<a href='https://ads.independent.com.mt/www/delivery/ck.php?n=afef72b0&cb=234' target='_blank'><img data-src='https://ads.independent.com.mt/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=22&cb=234&n=afef72b0' border='0' alt='' /></a>Maltese author and poet Immanuel Mifsud has been formally presented with the 2026 European Homer Medal for Poetry and the Arts in recognition of his contribution to international literature. The medal was presented by Dariusz Tomasz Lebioda, president of the European Medal for Poetry and the Arts, during a ceremony attended by Arts, Culture and National Heritage Minister Malcolm Paul Agius Galea and Arts Council Malta executive president Luke Dalli. Mifsud is one of two writers to receive the award this year, alongside Syrian-Kurdish poet and novelist Salim Barakat. Established in Brussels in 2016, the European Homer Medal for Poetry and the Arts honours writers and artists who have made a significant contribution to international literary and artistic culture. One of Malta's leading contemporary writers, Mifsud has produced poetry, novels, short stories, memoirs, plays and literary criticism.