It’s good to see the National Book Council still helps publishers export Maltese literature. Eight years ago, I began Malta’s participation at the London Book Fair and executed an international export campaign where I exported and brokered the publication of dozens of Maltese books in translation across the world.
Nowadays, I am continuing my international export efforts as self-employed with my publishing imprint, Dar Camilleri. This is a money-losing operation and I’m doing it out of passion.
The National Book Council which I practically built from scratch is taking a Maltese delegation of publishers and subsidising the efforts of printers, authors and other stakeholders to promote themselves at the London Book Fair. Good for them.
I am the only Malta-based publisher who has an active investment in London, and at the same time, the only stakeholder not being subsidised by the National Book Council for my export operations.
Basically, the National Book Council is going out of its way to ensure I don’t have access to its resources as it supports and funds my direct competitors.
I understand that for many of you, this is petty, but it is important for me to put this on record because these are only some of the consequences that I am paying for my decisions in life and my work. The reality is that Robert Abela and his acolytes are so infantile, spiteful and malignant, that they have used the same public entity which I built over the years, just to spite me and ensure there is someone in the book industry who could potentially damage me. I understand this is stupid but the reality is that the National Book Council is insignificant to our current government elite, so for them, it’s worth using it as a tool to damage their biggest and most effective independent critic.
Of course, I am fighting this situation via a court case in court and I intend to proceed with a series of other court cases with the aim to be financially compensated for all the resources that are being offered to my competitors which I am also negated.
For background information, the local book industry is barely profitable and the National Book Council serves as its support. Over the years I tried to build a very effective and autonomous public institution, however, it is nowadays the entity no longer enjoys its previous autonomy and its head is a bażużlu who was literally appointed as a joke to insult me (he has the same exact name and surname as I do, so that’s the joke, and yes, they are also stupid).
If you would like to support me, buy my books. I’m employing a part-timer this month for the first time from my personal publishing revenues, and this stuff exists only thanks to you. Also, click on some Google ads on the website whenever you enter to read something.
Thanks and much love to my supporters!
Updated: I am uploading this reply I received for this article here for my reader’s perusal. In English it says “Kiss my balls, I rather move my dick than help you, you cruel man.”
It’s basically rats teasing a cat behind a window, but windows don’t remain closed forever.
I am very happy to support you, Mark. You have been very brave to put your head above the parapet, in an effort to bring down the corrupt and the greedy, in order to make things better for those who are less able. I can smell bullshit from 100 paces and with you I’m not smelling anything.