Introducing Walid Nabhan, award-winning Maltese poet, novelist, and literary translator, who will take part in two panels at the London Book Fair 2022.
Where: Poet’s Corner
When: Tuesday, 5 April, 11:00 - 12:00
Walid Nabhan’s rhythmic and poetic use of language, as well as his arguably inevitable choice of themes, set his work apart from that of his contemporaries. Born in Amman, Jordan, to a Palestinian refugee family hailing from a small village in the outskirts of Hebron, Nabhan has chosen to write predominantly in Maltese, the language of his adopted homeland. Reading in Maltese, English and his native Arabic, Nabhan will be sharing poetry from his collections Fi Triqti Lejha (‘On my Way Towards Her’) and Of Flesh and Blood dealing with themes of yearning and displacement - concerns which are also shared in his European Union Prize for Literature winning-novel Exodus of the Storks (Peter Owen Publishers, 2022).
Writing Islands: New Maltese Literature in the UK Market
Where: English PEN Literary Salon
When: Wednesday, 6 April, 15:30 - 16:15
The National Book Council (Malta) consistently seeks to bring Maltese literature to wider audiences by supporting the translations of major works and partnering with international publishers. Over the past year this has resulted in three new publications of contemporary Maltese literature written in English and English translation: Walid Nabhan’s autobiographical novel Exodus of the Storks (Peter Owen Publishers, 2022), Loranne Vella’s short-story collection what will it take for me to leave (Praspar Press, 2021), and the anthology Scintillas: New Maltese Writing vol. 1 (Praspar Press, 2021). This seminar explores the challenges of bringing Maltese literature to the UK and the experiences of the authors, editors and translators at the heart of the publishing cycle.
