Frans Sammut

Frans Sammut
Malta's National Modern Author
Born	Francis Xavier Sammut (1945-11-19)19 November 1945 Ħaż-Żebbuġ, Malta
Died	4 May 2011(2011-05-04) (aged 65) Malta
Occupation	Playwright, novelist, short story writer, broadcaster, teacher, cultural consultant to Prime Minister
Notable works	Il-Gaġġa Samuraj Il-Ħolma Maltija On The Da Vinci Code Bonaparte à Malte

Frans Sammut (November 19, 1945 – May 4, 2011) was a Maltese novelist and non-fiction writer.

Sammut was born in Zebbug, Malta. He studied at the Zebbug Primary School, St Aloysius' College, St Michael's Teacher Training College, the University of Malta (B.A., S.Th.Dip./Diploma in Sacred Theology, M.Ed.) and Perugia University (Diploma to teach Italian abroad).

Sammut first gained recognition in the early 60s when he was still in his mid-teens through his short story "L-Istqarrija," which won first place in a contest by Għaqda Kittieba Zgħazagħ, and through two other short stories which won second and fourth places in the same contest; then in the late 1960s, he co-founded the Moviment Qawmien Letterarju (Literary Revival Movement). Later he served as Secretary of the Akkademja tal-Malti (Maltese Language Academy).

In 2010, he was elected Fellow of the International Napoleonic Society.

Sammut ended his career in education as a Head of School, though from 1996 to 1998 he was Cultural Consultant to the Prime Minister of Malta. He was married to Catherine née Cachia, with whom he had two sons, Mark and Jean-Pierre.

He published numerous works, including the best-selling novels Il-Gaġġa (The Cage), which was the basis of Gaġġa the 1971 film directed by Mario Philip Azzopardi,Samuraj, which won the Rothmans Prize,Paceville, which won the Government's Literary Medal. and Il-Holma Maltija (The Maltese Dream), about which literary critic Norbert Ellul-Vincenti wrote, "there is nothing of its magnitude in Maltese literature." Former Prime Minister and playwright Alfred Sant considered it Sammut's "masterpiece", and British author and poet Marjorie Boulton called it "a colossal work".