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Literary Awards: Premio Strega / Strega Europeo

Premio Strega - The Latest Winners

Premio Strega Winner 2024 - DONATELLA DI PIETRANTONIO

Donatella Di Pietrantonio (Arsita, 1962) won in 2024 with L'età fragile, a novel about the relationship between a mother and her 20-year-old daughter who were forced to live together during the Covid-19 lockdown and whose lives are also linked by some tragic events in their local community from decades before.

In the video below, the announcement is followed by a detailed presentation of the winning novel (playback starts at 7:31):

Premio Strega Europeo Winner 2025 - PAUL MURRAY

The 2025 prize went to Paul Murray (Dublin, Republic of Ireland, 1975) for his satirical novel The Bee Sting (2023, Italian translation: Il giorno dell'ape, tr. Tommaso Pincio), which follows four members of a dysfunctional Irish family whose once-thriving business is reeling from the late 2000s "Great Recession".

Premio Strega

The Premio Strega was launched in Rome in 1947 by writers Goffredo e Maria Bellonci (with the contribution of Guido Alberti, manufacturer of Strega liquor from which the prize took its name) to revitalize the cultural life of the country after the devastation of World War II.

Through the decades, the winning titles have aimed at widening in the Italian reading public the perception and consciousness of changes occurring in the country in terms of economy, culture and society.

The winner is chosen annually among books published between April 1 of the previous year and March 31 of the current year.
 
Further information on the prize are available on its 50 years anniversary page on the Library of Congress website.

Other Italian Literary Prizes

Premio Strega Europeo - The latest winners (English translations when available)