John A.Bonello

Bonello was born in Dingli in 1976. He studied art, history of art and languages (Maltese, Italian, English) and holds diplomas in editing, creative writing, copywriting and proofreading, as well as a higher diploma in computer studies. He works as a content editor. Bonello’s studies in art and languages along with his favourite books, have influenced his style and also his preferred way of writing – he still handwrites the first draft of every manuscript because, in his view, the act of writing is essentially a form of art.

The Irvin Vella detective series came about as Bonello was experimenting with crime writing – the young protagonist is the product of another body of work which remains unpublished. The much-loved investigator is actually being mentored by one of the original characters in the unpublished stories! Experimentation remains central to Bonello’s work, as does collaborating with other writers and artists. The Taár or It-Taár (2017), for example, was written and self-published in both English and Maltese and released at the same time. Il-Logħba tal-Allat (The Game of the Gods) series follows the story of three children who find their way into a parallel universe and have to complete tasks after opening a portal. The first of this series was awarded the Ġieħ Ħad-Dingli honour in 2008, while the second and third books won the National Book Prize in 2009 and 2011 respectively. This series was also read for the radio by Anton Grasso.

Bonello’s Unus Mundus series for adults is written in the first person. While it revolves around time travel, it does so on a deeper level, tackling the contrast inherent in humans, our light and shadelements. The Transmissions (2019) was an interesting project – written on Medium over a 60-week period, every week Bonello wrote a hundred-word episode which was feedback-driven. Bonello is currently working on a translation of the trilogy ‘The Three-Body Problem’; the first book is set to be published in 2024.