Syracuse: three finalists and a special mention, the XXII Elio Vittorini literary prize comes to life

Syracuse: three finalists and a special mention, the XXII Elio Vittorini literary prize comes to life.

Four evenings dedicated to books and to a great Syracusan who left a profound mark on Italian literature. He will take the XXII Elio Vittorini National Literary Prize, which for four years, that is, since it was brought back to life and relaunched with the support of the Municipality of Syracuse, has been associated with the Arnaldo Lombardi Award for independent publishing.

The Victorian Week was presented this morning by the creators of this edition which sees the direct involvement of the business world: the municipal councilor for Culture, Fabio Granata, the president of the Vittorini-Quasimodo cultural association, Enzo Papa, the president of Confindustria Siracusa, Gian Piero Reale, and the vice president of Ance, Margherita Finocchiaro. President of the award is the mayor Francesco Italia, absent this morning due to concomitant commitments.

Finally, the awards ceremony will be held on Saturday 9 September at 20,30 pm at the Teatro Massimo Comunale.
«We are at the twenty-second edition – said councilor Granata – of a prestigious award with which Siracusa is at the forefront as a protagonist in the promotion of books as an essential tool for the diffusion of culture. The relaunch of this Award, for 4 years now, is thanks to the commitment of Enzo Papa and Aldo Mantineo who have made it a consolidated reality in the publishing world in the name of the late Arnaldo Lombardi, who was its creator ».

In addition to the writers, recognition on the final evening will go to Frank Samaraweera, a Sri Lankan engineer from Syracuse for thirty years, who is involved in an activity to raise awareness and clean up waste abandoned in a piece of the city territory. «Vittorini – Granata said – in his work he was attentive to the beauty of the city and Frank is a fine example of active citizenship."

There were 37 in total, from 23 publishing houses, the participating works and the selection of the three finalists was not easy. «The judging commission – President Papa explained – found herself in front of about ten works by established authors who were close to Vittorini's idea of ​​literature. Now the wider public of readers will decide the final winner."

The president of Confindustria spoke about the importance of culture for social and economic relaunch. «Together with Ance – said President Reale – we wanted to give a signal of relaunching an already established award so that the message gets across that culture can also be an important driver for the economic growth of the city. In this sense, Syracuse companies are working to find innovative paths on which we will discuss with the mayor and the Administration".

The three finalist authors, among whom the winner will be proclaimed during the final ceremony, are (in strictly alphabetical order): Maria Grazia Calandrone with Where you didn't bring me (Einaudi); Giuseppe Lupo with Tabacco clan (Marsilio); Matteo Nucci with Beautiful things are difficult (HarperCollins). A special mention will go to the writer Veronica Tomassini for her L'Inganno (The Ship of Theseus). The Lombardi Prize will instead be awarded, during the same final ceremony, to the Le Fate publishing house in Ragusa.