Twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize between June and November 2018 by two different US publishers, Raymond Fenech Gonzi began his writing career at 17 as a trainee parliamentary reporter, working for three major Maltese political newspapers. At the age of 20, shortly after the offices of The Times of Malta were attacked and burned by thugs sent by the Mintoffian regime, he received his press card, fulfilling his dream of becoming a journalist.

 

Following the fall of the regime, Raymond shifted away from politics and worked for a leading advertising agency as a PR and copywriter. He was appointed editor of two nationwide magazines, Living 2000 and The Globe Trotter, and managed an in-house advertising agency, which he established for Malta’s largest travel agency, Mondial Travel.

 

Raymond has published numerous works both in Malta and abroad, including news stories, poetry, literary essays, fiction, and researched articles on a variety of topics. At the age of 42, he was diagnosed with lymphoma, followed closely by a stroke. Despite these challenges, Raymond survived and founded his own consultancy business in advertising, 320 PR, copywriting, editing, and printing, which he successfully ran for 20 years until his retirement in 2018. He now works full-time as a writer, poet, and editor.

 

In 2017, Raymond was assigned to edit The Dream, the Glory and the Strife, the annual members’ anthology of the Canada Cuba Literary Alliance. In 2019, he wrote an extensive review of the poetry anthology Tamaracks: Canadian Poetry for the 21st Century, published by Lummox Press, USA, and edited by the renowned Canadian writer, translator, publisher, and poet James Deahl. The 20,000-word review was partially published in serial form in the literary magazine Canadian Stories before its closure.

 

Raymond’s work has appeared in various literary publications, including six volumes of his poetry, anthologies, magazines, journals, and newspapers across 15 countries. His most recent publications, The Incident of the Mysterious Priest and Other Stories and a collection of poems titled Growing with the Shadows, were both published and launched by a New York publisher during the International Book Fair, Expo America, in New York. In 2019, the short story collection gained significant media attention, leading to interviews on several TV and radio stations. The book was also reviewed abroad after BBC invited Raymond for interviews on 15 regional radio stations in London.

 

Raymond is also a retired paranormal investigator. His research on Maltese ghosts was featured in The International Directory of the Most Haunted Places by Penguin Books, USA, in 2000. The directory was edited by Dennis William Hauck, biographer of William Shatner, the star of the popular science fiction TV series Star Trek.

 

Over the past 25 years, Raymond has studied the paranormal, the occult, the supernatural, and parapsychology with several institutions, including Flamel College, USA, The UK College of Holistic Training, and Edinburgh University, Scotland. He holds multiple qualifications in writing, including a BA, MA, and PhD in Journalism and Creative Writing, as well as certificates in Poetry Therapy and Therapeutic Journaling. In 2007, he was awarded a scholarship in poetry therapy by The Creative ‘Righting’ Center, Touro College, Hofstra University, New York. He also serves as the Poetry Therapy academic advisor at The UK College of Holistic Training.

 

In 2020, Raymond launched his own magazine, Literature for the People, available on Amazon Books. The magazine has a Facebook page connected to the author’s personal website at www.rayfenech.com. Although the magazine ceased publication for technical reasons, Raymond looks forward to continuing it with future issues.

 

He is currently working on the memoirs of Malta’s foremost veterinary surgeon, to be followed by a book of short stories drawn from his own memories, spanning from childhood to the present day.