BDL Books, Malta

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BDL Books, Malta

Nowadays, the company is responsible for the sale, promotion and dissemination of books from the island’s leading publishing houses.

BDL Book Distribution was established in 1990 by Anthony Gatt and for over 30 years has been Malta’s leading local publications distributor to all bookshops and retail outlets on the island. BDL Publishing, the second arm of the company is renowned for quality books such as Delitti f’Malta, Richard Ellis photography books and a vast array of books ranging from children’s readers to tourist guidebo

oks to prestigious Melitensia. BDL’s range of tourist products is amongst the market’s finest, with first class photography and no-expenses-spared production. This range includes items such as A4/A5 and calendars, Malta’s favourite array of postcards, bookmarks, Malta photographic magnets, Malta guide books and quality maps which can be found in each and every souvenir shop in Malta, Gozo and Comino. The third arm of the company is BDL Retail. It’s bookshop in San Gwann is an expansive depository of quality books where one can browse and shop directly from a selection of over 20,000 titles. The outlet is further complemented with an online shop at www.bdlbooks.com where locals and especially foreigners can find almost every single title published in Malta.

13/08/2025

⬛ The Dark Side of Birgu, Bormla and Isla

This is a book for those who walk in a different way, for those drawn not just to sights, but to sites.

Here, Birgu, Bormla, and Isla are mapped by rupture rather than beauty, through inquisitions, enslaved lives, whispered legends, sacred rituals, and the legal structure of justice. It is history you will not find in souvenir shops. But it is there – waiting.

Paperback: €12
Hardback: €15

🔸 Available from our website and from our shop. Click here 👉 https://bdlbooks.com/product-category/crime/

We have other books with a similar flavour such as:
- The Dark Side of Rabat and Mdina
- Bizarre Malta
- The Ghosts of Malta
- Wicked Ghost Stories of Malta

12/08/2025

📘 Roman Architecture in Malta - David Cardona
Photography by Daniel Cilia

Malta came under Roman rule in 218 BC during the Second Punic War, when Roman forces took the islands from the Carthaginians. The islands, particularly Malta and Gozo, became part of the Roman province of Sicilia, serving as a small yet strategically located outpost in the central Mediterranean.

Although not a major center of political power, Malta benefited from the relative stability and prosperity of the Roman Empire.

Of the many facets of Roman architecture, we will here be dealing with one that had great importance for the overall visual appearance of the structures; the decorative elements of Roman buildings in Malta.

Through the study of Malta’s Roman sites and the fragments of decorative architecture found within them, as well as in the numerous collections on the Islands, this work explores the styles, meaning and importance of such elements to our understanding of this important phase in Maltese history.

272 Pages
Hardback
Price: €45

Available from our shop and from our website

11/08/2025

Vapur maestuż. Cruise tal-ħolm. Lussu, divertiment u esperjenzi ġodda.

Żewġ żgħażagħ mir-Renju Unit jimbarkaw għal din l-avventura li jaf iġġib ħafna bidliet kbar f’ħajjithom, lil min taffettwah ħafna u lil min ftit li xejn.

Raquel, tfajla innoċenti li għexet ħajja protetta għal ħafna snin. X’jiġri meta ssib il-libertà? Jirnexxilha tesperjenza dak li verament tixtieq?

Ken, ġuvni mgħobbi b’ħafna responsabbiltajiet. Ġuvni determinat li jaf minn fejn għandu jgħaddi sabiex jasal fejn irid.

Omm Raquel, mara li għaddiet minn ħafna, mara li taf tħobb imma kultant l-imħabba tagħha toħnoq lil ta’ madwarha.

Passjoni, imħabba, drama u romantiċiżmu. Tgħid teżisti l-veru mħabba?

📘 Imħabba Infinita ta' Alexia Xuereb Diacono
Rumanz ġdid li issa jinsab għall-bejgħ mill-ħwienet kollha u mill-website tagħna.

Prezz: €14.95

10/08/2025

Walk down Republic Street, take a left near Savoy Arcade and head down St John Street. Pause. The display with the latest books awaits you in the window. Mind your footing as you descend a couple of steps where Albert greets you with a smile.

09/08/2025

🌞 Dear clients and friends, we will be taking a little break between the 11th and the 15th of August and we will be back to business on Monday 18th August.

All online orders will be processed right away when we get back, do not worry.

🔸 We have some really great titles in stock right now. If you're also taking a break and have time to browse, this is your chance.

If you will also be on holiday, we wish you a splendid vacation and hope that you use this time to relax and reconnect.

Photo is by Jochen Tack

08/08/2025

🐜 Insects of the Maltese Islands 🦟

Insects of the Maltese Islands by Thomas Cassar and David Mifsud is a comprehensive and visually engaging guide to the diverse insect life found in the Maltese archipelago.

This meticulously researched book provides an in-depth look at the vast array of insect species that inhabit Malta, Gozo, and Comino, highlighting their ecological importance, behaviors, and habitats.

With detailed descriptions, high-quality photographs, and clear taxonomic information, the book serves as an invaluable resource for both amateur naturalists and professional entomologists.

The authors, both well-respected in the field of natural sciences, combine scientific accuracy with accessible language, making the book suitable for a wide audience, including students, educators, and conservationists.

It emphasizes the crucial role insects play in local ecosystems and the need for their conservation amidst growing environmental threats. Additionally, it sheds light on endemic and rare species, some of which are found nowhere else in the world.

🔸 Price: €55

⬛ Available from our shop in San Gwann and from our website with Free and Fast Delivery.

🐞 Since we will be on Shutdown between the 11th and the 17th of August, online orders will be dispatched on the 18th of August.

The book will be in bookshops from Wednesday 20th August.

05/08/2025

TREASURES OF MALTA - The new Summer 2025 edition is now available from our shop in San Gwann.

03/08/2025

✝️☪️ Malta and Holy War
Religion, Society, and the Spanish-Ottoman Conflict for the Mediterranean - Carmel Cassar

Carmel Cassar’s book offers a compelling examination of Malta’s pivotal role in the religious and political struggles that shaped the early modern Mediterranean.

Drawing extensively on sources from Malta, and elsewhere in Europe, Cassar explores how the Spanish- Ottoman conflict influenced both the island’s society and the chivalric Order of St John that ruled it.

The study deftly combines a focused analysis of Malta’s history with a broader interpretation of Mediterranean geopolitics, revealing how the legacies of ‘holy war’ and civilizational rivalry continued to echo through the centuries. The work stands as a significant contribution to both Maltese historiography and the wider narrative of Mediterranean history.

⬛Price: €30

🔸Available from our bookshop in San Gwann and from our website here 👉 https://bdlbooks.com/product/malta-and-holy-war/

30/07/2025

𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟵𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟭𝟯𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, the streets of Palermo echoed with the lyrical flow of 𝘚𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘰-𝘈𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘤.

This now-extinct language, born of the Abbasid conquest of Sicily in the 800s, was once the dominant spoken language across the island, used not only by Muslims, but also by Orthodox Christians and Jews.

From the bustling markets of 𝘉𝘢𝘭’𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮 (modern day Palermo) to the fields of the interior, it served as the common tongue of a culturally vibrant, multi-religious society.

Even after the Normans conquered Sicily in the 11th century, 𝘚𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘰-𝘈𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘤 didn’t disappear overnight. It persisted under Christian rule for over a century, used in administration, poetry, science, and daily life.

Royal decrees were issued in Arabic.

Palermo’s churches inscribed their founding charters in Greek and Arabic.

For a time, Sicily was a beacon of 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢; where Latin knights, Arab philosophers, and Greek scribes shared a court.

But as Latinization intensified, 𝘚𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘰-𝘈𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘤 gradually vanished from the island.

What survives today?

Only around 300 words scattered in modern Sicilian, such as 𝘻𝘪𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘣𝘣𝘶 (from zabīb, dried grape or raisin), 𝘨𝘪𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘢 (from juljulan, sesame), or 𝘻𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢 (from zaʿfarān, saffron).

And yet, the language didn’t die entirely. Its last living descendant still breathes in:

𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘦, the national language of Malta.

A direct evolution of 𝘚𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘰-𝘈𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘤, Maltese preserves the grammar and Semitic roots of its Arab past, layered with centuries of Romance and English influence.

So the next time you hear Maltese spoken, or stumble upon a Sicilian word that sounds strangely Arabic, remember:

Sicily once spoke a language born of the East and nurtured among domes and fragrant citrus groves.

29/07/2025

‘I can’t stop thinking about this powerful book! Jo Piazza’s stunning dual-timeline novel explores womanhood, sacrifice, and the untold stories of our ancestors so beautifully … An absolute can’t miss’ - Reader Review

From bestselling author and award-winning journalist Jo Piazza, comes a transporting novel rooted in the author’s own family history about a long-awaited trip to Sicily, a disputed inheritance, and a family secret that some will kill to protect . . .

Sara Marsala barely knows who she is anymore after the failure of her business and marriage. On top of that, her beloved great-aunt Rosie passes away, leaving Sara bereft with grief. But Aunt Rosie’s death also opens an escape from her life and a window into the past by way of a plane ticket to Sicily, a deed to a possibly valuable plot of land, and a bombshell family secret. Rosie believes Sara’s great-grandmother Serafina, the family matriarch who was left behind while her husband worked in America, didn’t die of illness as family lore has it . . . she was murdered.

Thus begins a twist-filled adventure that takes Sara all over the picturesque Italian countryside as she races to solve a mystery and learn the story of Serafina—a feisty and headstrong young woman in the early 1900s thrust into motherhood in her teens, who fought for a better life not just for herself but for all the women of her small village. Unsurprisingly the more she challenges the status quo, the more she finds herself in danger.

As Sara discovers more about Serafina, she also realizes she is coming head-to-head with the same menacing forces that took down her great-grandmother. At once an immersive multigenerational mystery and an ode to the undaunted heroism of everyday women, The Sicilian Inheritance is an atmospheric, page-turning delight.

28/07/2025

Today we celebrate our dear boss’ birthday. A man who leads his company like an extended family and who has his real family with him, plying the book trade he founded over 30 years ago.
Happy birthday Tony Gatt xx

Address

Opening Hours

Monday	09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday	09:00 - 17:00
Thursday	09:00 - 17:00
Friday	09:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+35621380351

Website

https://bdlbooks.com/

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Our Story

BDL Book Distribution was established in 1990 by Anthony Gatt and for over 30 years has been Malta’s leading local publications distributor to all bookshops and retail outlets on the island. Nowadays, the company is responsible for the sale, promotion and dissemination of books from the island’s leading publishing houses, namely, Midsea Books, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti and Allied Publications. BDL Publishing, the second arm of the company is renowned for quality books such as Delitti f’Malta, the Richard Ellis photography books and a vast array of books ranging from children’s readers to tourist guidebooks to prestigious Melitensia. BDL’s range of tourist products is amongst the market’s finest, with first-class photography and no-expenses-spared production. This range includes items such as A4/A5 and spiral calendars, Malta’s favourite array of postcards, bookmarks, Malta photo souvenir magnets, road maps and DVDs. The Malta History and Tradition guide book series in various languages in both A4 and pocket format has become a household name and can be found in each and every souvenir shop in Malta, Gozo and Comino. The third arm of the company is BDL Retail. It’s bookshop in San Gwann is an expansive depository of quality books where one can browse and shop directly from a selection of over 20,000 titles. Open from Monday to Saturday, the outlet caters for a regular clientele of individual customers, libraries, local councils, corporate clients, shop owners and government departments.

The outlet is further complemented with an online shop at www.bdlbooks.com where locals and especially foreigners can find every single title published in Malta.