Maleski completed his elementary schooling in Shkodra, Albania, and his secondary schooling in Bitola. He enrolled in the University of Belgrade's Law School but did not finish his studies because of the Second World War. During the war, he was an active participant in the National Liberation War of Macedonia. After the war, he became one of the most prominent writers in contemporary Macedonian. Soon after, Maleski became a director of Radio Skopje. He sat on the editorial board of the first Macedonian publishing house. Maleski was also part of the Commission for Language and Orthography that submitted recommendations to the government on standardizing the Macedonian alphabet, which were subsequently accepted.
