Joe Julian Farrugia (born 9 April 1962) is a writer, songwriter and broadcaster from

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. He was born in Gzira but moved to Paola at the age of 5. He is the youngest sibling and only son of Francis and Beatrix. He attended St. Paul's Missionary College of Rabat Malta. In 1979 Joe Julian won the Anna Muscat Azzopardi prize in the

Maltese language Maltese ( mt, Malti, links=no, also ''L-Ilsien Malti'' or '), is a Semitic language derived from late medieval Sicilian Arabic with Romance superstrata spoken by the Maltese people. It is the national language of Malta and the only offici ...

and literature from the University of Malta. In his thirties, Joe Julian started to publish his writings. Initially some of his poems were published in local newspapers in Maltese. Later on he started to write the lyrics of songs. He took part in many song contests in Malta and abroad. In 1995 he won the Best Lyrics Award at the

Għarb Għarb ( mt, L-Għarb) is an administrative unit of Malta, located at the westernmost point of the island of Gozo, with a population of 1,539 people (as of March 2014). History Għarb started as a small hamlet which developed around the middle ...

Festival in

Gozo Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...

with ''Għajn ta' Sliem''. In 1999 he won the same award in L-Għanja tal-Poplu with ''Faraġ ta' Xejn''. He won the Konkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza in 2005 with ''Ix-Xemx mill-Ġdid'', the Festival Internazzjonali tal-Kanzunetta Maltija 2013 with ''Hawn mill-Ġdid'' and Mużika Mużika 2021 with ''Ħarsa Biss''. He represented

in several international song contests . He won the Discovery International Pop Music Festival of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

twice with songs ''Endlessly'' in 2003 and ''Time for Love'' in 2006. He won five times the International Festival For Children Ti Amo, held in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. In 1999

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

included one of his songs ''Jekk Għada Ma Jisbaħx'' on their playlist, readily available for to be played whenever any passenger requested a song in Maltese. Joe Julian also wrote two musicals in English and three Christmas pantos in the Maltese language. In 2005 one of his songs, ''Life is a Train'', sung by Karen Polidano was included by NBT Records (U.S.) in a compilation disc about trains. In 2008, Ivan and Stani of

sang his song ''You're Magic'' in their country’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Joe Julian wrote also several drama episodes for Maltese television series. These include popular sitcoms like Il-Prinċipal, Simpatiċi and XplaħħMalħajt. He also has his own blog ''Kif Naħsibha Jien''. In 1993, through One Radio, Joe Julian ventured into the field of broadcasting. Two years later he switched over to television. ''Menz'', ''Dr Peel'', ''Medik'', ''Indigo'', ''Is-Saħħa Sabiħa'' and ''Xalamita'' are but some of his productions. He wrote, directed and produced the majority of the episodes of the award-winning documentary biographical series ''Bijografiji'' and also other features for the popular Friday night TVM programme Xarabank. In this respect, he won three awards in broadcasting from the Institute of Maltese Journalists. On 3, 4 and 5 November 2017, at St. James Cavalier Theatre, in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

, actress Sarah Camilleri was the protagonist of a monologue “Qaħba Jien ?” ''( Am I

Whore Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

?)'' written and produced by Joe Julian and directed by Mario Micallef. The following year, on the 9th, 10th and 11th of November, Joe Julian's drama moved to the acclaimed Manoel Theatre, Europe's oldest standing theatre, with the satirical comedy "Festa tal-Qaddisin". "Elfejn u Tmintax" ''(Two Thousand and Eighteen)'' a national choral symphony with lyrics written by Joe Julian, was premiered on Saturday 20 January 2018 on the steps of

St John's Co-Cathedral St John's Co-Cathedral ( mt, Kon-Katidral ta' San Ġwann) is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral in Valletta, Malta, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1573 and 1578, having been commissioned by Grand Ma ...

. This was commissioned for the inauguration ceremony of Valletta 2018 as a European City of Culture. The music was composed by Elton Zarb. Joe Julian was the producer/presenter of programmes ''Radju Kafé ma' Joe Julian'' and ''Għamlu Isem'' on the national radio station Radju Malta. His current programme on the same station is ''Bonġu Kafé ma' Joe Julian'' which includes a blog ''Waqt il-Kafé''. Joe Julian has also published a series of books ''Għamlu Isem''. They include biographies and material from the radio series bearing by the same name.on Line: https://www.midseabooks.com/publications_detail.asretriv?pid=13795#.V4S0cet97nA Retrieved 13 July 2016 Joe Julian is married to Marlene née Camilleri and they have two daughters: Clara, a television presenter/producer, and Valentina, a singer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrugia, Joe Julian 1962 births Living people People from Gżira Maltese male writers Maltese songwriters 20th-century Maltese writers 21st-century Maltese writers English-language writers from Malta