Pisa, National Literary Award 2024: Abate, Lanfranchi, Rocchi and Polito awarded.

They are Carmine Abate with “A Happy Country” (Narrative Section), Pierluigi Lanfranchi with “Backseats” and Valentino Rocchi with “But Have You Read «The Catcher in the Rye»” (winners ex aequo Poetry Section) and Antonio Polito with “The Builder” (Essay Section) the winners of the next edition, the sixty-eighth, of the Pisa national literary prizeThe announcement was made this morning in the Baleari room at Palazzo Gambacorti by the president of the award, Giancarlo Ceccarini.

Saturday 14 December, at Palazzo Gambacorti, in the Balearic Hall, the award ceremony will be held in the presence of the mayor of Pisa Michele Conti, the councilor for culture of the Municipality of Pisa Filippo Bedini, the president of the award Giancarlo Ceccarini, the three juries of the Award and the winners of the 2024 edition.

«The Pisa Award - Said Councillor for Culture Filippo Bedini - represents a singular example of continuity, celebrating its 68th edition this year. One of the greatest merits of the prize is its ability to combine a national dimension with a solid local anchoring. The “Radici del territorio” section values ​​belonging to the territory as a simple but significant criterion, offering concrete support to those authors who, in a complex sector such as publishing, seek to emerge with their works. Over the last year, as part of the mandate program called “Pisa city of the book”, we introduced the “Pact for reading”. This project has coordinated publishers, bookstores, associations, schools and universities with the aim of promoting mainly local authors. The “Radici del territorio” section of the Pisa Prize perfectly reflects this vision, highlighting the cultural excellence of our city through works of great interest. The Pisa Prize covers various categories – fiction, poetry, non-fiction – also providing recognition to personalities of national importance, such as Antonio Polito for non-fiction. There is also space for works of an informative nature that, in the local section, contribute to spreading the history and curiosities of our territory. This inclusive approach makes the Pisa Prize accessible to a wide audience, without sacrificing quality. The event demonstrates how it is possible to address high cultural themes and complex disciplines with simple and direct language, successfully addressing an often overlooked challenge. The Pisa Prize, ultimately, represents a perfect synthesis of the objectives and daily activities of the Department of Culture. For this reason, we are proud to present this initiative that over time has distinguished itself for the high quality of its proposal».

Special mentions in the 2024 edition in the “Roots of the Territory” section for Alessandro Ceccarini with “Puccini Almanac. Giacomo Puccini and Pisa”, Laura Fagiolini with “The dead will pass, dreams will remain”, Anna Maria Gennai with “Pisa. Walks with mathematical and physical curiosities” and Brunello Passaponti with “Pisan refrains”. Special recognitions also to the journalist Valerio Cappelli (special prize “Galeone d'oro 2024”, offered by the Rotary Club of Pisa) and to Lorenzo Gremigni (special prize “All'insegna della Cèa d'Oro”. 38th “La Cèa d'Oro”, Pisan vernacular prize). Finally, special career prize for the maestro Alberto Veronesi.

The award is organized by the artistic literary group La Soffitta with the contribution of the Municipality of Pisa, the Regional Council of Tuscany, Società Chimica Fedeli, Banca di Pisa e Fornacette and some private sponsors, and is among the most important and long-lasting Italian literary awards of a national nature. The Pisa Award includes three traditional sections: Poetry – Fiction – Essays. Equivalent cash prizes are foreseen for the three traditional sections, in addition to possible prizes, awards and special mentions. In addition, the Promotion Committee annually awards special prizes out of competition to high personalities from the world of culture and science.

Over the course of its editions the prize has been awarded to figures such as Alberto Moravia, Nico Orengo, Mario Luzi, Anna Maria Ortese, Vincenzo Cerami, Miriam Mafai, Oreste del Buono, Giorgio Galli, Alessandro Fo, Sebastiano Vassalli, Diego De Silva, Helena Janeczek, Ezio Mauro, Marco Revelli. Special prizes and awards were instead assigned to personalities from the world of culture, including Mario Soldati, Riccardo Muti, Mario Monicelli, Leonardo Sciascia, Antonio Tabucchi, Dario Fo, Andrea Bocelli, Gillo Pontecorvo, Ferruccio de Bortoli.