National Book Council announces €20 student voucher scheme

The National Book Council (NBC) has announced that it will offer a €20 voucher to all primary and secondary school students in years 1–11. The voucher can be redeemed at any bookseller or publisher participating in the Malta Book Festival, which will take place at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta’ Qali from 4 to 8 November.

All students visiting independently or with their families and guardians (not with their class), are invited to register and retrieve their free book voucher online via our online portal. Parents and guardians can register for the voucher through the portal from Thursday 15 October 2026 up to last day of the Festival on Sunday 8 November.

Students visiting as part of a school group will be automatically receiving their voucher at the Festival venue, and cannot register for their voucher independently. Students who are absent on the day of the school visit can collect their voucher from the festival venue Info point whenever they visit. Kindly note that school registrations are now closed. 

Commenting on the impact of the voucher scheme when it debuted at the 2025 edition of the Malta Book Festival, National Book Council Executive Chairperson Mark Camilleri stressed how the Festival remains an an economic lifeline for local publishers and booksellers, placing them in the middle of a free-of-charge five-day mass event, offering a clear reference point to dedicated readers, as well as, crucially, a ‘captive audience’ of more casual readers.

“The €20 voucher scheme only serves to strengthen the Festival’s positive impact on the local publishing sector, by further incentivising footfall to the event – something which can be statistically proven as last year, our people-counter recorded roughly 40,000 visitors, marking an increase of 20,000 when compared to the previous year,” Camilleri said. However, he added that the benefits of the scheme go beyond the immediate sales resulting from the vouchers. 

By attracting higher attendance numbers – which would also include the parents and guardians accompanying pupils eligible for the voucher – the scheme also indirectly raises awareness of the local book sector as a whole, which potentially translates into non-voucher based sales. 

Register for your voucher here. Be sure to stay updated by following the Malta Book Festival on Facebook, the National Book Council on Instagram, and to check back in on the Festival page on our website here