A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in collaboration with cultural association Monteverdelegge

How does a literary award work? What does it mean for a book to win the Strega or Campiello prize? What does the work of a jury entail? Entering a bookstore, passing by the display of new books on the counters, you can’t help being attracted by the colourful labels proclaiming in large letters: winner of prize X, finalist in prize Y.

Leafing through the letters of Alfabeto italiano, the page opens at the letter P: P for Premio, Prize in English, the word on which we alight on for this stage of our journey through Italian publishing. A word that cannot be underestimated because winning a prize – especially one of the best-known and established ones – means the certainty of a considerable increase in sales and in general greater attention from the media and the public.

With Giovanni Solimine (Premio Strega) and Mariacristina Gribaudi (Premio Campiello).