PREMIO GREGOR VON REZZORI – CITTÀ DI FIRENZE
18th Edition
May 29th – 31st, 2024
The Premio Gregor von Rezzori – Città di Firenze was conceived in 2007 under the initiative of The Santa Maddalena Foundation. At the time it took place in the Abbey of Vallombrosa, and in 2010 it moved to Florence. It is made up by three days of events, conferences and meeting between writers and the public in the most evocative venues the city has to offer. It culminates in a ceremony where the best work of foreign fiction published in Italy in the previous year receives an award, along with the best translation into Italian. Figuring amongst past winners are Hisham Matar, Juan Gabriel Vasquez, George Saunders, Annie Ernaux and Richard Powers. One of the main events of the Premio is the yearly Lectio Magistralis, held in the past, amongst others, by Michael Cunningham, Zadie Smith, Emmanuel Carrère, Margaret Atwood and Colm Tóibín. The jury for the foreign fiction section is composed by Beatrice Monti della Corte, Andrea Bajani, Maylis de Kerangal, Alberto Manguel, Colm Tóibín, and Edmund White. The jury for the best translation into Italian is composed by Andrea Landolfi and Paola Del Zoppo.
«We extend affectionate and grateful thoughts to our dear Ernesto Ferrero, President of the Premio Gregor Von Rezzori for seventeen editions, whose wisdom and experience will continue to guide our jury even after his passing. During this period of transition, we are also delighted to welcome the new jury member Colm Tóibín, beloved and well-known in the city of Florence, where he has often resided and where he also crafted his The Master»
Beatrice Monti della Corte, President
THE WINNER OF THE 18th EDITION IS
MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM
for his extraordinary
Day
(La nave di Teseo, translated by Carlo Prosperi)
Day by Michael Cunningham, is extraordinarily profound. Stylistically refined, true, and lyrical. It intensely touches on themes of marriage, child-rearing, making art, surviving a pandemic, and “succeeding” or “failing” according to draconian American standards. With the mastery of a thoroughly modern Marivaux, Cunningham skillfully explores his numerous characters and his complicated plot. Everything is fully expressed in this novel written by one of the central writers of this era. In Day, there are never too many words (or too few). All the characters are haunted by an existential sense of inauthenticity. We greatly admire Cunningham’s extraordinary ability to understand the manners and morals, the nuanced aspirations, and the nagging hopes of his characters, who are so different from each other. This is an epochal novel.
FOREIGN FICTION SHORTLIST
The Premio Gregor von Rezzori – Città di Firenze is conceived and organized by The Santa Maddalena Foundation chaired by Beatrice Monti della Corte, promoted by Centro per il Libro e la Lettura del MiC, endorsed by Regione Toscana and supported by Consiglio Regionale della Toscana, Comune di Firenze, Fondazione CR Firenze, and Credito Cooperativo del Valdarno Fiorentino, with Unicoop Firenze as technical sponsor and Rai Cultura as media partner.
In collaboration with Opera di Santa Croce, Gabinetto Scientifico Letterario G.P. Vieusseux, Cinema La Compagnia, Todo Modo, Università per Stranieri di Siena, Università degli Studi di Siena.
Michael Cunningham
(La Nave di Teseo, trans. by Carlo Prosperi)
Álvaro Enrigue
(Feltrinelli, trans. by Pino Cacucci)
Han Kang
(Adelphi, trans. by Lia Iovenitti)
Clare Keegan
(Einaudi, trans. by Monica Pareschi)
Laurent Mauvignier
(Feltrinelli, trans. by Yasmina Mélaouah)
Michael Cunningham
Day
La nave di Teseo
trans. by Carlo Prosperi
Álvaro Enrigue
Il sogno (You Dreamed of Empires)
Feltrinelli
trans. by Pino Cacucci
Han Kang
L’ora di greco (Greek Lessons)
Adelphi
trans. by Lia Iovenitti
Claire Keegan
Un’estate (Foster)
Einaudi
trans. by Monica Pareschi
Laurent Mauvignier
La festa di compleanno (Histoires de la nuit)
Feltrinelli
trans. by Yasmina Mélaouah
The prize for the best translation into Italian
has been awarded by the jury composed of Beatrice Monti della Corte, Andrea Landolfi, and Paola del Zoppo to:
Daniele Ventre
for his translation of
L’Odissea
by Homer
Ponte alle Grazie
–
Fausto Russo Alesi
read some excerpts
The Past Edition
Press office
Patrizia Renzi
patrizia@renzipatrizia.com
Coordination Santa Maddalena Foundation
Caterina Toschi
Organisational secretariat Santa Maddalena Foundation
Edoardo Archi, Matilde Castagnoli, Emma Paoli
Communication
Studio Neri Torrigiani | www.torrigiani.com
PRESS AREA