Campiello Award, Giulia Caminito wins the 2021 edition

Giulia Caminito with ‘The water of the lake is never sweet’ (Bompiani) is the winner of the Campiello Prize, now in its 59th edition. The proclamation took place this evening at the Venice Arsenal. Caminito obtained 99 votes out of 270 voters (30 members of the Jury of Readers – 300 in total – did not express preferences). At the announcement, the 33-year-old winner burst into tears. “I did not expect absolutely anything, certainly I did not think I would win. I dedicate my prize to women, so that they can always have the opportunity to read and write anywhere”, her first words, pronounced while sitting, because, she said, “I have a health problem”. In second place was classified Paolo Malagutti with “If the water laughs” (Einaudi) with 80 votes; at the third Paolo Neri with “Sanguina still. The incredible life of Fedor M. Dostoevskij” (Mondadori) with 37 votes; at the fourth Carmen Pellegrino with “The happiness of others” (La nave di Teseo) with 36 votes; fifth Andrea Bajani with “The book of houses” (Feltrinelli) with 18 votes.Giulia Caminito was born in Rome in 1988 and graduated in Political Philosophy. He made his debut with the novel “La Grande A” (Giunti 2016, Bagutta Prize first work, Berto Prize and Brancati Young Prize), followed in 2019 by “Un giornocome” (Bompiani, Fiesole Under 40 Prize). “The water of the lake is never sweet” (Bompiani 2021) is his third novel, which was among the five finalists of the Strega Prize, winning the Strega Off Prize. The book awarded with Campiello tells a story set in the town of Anguillara Sabazia, on Lake Bracciano, where Gaia lives, in which sharp shyness and suffocated anger are nourished by shame, the fatigue of an ungainly adolescence blossoms into violence and tenderness is deformed into torment. Andrea Delogu flanked by the musician and actor Lodo Guenzi of the Social State. At the opening a memory and a tribute to Daniele Del Giudice, the Roman and Venetian writer by adoption, who passed away at the age of 72 last Thursday, after a long illness (he had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for some time), to whom this year he was Campiello has been attributed to his career. The award was received by Ernesto Franco, editorial director of Einaudi, publisher of all the books by Del Giudice and his friends. “There is no sentimentality in Daniele’s books – he said – but a continuous research capable of describing the way of feeling the contemporary world”. Daniela Gambaro was awarded the Campiello Opera Prima Prize for the novel ” Ten stories almost true ” (Nutrimenti). Walter Veltroni, president of the Jury of Literature of the 59th edition, made a first brief assessment: “I am grateful to the Il Campiello Foundation for having the opportunity to preside over a jury of great quality and working together has been beautiful and pleasant. points out in the panorama of literary prizes for autonomy. The jury worked in total autonomy, and this is a value. It is a prize that has a double evaluation, with a quality jury and a jury made up of the intended endings of the books , that is the readers. And finally it is an award that is able to find a point of contact between readability and quality “. The Venetian day at Campiello opened in the morning, at the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, next to the Rialto Bridge, with the traditional press conference, during which the winner of the 26th edition of Campiello Giovani was proclaimed, the competition reserved for young people between 15 and 22 years old, organized by the Il Campiello Foundation – Confindustria Veneto Alice Scalas Bianco, 18 years old from Vigevano (Pavia), fresh from high school diploma, was awarded the prize with the short story “Portrait of Paris” chosen by the Jury of writers, chaired by Walter Veltroni, among the five stories that reached the final. The award was presented by Marco Dalla Bernardina, president of the Young Entrepreneurs of Confindustria Veneto. This is the motivation of the Jury: “The story of Alice Scalas Bianco has the quality of combining ingenuity and intelligence, dispersion and flashes of ironic lucidity in a single gesture. . The author has tried to resist the inevitably winning clichés with the sweetness of a story that is read to the end “. The other finalists of this edition of Campiello Giovani were: Salvatore Lamberti, 19 years old from Scisciano (Na), with the story “Roman”, Shannon Magri, 22 years old from Castel Gabbiano (Cr) with the story “Kiyoshi in the storm”, Martina Sangalli, 21 years old from Carugo (Co) with the short story “Blu colomba” and Camilla Tibaldo, 21 years old from Trecenta (Ro) with the short story “The similarity”. Just enrolled in modern literature at the University of Bologna, with the dream of working in the publishing world, Alice said: “It is a great honor to receive this award and I thank all the people who have read and appreciated me and thanks to Campiello for the wonderful experience that made me live. It is a written story in two or three weeks during a forced quarantine. I was sick of studying at a distance and I found an outlet even writing this story “. During the press conference, Riccardo Di Stefano, national president of the Young Entrepreneurs, also awarded the special mention of the Confindustria Youth Group for the best story that dealt with the theme of business culture. The mention was attributed to Lorenzo Molinetti, 21, from Chiavenna (So). And now the Campiello Junior Prize is about to come alive, the first edition of the literary recognition addressed to the authors of Italian works of fiction and poetry written for children and young people between 10 and 14 years old. The Prize, born from the collaboration between Pirelli and Campiello, now in its second year, aims to promote reading among the younger generations, in the belief that reading and telling stories are fundamental elements for cultural and civil education and training. .