At the ‘Children’s Literature Prize Festival’ it is the students who vote for the best book

The forty-fifth edition of the Festival of Children’s Literature Award, the longest-running and uninterrupted among the Italian literary prizes, as underlined by the website of the Municipality of Ferrara. Born in 1978, the Prize is reserved for Italian language books, including translated ones, intended for children and young people between 8 and 13 years old, with the primary aim of promoting reading, proposing quality literature that addresses the most varied and related themes to the universe of childhood and early adolescence, investing in the education of the youngest, to form aware and free citizens.

There are two finalists, one dedicated to primary school, the other to lower secondary school. The six finalist books were selected at the end of last year by a technical jury, but the winners will be chosen by the children whose stories are addressed. This is precisely the peculiarity of the Cento Literary Prize, giving the last word to young readers, to thousands of boys and girls from all over Italy aged from eight to 13 who, guided in reading by their teachers, will choose the winners of this 2024 edition .

The themes covered by the finalist books are closely linked to the experiences of many of the children who will read them: this is the case of “From here you can see the whole world”, of Enne Koens, which tells of a little girl who lives in a sad building with a mother who feels like a stranger, distant. The theme of lack is at the center of the story and develops through a research journey made up of questions to which it is not always possible to give answers. In the case of “Syberia” by Guido Sgardoli, the jury’s motivation underlines the value of the volume which is that of provide emotional and then properly critical interpretation keys of the existential knots that always accompany every growth.

The numbers of the Popular Jury are constantly increasing – as the organizers write on the event poster – and in this edition reached 14,000 young people from all over Italy.

Supported by the Cassa di Risparmio di Cento Foundation, the Literary Prize Festival aims to promote reading among young people, also through the purchase of thousands of copies of books to give to schools throughout Italy, thus contributing to the market of publishing and rewarding the winning authors. The slogan of the event is, in fact: “Reward those who write, those who read win”.

The program includes 5 days full of events that will take place in the historic center of the city of Cento: meetings with writers, shows, workshops for children, film screenings, exhibitions, conferences, seminars and readings for children.