Fifteen contemporary Italian fiction books published between January 1 and December 31, 2025, will be selected for the first edition of the Italy-Greece Intersections Award, promoted by the Ministry of Culture’s CEPELL (Center for Books and Reading) in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Athens, with the support of the Giri di parole association.
The Intersections Award was created to support the translation and publication abroad (in a different country each year) of contemporary Italian works. Three winning books will be awarded, each supported by a grant of €5,000 (€15,000 total). This year’s grant will go to Greek publishers who acquire the translation rights and commit to publication.
These are the 15 books nominated for the 2026 edition:
· Edoardo Albinati, I figli dell’istante (Rizzoli)
· Lavinia Bianca, La vita potenziale (Feltrinelli)
· Maurizio de Giovanni, L’antico amore (Mondadori)
· Mario Desiati, Malbianco (Einaudi)
· Viola Di Grado, Questo mondo non è casa (Rizzoli)
· Angelo Ferracuti, Giovanni Marrozzini, L’ultimo viaggio. Storia di vita e fine vita (Il Saggiatore)
· Fabio Genovesi, Mie magnifiche maestre (Mondadori)
· Giulia Lombezzi, L’estate che ho ucciso mio nonno (Bollati Boringhieri)
· Paolo Massari, La vacanza degli intellettuali (UTET)
· Francesco Pacifico, La voce del padrone. Un monologo (add editore)
· Lorenzo Pavolini, Mille (Marsilio)
· Sandra Petrignani, Carissimo dottor Jung (Neri Pozza)
· Marzia Sicignano, Prima o poi sarò io casa mia (Mondadori)
· Fabrizio Sinisi, Il prodigio (Mondadori)
· Domenico Starnone, Destinazione errata (Einaudi)
The fifteen titles selected by the Italian jury composed of Maria Panetta, Alberto Rollo, and Gianluigi Simonetti will be voted on by the Greek jury for the Prize composed of Periklís Dimitrolopoulos, Ersi Sotiropoulos, Ioannis Tsolkas, and the two ex officio members Giuseppe Iannaccone, President of the Center for Books and Reading, and Francesco Neri, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Athens.
The three winning works will be announced on Friday, May 15, 2026, at 3:00 PM, at the Greek stand (Guest of Honor) at the Turin International Book Fair. The meeting will be attended by Nikos Bakounakis, President of the Hellenic Foundation for Books and Culture, Giuseppe Iannaccone, and Francesco Neri. Gianluigi Simonetti and Ioannis Tsolkas, representing the proposing and voting juries, respectively, will also speak. They will present and explain the winning works. The meeting will be hosted by Alberto Rollo.
The awards ceremony will be held on June 18, 2026, at the Megaron in Athens, in the presence of the award-winning authors.