With the novel «In the dark I see it», published by Einaudi, Anna Mallamo won the international literary prize SuperMondello, on the recommendation of the readers of 24 Italian bookstores. The jury then awarded the Mondello Giovani prize to Leonardo San Pietro, author of «Festa con cassowary» (Sellerio). The awards were announced during the ceremony which took place at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. Anna Mallamo, journalist and head of the culture and entertainment pages of the Gazzetta del Sud, was among the winners of the «Italian Opera» section with Leonardo San Pietro and Teresa Ciabatti (“Donnaregina”, Mondadori).
His novel has as its protagonist a sixteen-year-old who holds prisoner a schoolmate who is the son of a Calabrian boss. The story uses an “imaginative” language, according to the jury, and moves on a threshold where good and evil “continuously risk becoming confused”. The south, says Mallamo, is not only hostage to a “perennial mafia and you just need to broaden your gaze to see that there are many other things”.
The shortlist of three winners was designated by the selection committee chaired by Maria Concetta Di Natale and composed of writers and critics Evelina Santangelo, Gaetano Savatteri, Igiaba Scego. The same committee also awarded the Special Jury Prize to Carlo Greppi for «Figlia mia» (Laterza) and to Rosa Matteucci for «Cartagloria» (Adelphi).
The critical work prize went to Tommaso Braccini and Thea Rimini while the foreign author prize went to the Mexican Valeria Luiselli. Stefania Auci was awarded the special prize by the president of the Sicilia Foundation, Maria Concetta Di Natale, which promotes the Mondello prize on behalf of the municipality of Palermo and in collaboration with the readers’ club, the Turin Book Fair and the Lauro Chiazzese Foundation. This year the Mondello prize also dedicated a space to Andrea Camilleri whose centenary of his birth marks the centenary of his birth. As part of the memory of Camilleri, the special prize from the president of the Chiazzese Foundation, Raffaele Bonsignore, was awarded to Diego De Silva.