Christopher Gruppetta, 33, graduated as a lawyer from the University of Malta and is currently reading for a Masters in Publishing Studies at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, where he is researching the science of children's book cover design.
Christopher has been involved in publishing for over 13 years, and since 2000 has run the publishing department of Merlin Library, Malta's foremost children's and educational publisher and the first to publish children’s books in the Maltese language. In 2006, he launched Merlin's new adult fiction imprint. Merlin titles have won numerous Maltese national book awards, and feature regularly on the bestseller lists. He considers one of the most stimulating aspects of his job to be encouraging and scouting for new, talented Maltese writers and illustrators to stand alongside Merlin's established authors.
More broadly, Christopher is working to improve the process of local children's publishing, supporting standards of professionalism in editing, production and marketing in a bilingual market where Maltese publishing habitually competes with English-language imports.
by Clare Azzopardi (Merlin Library Ltd)
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The title’s short-story follows a young woman as she travels by tube from Stepney Green to London Victoria in the wake of the July 7 London bombings. Overlapping with intimate aspects of her life, the character attempts to understand terrorism through the tender yet direct style that has made Azzopardi’s voice distinctive among her contemporaries. The rest of the short stories in the collection venture into such diverse territories as email spamming, illegal immigration, and guilt-laden trips to Lourdes. A collection of gritty, no-corners-cut fiction – peopled with the cracked, ineloquent voices of the author’s characters – that has also won plaudits for its cutting-edge production and design. |
The three other books Christopher is presenting from Malta are:
by Simon Bartolo and Loranne Vella (Merlin Library Ltd)
In this first part of a trilogy, what starts off as a missing silver mystery soon turns into a children’s tale unlike any other - shifting genres from adventure to fantasy and history, and anticipating deeper mystery and magic to come in the next volumes.
by various authors (Merlin Library Ltd)
Part of the ‘Storybox’ series that has brought Maltese primary school reading into the 21st century, Orange is a vibrant combination of eclectic stories and poems, together with sumptuous, wicked illustrations. An unforgettable title from one of the most exciting young talents to emerge in Malta in recent years.
by Mario Azzopardi (Merlin Library Ltd)
In these adaptations of lesser-known tales from world folklore, populated by quirky and quixotic characters, the author guides his young readers along a path of excitement and wonder, with each tale being a compelling journey into different and exotic cultures and traditions.
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