Italian novelist Valentina Fulginiti has won the 2024 Premio Bianciardi Inediti literary book prize.
Fulginiti’s novel, “Il dolore degli altri” (“The Pain of Others”), was chosen from among 114 competing manuscripts by a jury of professional editors, publishers and university professors. Ten novels were shortlisted, with 3 finalists; the prize was announced at the Bookcity Milan event in November. Fulginiti’s novel will be published soon by Italian publisher ExCogita.
“Il dolore degli altri” is a feminist tale of grief and personal growth against the backdrop of a decade of Italian brain drain, said Fulginiti, senior lecturer in Italian in the Department of Romance Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences.
“It was an incredible honor to be selected amid so many worthy and talented writers. I am grateful to the jurors who gave this story a chance to be heard,” Fulginiti said. “I hope that my debut novel will speak to many other Italian expats who, like the main character of this book, are grappling with similar challenges of caregiving, personal realization and identity.”
The prize honors Luciano Bianciardi (1922-1971) an Italian writer, journalist, translator and librarian.
