New book sheds light on Daphne’s life and work

More than 20 friends, journalists, artists and academics have come together to compile a book on the life and work of slain Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Pre-orders for the book, Invicta, are being accepted until the end of the month.

Contributors include Former European Court of Human Rights Judge Giovanni Bonello, President of the European Federation of Journalists Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, former US Ambassador Douglas Kmiec as well as The Guardian journalists Jonathan Freedland and Luke Harding.

The book also includes a chapter by The Shift journalist Caroline Muscat entitled ‘The end of the new normal’. Muscat is the book’s co-editor.

Caruana Galizia was Malta’s most prominent journalist, assassinated by a car bomb on 16 October.

“This book offers a good snapshot of the issues surrounding the life, work and death of Daphne and should be of value to any person of good will who seeks understanding and improvement,” said the editor.

Invicta lays out the personal experiences of her friends to the general public, in an effort to bring some balance to the popular perception of Daphne. “Very few knew the woman behind the pen. And she suffered from extreme dehumanisation over the years, to the extent that what most people came to hear about her was distorted through the attacks of her enemies,” he added.

A number of journalists then examine issues related to the current state of journalism and to Daphne’s contribution to it. In her field, she broke ground as a woman who shrugged off convention and dependence to forge her own rollercoaster ride through the profession. Invicta also includes contributions from women journalists in Malta who show the extent of her achievements, the challenges she faced and even problems facing the profession today.

The book also contains the story of how her blog came to be and the experience of a keen reader. Finally, a number of academics take up the pen to examine a number of issues related to matter. They look at issues and matters related to journalism, writing, the political state of the island, the undimmed bravery of the woman, and freedom of expression.

Between the late 1980s and 2017, Caruana Galizia made a name for herself for her electric tone of commentary, her shattering investigative stories and her will to leave no stone unturned.

This determination won her admiration and hatred in equal part, but unparalleled readership, in Malta and abroad. She fought for the cause of democracy, good governance and freedom of expression.

All contributors to this book gave their time and effort for free, and all profits from this book will go to a cause chosen by Caruana Galizia’s family.

A copy of the book may be pre-ordered by sending an email to: [email protected]. The deadline is 30 November. Pre-orders are available at the discounted price of €30; €40 after publication.

The book is edited by Joseph Anthony Debono and Caroline Muscat.