About the Blogger

Kirsten Spiteri, is a Maltese science-fiction / fantasy writer. Most of his books are aimed at the young-adult audience. The protagonists of Spiteri’s books are often feared and persecuted because of their astonishing abilities or extra-terrestrial origins, and Spiteri uses this as a clear metaphor for racism and other types of prejudice. Another recurrent theme in Spiteri’s books is that good people deserve to escape to a place worthy of them, and in fact, the endings are phenomenally optimistic.

Since childhood, Spiteri has been heavily influenced by Japanese Anime, particularly by those written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. These Japanese influences, distinguish Spiteri from the majority of other Maltese writers. At age 12, he submitted his first ever work of literature about the extinction of dinosaurs, to a monthly school magazine named Sagħtar, and it was published. In addition, he also wrote some poems, a number of scripts for short films, and letters which were eventually published by local newspapers like The Malta Independent and Malta Today.

He is the winner of the Young-Adult Category of the 2017 London Book Festival with his first book, The Wave. He also received Honorable Mentions in Amsterdam, Paris, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

On a more personal note, Kirsten Spiteri is the eldest amongst five siblings. He was raised in Bormla, a double-fortified harbour city in the South-Eastern region of Malta. From 2007 to 2009, he attended the Institute of Business and Commerce, within the Malta College of Arts Science and Technology, where he attained his qualifications in Insurance Studies awarded to him by The Chartered Insurance Institute of London. He is a Claims Supervisor by profession with over nine years of experience.

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No Fate and No Destiny

Last night, I was sipping some drinks with a couple of friends at Castille Square. We were using the outdoor tables and chairs of The Beer Cave. I was having Amaretto. I love Amaretto. One of my two friends was having Black Label, and the other one was having Gin & Tonic. It was around 2 a.m. when the Gin & Tonic girl said something about fate and destiny to which I immediately replied that I don’t believe in such things. That single comment sparked a very long and exhausting debate. One of the greatest and everlasting debates of humanity has been about the role of destiny in the lives of human beings. There was a time when it was almost an accepted fact of life, that each and every event was governed by destiny. Astrology was considered a science. Then with the advent of modern times, the importance of the role of destiny as a concept started losing weight. Today, belief in destiny is considered a superstition by the majority of people. And rightly so, since th

The true origins of Santa Claus

Have you ever wondered from where and how the legend of Santa Claus and his eight flying reindeers came to be? There are many legends throughout history that celebrate a benevolent being that travelled by night bearing gifts for those in need, and this is the story of one of those legends that became part of the Santa Claus we celebrate today. The story begins in the northern regions of Europe. Long before Christianity spread throughout the world, pagan rituals and customs were prevalent throughout the lands, and there was the supreme Odin whose arrival was long awaited by the inhabitants of early Germanic Tribes and Scandinavia. Odin was the father of all the gods and ruler of Asgard in Norse Mythology, and was depicted as a tall, old man with a white beard and almost always wearing a red cloak. He rode the skies and the seas on his fast white eight-legged horse whilst carrying his never missing spear in his hand, and accompanied by his two black ravens which kept him informed a

The Importance of Reading Fiction

If you know someone who questions the importance of reading fiction, just show them this article. Nothing else needs to be said. So, I am going to be talking to you about reading. I’m going to passionately explain that reading fiction, that reading for pleasure, is one of the most important things one can do. For the sake of clarity, I am biased, because I’m an author, often an author of fiction. I mainly write for adolescents and teenagers. My first two novels titled ‘The Wave’ and 'Far From Home' were published by Faraxa Publishing. I have a dream, that one day… I will be earning my living through my words, mostly by making things up and writing them down. It is obviously in my interest for people to read, for them to read fiction. So I’m biased as a writer, but I am much, much more biased as a reader. Fiction has two uses. Firstly, it’s a gateway to reading. The drive to know what happens next. To want to turn the page. The need to keep going, because someone

The Initial Spark

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