Annual Report 2020 Annual Report 2020 Contents
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Annual Report 2020 Annual Report 2020 Contents 2 The Chairman’s Message 5 First published in 2021 by the National Book Council of Malta The National Book Prize 8 Central Public Library, Prof. J. Mangion Str., Floriana FRN 1800 The Malta Book Festival 12 ktieb.org.mt The Malta Book Fund 16 Printing: Government Printing Press Foreign Work & Literary Exports 18 Design: Steven Scicluna Copyright text © Il-Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb Audiovisual Productions 22 Copyright photos © Il-Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb Other Literary Contests 24 ISBN: 978-99957-939-8-2: Annual Report 2020 (print format) 978-99957-939-9-9: Annual Report 2020 (ebook format) Other Initiatives 26 All rights reserved by the National Book Council Financial Report 30 This book is being disseminated free of charge and cannot be sold. It may be borrowed, donated and reproduced in part. It may not be reproduced, in whole ISBN & ISMN 32 or in part, in any form or by any means, without prior permission from the National Book Council. Public Lending Rights Payments 70 About the National Book Council The Chairman’s Message 4 The National Book Council is a public entity Staff and contact details 2020 was the most difficult year ever for the Our measures were not enough to offset the 5 that caters for the Maltese book industry book industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic losses which the economic crisis had brought on Annual Report with several important services for authors Executive Chairman and the economic crisis which followed. Lock- the industry, but they were at least sufficient to and publishers, whilst striving to encourage Mark Camilleri reading and promote the book as a medium of downs shut down retail shops and tourism mitigate the crisis and provide publishers with Secretary communication in all its formats. It represents fizzled out leading to massive decreases in a lifeline. This lifeline has to be consolidated and Joe Debattista writers and publishers in public fora and book sales. We’re currently estimating a total bolstered for the sake of an industry of national [email protected] 2020 institutions in order to promote the interests loss of 75 per cent in revenues for the whole importance which is in a severe existential state. of the book industry’s stakeholders; organizes Executive Director industry, but more accurate statistics are being In the meantime, publishers must accelerate Simona Cassano the Malta Book Festival and the National Book gathered as I write. The Malta Book Festival their transition into the world of online retail Prize among other national as well as smaller- [email protected] had to also be held online, leading to further and tap into as many online sales as possible. scale events; administers Public Lending Manager (Events and Foreign Rights) decreases in book sales. The process to collect Rights; organizes several literary contests; Matthew Borg and is the local agent for ISBN and ISMN. [email protected] accurate data was delayed a number of years ago because several publishers opposed the format The National Book Council’s markedly Manager (Funds and Content) of the data they had to present. Eventually, Executive Chairman cultural mindset and multimedia approach Andrew Ricca Mark Camilleri enables it to work with different partners to [email protected] a formula acceptable to all was found and achieve its goals. As an entity, it falls under the gathering of statistics will now start. ISBN Officer the remit of the Ministry of Education and Michael Mercieca Employment and has always been considered The National Book Council addressed the [email protected] as part and parcel of the public educational crisis in the book industry with a triple- infrastructure. Malta Libraries, which is the In-House Translator (Arabic): pronged strategy. The aims were to provide public entity responsible for all public libraries Walid Nabhan publishers with a lifeline and offset the including the National Library, is a separate Deputy Chairman loss of sales from bricks-and-mortar. and distinct entity, which works in close Norbert Bugeja collaboration with the National Book Council. First and foremost, we ramped up online Council Members advertising campaigns to encourage customers Antoinette Borg www.ktieb.org.mt to buy books from local publishers online. Jean Paul Borg Maria Brown Additionally, we initiated emergency Leanne Ellul Address book purchases from local publishers, Aleks Farrugia National Book Council Audrey Friggieri donated these books to public libraries c/o Central Public Library Chris Gruppetta and promoted the use of public libraries in Prof. J Mangion Street accordance with public health regulations. Floriana FRN 1800 Malta (EU) Last but not least, we shifted the Malta Book Festival school-voucher system online via all Telephone +356 27131574 / +356 21222654 / 27300672 publishers’ retail websites in order to effectively help accelerate the transition to online retail. had some delays caused by the exterior forces in relation to the pandemic. We plan to execute all the postponed projects in 2021, fully spending the funds moved to the following year. In 2020 we have also kept consolidating our team adding to the head count and establishing new grades to most of our employees. A new Executive-Director was also appointed and given full responsibility over the operations of the Book Council. This gives me much more time to work on policy and legal aspects amongst other matters. I’m also doing my best to transfer all my knowledge and experience to my colleagues while I keep supporting them on a consistent basis. The future looks very challenging for our book 6 industry, but with the right Government support 7 we can sail through these unchartered waters Annual Report Annual Report with confidence. Avoiding the same mistakes of the past will be imperative for the industry’s prolonged and continued stability and growth. We are not immune to exterior shocks as we 2020 Unfortunately, the book industry in Malta is at the end of the year. The first step was the and members of the Council, and live in the same world and the same country, very fragile due to market limitations, especially signing of the much anticipated Education regularise the position of the Council as but having come out of this hard year with the sale of books published in Maltese. Our Exception contract. Discussions with the a Collective Management Organisation resilience gives us much hope for the future. society, however, cannot afford to miss on Ministry for the Economy, Investment and (CMO), a role which it already fulfills. the intellectual, cultural and educational Small Businesses over the copyright reform • The Copyright Reform, which is opportunities this industry brings. This is have also begun. The National Book Council meant to transpose the EU Directive on why it is so important for us to support the has fully drafted and published acts for a Copyright in the Digital-Single Market. industry and ensure it returns back to growth. Copyright reform and expects the Government For us this is an issue of national importance. to adopt it, thus transposing the EU Directive • The Tax Incentives Legal Notice, on Copyright in the Digital Single-Market. which is meant to make authors’ royalty Although the market is hampered by serious The future looks In fact, this directive specifically affects the payments tax-free while simultaneously structural problems, we will keep focusing very challenging for publishing industry and the Ministry for the making them equivalent to a 100 per on the online transition. One of the biggest Economy does not have the expertise on the cent tax-refund for publishers. our book industry, problems is the retail monopoly of Miller subject matter. We are also proposing a legal Distributors over all publishers, which is These legal reforms are necessary for the but with the right reform of the copyright board which currently creating a barrier of entry to other new retail industry to survive harsh times and turn to falls under the Ministry for the Economy. Government support outlets, including online outlets. Unless growth, while simultaneously complying with The laws and measures being proposed new online retail outlets which promote EU regulations and standards. Additionally, the we can sail through by the National Book Council have strong local books via smartphone applications National Book Council is also in negotiations support from authors and publishers, and the these unchartered and accessible web stores enter this space, with the University of Malta to adopt Public backing of the National Writers’ Congress. The we will face a serious challenge in making Lending Rights at the Melitensia section so as waters with legislative reforms were the culmination of the online retail market grow. In my view, to also comply with EU regulation over PLR. a consultative legislative process which took confidence. Avoiding unless Miller starts investing aggressively in more than two years and led to the creation of: It is under very difficult circumstances that we the same mistakes new platforms to sell and promote locally- tried to fulfill our tasks efficiently and provide published books, their exclusivity will create • The Education Exception Contract so as maximum support to the industry. Many of the past will be a long-term structural barrier for growth. to comply with the EU copyright regulations initiatives and projects, especially those related over the use of books in public schools. imperative for the Political volatility exacerbated the problems of to exports, had to be postponed indefinitely the crisis. There was a delay in a multi-pronged • The National Book Council Act of as the industry was disrupted practically industry’s prolonged legal framework which the Book Council had Parliament, which intends to consolidate everywhere.