Wondy Award, Alcide Pierantozzi wins with the novel ‘Lo sbilico’

The technical jury – chaired by Gaia Tortora and composed of Gianni Turchetta, Luca Dini, Francesca Giannone, Chiara Moscardelli, Emanuele Nenna, Silvia Nucini, Dario Voltolini – expressed itself as follows in the motivation for the winning book: “By narrating the author’s psychic suffering from the inside, with ruthless lucidity, Lo sbilico brings into play the consistency of all reality. Pierantozzi subjects language to a constant tension, staging a world overloaded with perceptions, smells, vital and disturbing presences. Perhaps literature is the only possible resilience, because only words can give shape to pain, allowing us to live”. The winning work received 5,000 euros and a canvas by the artist Luca Tridente, whose works donated in previous editions were included in the Catalog of Modern Art (Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori).

The other finalist works of the IX edition of the Award were “Da solo” by Novita Amadei (Neri Pozza), “”The dawn of our freedom” by Barbara Cagni (Fazi Editore), “Donnaregina” by Teresa Ciabatti (Mondadori), “Casa, dolce casa” by Andrea Kerbaker (Guanda), Cartagloria by Rosa Matteucci (Adelphi).

The evening of culture and entertainment had an exceptional musical guest: Arisa, who brought to the stage a small performance that brought together hits from the past and songs from the newly released album. The readings by Marina Rocco and Gioele Dix brought the audience into the atmosphere of the finalist novels. Pegah Moshir Pour, Iranian writer and activist for human rights, was entrusted with a reflection on the international situation, while Don Claudio Burgio and the kids from the “Kayros” Community talked about the projects of the association that works on youth hardship. Some of the kids from the community also performed with musical pieces. The Wondy Award was created in 2018 in memory of the journalist and writer Francesca Del Rosso (1974-2016), known by the nickname Wondy and author of the volume “Wondy – or how to become a superhero to recover from cancer” (Rizzoli, 2014), in which she described her way of dealing with the disease with irony and courage.

During the awards ceremony, the Il Sole 24 Ore Group announced the new literary prize “New words – The book in the drawer” in collaboration with the “Wondy Sono Io” association which will debut in the 10th edition of the Wondy Prize for resilient literature.

Designed to discover and enhance unpublished narrative works dedicated to the theme of resilience, the prize is aimed at Italian and foreign authors – debuting and otherwise – inviting them to give voice to stories of fall and rebirth, transformation and hope, capable of offering new insights into the individual and collective fragilities of our time. In ideal dialogue with the Wondy Prize, reserved for already published books, “New words – The book in the drawer” was created to bring to light stories that had remained in the drawer for a long time and accompany them to the general public: the winning work will be published by Il Sole 24 Ore, transforming an unpublished project into a book capable of generating meaning, sharing and possibilities. The Wondy Prize for resilient literature is promoted by the “Wondy Sono Io” association, created with the aim of spreading the culture of resilience in all its forms: from going through pain or personal difficulties, up to collective experiences linked to history and major global events. It is created with the support of Banco BPM, main sponsor, Lavazza Group and Masi Agricola. Il Sole 24 Ore Group and F magazine are media partners. Il Sole 24 ORE Group collaborates with the Association to promote the event and to spread the culture of resilience through literature.