Malta Festival invites you to a new edition of the “Women Talking” series — in-depth conversations with acclaimed writers from Poland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Curated and hosted by Michał Nogaś, the programme will take place from June 23 to 26 at the Festival Club.

Following the success of last year’s debut edition devoted to literature written by women, “Women Talking” returns with renewed energy and an equally powerful lineup.

“The title of the series was inspired by the celebrated novel by Miriam Toews, who joined us at Malta Festival last year,” says Michał Nogaś.

The programme spans four days of meetings, dialogue, and reflection, where literature becomes a point of departure for exploring the world, human relationships, and identity. Last year’s edition showed just how essential it is to create space for women’s writing — not as a niche, but as a central mode of thinking about contemporary life. This year’s edition follows the same path, drawing us into the unique literary universes of four authors who write boldly, uncompromisingly, and on their own terms.

The programme is designed for anyone curious about the world and open to new perspectives — whether lifelong readers or those just beginning their literary journey. The conversations, led by Michał Nogaś — a respected journalist, interviewer, and long-time voice of Polish Radio Trójka — combine literary depth with urgent social, cultural, and political themes.

“Last year’s edition of ‘Women Talking’ attracted a great deal of interest and showed how many layers contemporary women writers are exploring — how courageous, empathetic, and insightful their prose has become,” Nogaś adds.

This year, four writers with distinctive voices and singular styles have accepted the invitation. On the first day, audiences will meet Joanna Bator, winner of the Nike Literary Award and author of “Piaskowa Góra” and “Dark, Almost Night”. Her new book “W moje strony” (“To My Side”) reveals the inner compass of her literary voice, reflecting on rebellion, imagination, empathy, and care. Her writing strategy will serve as a door to further literary reflection.

The following day, the stage will welcome Claudia Durastanti, an Italian writer and translator whose novel “Stranger” (“La straniera”) has been translated into over twenty languages. This story of migration, language, and family mythology resonates strongly in a world where firm anchors seem increasingly hard to find. A television adaptation is in development.

On the third day, the guest of “Women Talking” will be Gwendoline Riley, one of the most significant contemporary British novelists, shortlisted for both the Baileys Prize and the Folio Prize. Her prose — subtle, emotionally intense, and deceptively restrained — continues to captivate critics and readers alike. Both Riley and Durastanti, published in Poland by Wydawnictwo Czarne, approach the mother-daughter relationship in their writing with remarkable frankness.

The series will conclude with a conversation with Eliza Clark, author of the acclaimed novels “Boy Parts” and “Penance” (“Skrucha” in Polish), whose fearless exploration of violence, internet culture, and female rage treads a fine line between satire and psychological thriller. Her voice is one of the most intriguing in today’s young British fiction.

All events are free of charge and begin at 6:00 PM at the Festival Club:

• June 23 (Monday) – Joanna Bator
• June 24 (Tuesday) – Claudia Durastanti
• June 25 (Wednesday) – Gwendoline Riley
• June 26 (Thursday) – Eliza Clark

“Women Talking” is not only a programme for fans of literary fiction and deep conversation. It is a space to encounter a language that describes the world — and dares to change it.

For years, Malta Festival has shown itself to be a festival for everyone — regardless of age, experience, or artistic preferences. And while not everything at Malta will be familiar or easy to grasp, this is exactly where the festival’s power lies: in the possibility of discovering new voices, new stories, and new ways of seeing. And is there a better way to discover than through a conversation about literature?

AUTHORS’ BIOGRAPHIES

Joanna Bator – writer, philosopher, and cultural studies scholar. She has received prestigious awards including the Nike Literary Award, the Hermann Hesse Prize (Germany), the Spycher Prize (Switzerland), and the Austrian State Prize for European Literature. Her bestselling novels — “Piaskowa Góra”, “Dark, Almost Night”, and “Bitter, Bitter”— have been translated into multiple languages and read by hundreds of thousands. She is a runner and admirer of Japanese culture, living in Podkowa Leśna with her family, dogs, and cats.

Claudia Durastanti (b. 1984) – Italian writer and translator born in Brooklyn. At age six, she moved with her mother and brother to Gallicchio, Basilicata. She holds a degree from the University of Rome “La Sapienza.” Her work has been published in Granta, Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Serving Library. She is a board member of the Turin International Book Fair and co-founder of the Italian Literature Festival in London. She is also a music columnist for Internazionale.

She debuted in 2010 with “Un giorno verrò a lanciare sassi alla tua finestra”, which won the Mondello Prize. Her most acclaimed novel “La straniera” (“Stranger”) was a finalist for the prestigious Strega Prize and won the Strega Off and Luigi Russo prizes. The book was also a finalist for the Alassio Centolibri, Viareggio, and Stresa awards.

Gwendoline Riley – English writer. In 2018, Times Literary Supplement named her one of the twenty best British and Irish novelists. Her fifth novel “First Love” was shortlisted for the Baileys Prize and won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. Her sixth, “My Phantoms”, was shortlisted for the Folio Prize.

Eliza Clark – Born in Newcastle, now based in London. She studied at Chelsea College of Art and received a Young Writers’ Talent Fund grant in 2018. Her debut novel “Boy Parts”, published in 2022, was nominated for the Women’s Prize Futures Award. In 2023, Granta named her one of the most promising young British novelists. On social media, she goes by @FancyEliza.