Ada d’Adamo, with the novel ‘Come d’aria’ (Elliot), who died last April 1 at the age of 55, is the winner of the tenth edition of the Premio Strega Giovani. The winner was announced by Stefano Petrocchi, director of the Bellonci Foundation, during the event hosted by Loredana Lipperini which took place at the Mann – National Archaeological Museum of Naples, directed by Paolo Giulierini. Giovanna Sonnino and Giuseppe Tantillo, actors of the ‘Mare fuori’ series, and the producer Michele Zatta took part, lending their voices to some excerpts from the candidate books.
It was Andrea D’Angelo, vice president of Strega Alberti, who presented the prize to Alfredo Favi, husband of the deceased writer. That of Ada d’Adamo, with 83 preferences out of 503 expressed, was the most voted book by a jury of girls and boys between 16 and 18 from 91 upper secondary schools distributed in Italy and abroad. Second and third place went to Rosella Postorino, author of ‘I limit myself to loving you’ (Feltrinelli), with 64 votes, and Carmen Verde, author of ‘Minimum unhappiness’ (Neri Pozza), with 60 votes. The three books receive a valid vote for the designation of the finalists for the Strega Prize.
The vote for the Cinquina will take place today, Wednesday 7 June, at the Roman Theater of Benevento, where the candidate authors will once again present themselves in homage to the city of the historic sponsor who has given its name to the noble award since its foundation, the Strega liqueur Alberti. The ceremony will begin at 18.30 with the conduction of Stefano Coletta and the direction of Renato Giordano. The event is visible in live streaming on Rai Play.
During the event, the Leggiamoci 2023 Fiction for Future Prize was also awarded ex aequo to the female students: Irene D’Onghia, for the graphic story ‘Siamo a casa, Paul’; Anita Elsa Carosi, for the narrative text ‘My story’; Flavia Nastro, for the graphic story ‘La natura digitale’.
The winners receive a cash prize offered by Bper Banca and a handcrafted wooden pen made by Sygla; they will also participate in the collective writing of the Herbarium for the city of the future, a guide book created by the cultural transformation association Riverrun hub, and in the workshop of the 42 degrees festival, sustainable ideas, organized by the Vecchie Segherie Mastrototaro bookshop in Bisceglie.