About Aleks
Aleks's Story
Aleks Farrugia (1978-) is a Maltese author, historian and journalist. Winner of the National Book Prize in 2020, he was also finalist of the European Union Prize for Literature in 2024.
His first book, published at the age of 17, was a critically acclaimed drama titled Iħirsa fil-Mera, which was submitted to the Francis Ebejer Playwriting Competition and was honourably mentioned by the jury report. In 2016 he published Grasshopper, a novel in English about the so-called ‘Peter Pan Generation’, which was shortlisted for the Malta National Book Prize. He won the National Prize with his collection of short stories Għall-Glorja tal-Patrija, published in 2019, and translated to English in 2023 titled Capricious Tales from Malta. His wartime detective novel Camerata!, published in 2021 was highly acclaimed by both critics and readers and was shortlisted for the National Book Prize. In 2022 the political-satirical play Giraffa Ħarbet minn Kastilja was successfully performed at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta. In 2022, the tragi-comic political novel, Ir-Re Borg (The King of Malta) was published and was nominated as Malta’s finalist entry to the European Union Prize for Literature.
Aleks Farrugia has been a guest to various literary festivals and readings, including the Mediterranean Festival of Literature in Malta, Glow-up Festival in Cologne, the Citizens’ Garden of the European Parliament in Brussels, the House of Culture in Lublin, and the Cairo Literature Festival in Egypt.
Winner of the National Book Prize in 2020, he was also finalist of the European Union Prize for Literature in 2024.
Personal Life
In his personal life, Aleks loves music, food, travelling and books. He also paints, and even though he has sold a few of his paintings he mainly considers it as a hobby for which he wishes he had more time. His love of music ranges from the symphonies of Mahler and Shostakovic, Karl Nielsen and Jean Sibelius, to the metal bands of the 70s and 80s – especially Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Metallica. He has wrote and presented a number of radio shows but the one that remains his favourite was “Middle Age Exposed”, co-conducted with radio host Colin Fitz on Campus 103.7FM, which brought together Aleks’s pet subject – the Middle Ages – and the middle age of life. Aleks is a graduate in Philosophy, History and Theatre, and it’s hard to believe but it’s true: he is a qualified business coach!
