here are the finalists. With a reflection by Roberto Piumini- Corriere.it

The three finalists of the 2nd edition of the Campiello Junior have been selected, the literary prize born from the collaboration between the Il Campiello Foundation, the Pirelli Foundation and Pirelli. For the 7-10 year olds category the following are competing: Charles Marconi, with «Poems of walking» (Lapis), Nicholas Cinquetti with «The incredible night of Billy Bologna» (Lapis) e Nadia Terranova with «The courtyard of the seven fairies» (Guanda). For the 11-14 age category: Ilaria Rigoli with «Remaking a world» (Bompiani), David Rigiani with «Tullio and the strangest aeolian in the whole Canton of Ticino» (inimum fax) and Lilith Moscon with «Family bestiary» (Topipittori). We publish here a reflection by the writer Roberto Piumini, president of the prize jury.

This year’s edition of the Campiello Junior Prize presents new aspects, which give some food for thought. The first is the choice of books, and juries appointed, for two age levels: from 7 to 10, and from 11 to 14 years. The Campiello Junior Prize knows that its audience is not uniform, that it is evolving, that there are variables of perception, reading conditions, which must be taken into account. The jury is aware of the different ways in which, in the two ages, “the discourse of the world” is received: magical, imaginative and playful in the first level, introspective, problematic, often suffering, in the second. For each of the two bands, the proposals were asked for which blend the linguistic, expressive aspect with the most richly and lightly, with that of experience, reality, the family and social environment. It is in this balance, essentially dramaturgy, that the jury recognized the “literary quality” to refer to.

The second point is the insertion, in the triads, of a book of poetry. The intention is twofold: on the one hand, to make the proposal for poetry present to the children in an authoritative way, which especially in primary school has attention and elaboration, but finds little material and space in the library. The second intention is precisely a signal of stimulus and expectation towards publishing, because it seeks to virtuously enter the circle, perhaps giving space to that particular form which is narrative poetry, or the epic, of which our literary tradition, still conditioned by the lyrical choice, it is particularly poor.

The speech broadens the field: in addition to the novel, short story, poetry, narrative and otherwise, theatrical and musical writing. The Campiello Junior Award could continue to broaden its gaze, and qualify as an Expressive Word Award, in the circuit or fabric of writing-publication-reading-social use that mature reflections indicate as a cure for our time of great fuss and few words.

The next steps

The three finalists of Campiello Junior, selected by the jury chaired by Roberto Piumini and composed of Chiara Lagani, Martino Negri, Michela Possamai and David Toli, will now be submitted to the judgment of the jury made up of 240 young people. The winners will be announced in May 2023. The award ceremony will be in September during the Campiello 2023 award ceremony.