring poetry to the young and not so young, making poetry accessible to children and fun to read. The innovative hand-made cut-outs by Żahra himself (hence the title) alone deserve an award. Żahra yet again confirmed his status as by far the single bestselling Maltese author, as taken together all his books (backlist and new) account for a not insignificant percentage of all on-stand sales.