WRITERS from Malta

Top 7

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Maltese Writers of all time. This list of famous Maltese Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

1. Frans Sammut (1945 - 2011)

With an HPI of 67.23, Frans Sammut is the most famous Maltese Writer.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages on wikipedia.

Frans Sammut (19 November 1945 – 4 May 2011) was a Maltese novelist and non-fiction writer.

2. Anton Buttigieg (1912 - 1983)

With an HPI of 56.44, Anton Buttigieg is the 2nd most famous Maltese Writer.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Anton Buttigieg (Maltese: Anton Buttiġieġ [ɐnˈtɔːn bʊtːɪˈd͡ʒɪːt͡ʃ]; 19 February 1912 – 5 May 1983) was a Maltese politician and poet who served as the second president of Malta from 1976 to 1981. Prior to his tenure as president he was a member of the Parliament of Malta and president of the Labour Party.

3. Dun Karm Psaila (1871 - 1961)

With an HPI of 56.31, Dun Karm Psaila is the 3rd most famous Maltese Writer.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Carmelo Psaila, better known as Dun Karm Psaila (18 October 1871 – 13 October 1961) was a Maltese Roman Catholic priest, writer and poet, sometimes called the "bard of Malta". He is widely recognised as the Maltese national poet and as the lyricist for the Maltese national anthem (Maltese: L-Innu Malti).

4. Joe Sacco (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 53.41, Joe Sacco is the 4th most famous Maltese Writer.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Joe Sacco (; born October 2, 1960) is a Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist. He is credited as the first artist to practice rigorous, investigative journalism using the comics form, also referred to as comics journalism. His groundbreaking work documenting Palestinian life in the Occupied Territories was awarded the National Book Award in 1996 and was compiled in the graphic narrative Palestine (2001). His other notable monographs include Footnotes in Gaza (2009) which won a Ridenhour Book Prize. Other notable works include Safe Area Goražde (2000) and The Fixer (2003) on the Bosnian War. In 2020, Sacco released Paying the Land, published by Henry Holt and Company.

5. Oliver Friggieri (1947 - 2020)

With an HPI of 51.95, Oliver Friggieri is the 5th most famous Maltese Writer.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Oliver Friggieri (27 March 1947 – 21 November 2020) was a Maltese poet, novelist, literary critic, and philosopher. He led the establishment of literary history and criticism in Maltese while teaching at the University of Malta, studying the works of Dun Karm, Rużar Briffa, and others. A prolific writer himself, Friggieri explored new genres to advocate the Maltese language, writing the libretti for the first oratorio and the first cantata in Maltese. His work aimed to promote the Maltese cultural identity, while not shying from criticism: one of his most famous novels, Fil-Parlament Ma Jikbrux Fjuri (No Flowers Grow in Parliament, 1986), attacked the tribalistic divisions of society caused by politics. From philosophy, he was mostly interested in epistemology and existentialism.

6. Peter Hitchens (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 48.66, Peter Hitchens is the 6th most famous Maltese Writer.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Peter Jonathan Hitchens (born 1951) is an English conservative author, broadcaster, journalist, and commentator. He writes for The Mail on Sunday and was a foreign correspondent reporting from both Moscow and Washington, D.C. Hitchens has contributed to The Spectator, The American Conservative, The Guardian, First Things, Prospect, and the New Statesman. His books include The Abolition of Britain, The Rage Against God, The War We Never Fought, and The Phoney Victory. Previously a socialist and supporter of the Labour Party, Hitchens became more conservative during the 1990s. He joined the Conservative Party in 1997 and left in 2003, and has since been deeply critical of the party, which he views as the foremost obstacle to true conservatism in Britain. Hitchens describes himself as a Burkean conservative, a social democrat, and an Anglo-Gaullist. He advocates conservative Christian political views, such as opposition to same-sex marriage and support of stricter recreational-drug policies. Hitchens criticised the British government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially lockdowns and mandates that the public wear face masks.

7. Mabel Strickland (1899 - 1988)

With an HPI of 46.28, Mabel Strickland is the 7th most famous Maltese Writer.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Mabel Edeline Strickland, (8 January 1899 – 29 November 1988), was a Maltese journalist, newspaper proprietor and politician.