Write A 'Best-seller'

The development boom in the 1960s also resulted in the settling on the Maltese Isles of many paperback writers, who found in the peaceful villages and towns of Malta and Gozo the ideal setting for their creativity. Many a bestseller has been written in Malta, as have film and television scripts for major European and American productions. Malta and the muses get on well together, it seems.

The Mediterranean setting is an on-going inspiration, as is the lethargic lifestyle on an island that seemingly wants to move ahead with the times but is still romantically and nostalgically linked to the past. Writing a bestseller in Malta could also mean having it printed and published from a Maltese base. Maltese printers and publishers have grown and spread their wings into the bigger markets of Europe and beyond where they can offer some favourable rates.


They compete, often successfully, for top printing and publishing contracts, privileged as they are to come with no linguistic hurdles that need to be overcome. In fact, books have been printed and published from Malta in English, Italian, French, Arabic, Spanish, Russian and various other languages.

There is also a thriving, albeit small, local publishing scene specialising in Maltese language publications. The blockbuster film of 2004 'Man on Fire', starring Denzel Washington and Christopher Walken was based on the novel by AJ Quinnel, a book that was penned in Gozo. In fact, the book itself featured a large part about Malta's sister isle but this location was changed by the Hollywood powers.

The book you've always been dreaming about may after all see the light of day and then hopefully become a bestseller. Let your creative juices flow in Malta. Our advice to any budding novelists out there is to follow the lead set by AJ Quinnel. Rent your own farmhouse in Gozo, plug in your laptop and get cracking. There can be no better place in the world to find the peace and tranquility needed to pen a bestseller than this quiet little haven in the Med’.