It officially came into force on 1980. edition of the Strega Prize, with the first group of titles proposed by the Friends of Sunday. The next group will be made by the foundation on Tuesday 17 February, with the deadline for submitting proposals set for Monday 2 March.
Strega Prize 2026: the first 16 books
- Graziella Bonansea, You who don’t speak (Vanda Edizioni), proposed by Paolo Ferruzzi
- Ermanno Cavazzoni, Story of a friendship (Quodlibet), proposed by Massimo Raffaeli
- Cosimo Damiano Damato, No grace. Gramsci and Pertini, a story of imprisonment and resistance (Rai Libri), proposed by Raffaele Nigro
- Vito di Battista, Where comets fall (Feltrinelli), proposed by Maria Ida Gaeta
- Mara Fortuna, Canaria (Les Flâneurs Edizioni), proposed by Antonella Cilento
- Massimo Gezzi, Adriatic (Gramma Feltrinelli), proposed by Laura Pugno
- Roberto Ippolito, Wilde as if (SEM), proposed by Elisabetta Mondello
- Orazio Labbate, Chianafera (NN Editore), proposed by Alberto Casadei
- Fabio Macaluso, I wanted a lemon tea. My life as a bipolar (Marsilio), proposed by Daniele Rielli
- Michele Mari, The stone guests (Einaudi), proposed by Vittorio Lingiardi
- Sebastiano Martini, The noise of the world (Voland), proposed by Dario Buzzolan
- Lorenzo Pavolini, Thousand (Marsilio), proposed by Giorgio van Straten
- Pucci Romano, The solution (Love Edizioni), proposed by Riccardo Cavallero
- Irene Salvatori, Not 101 yet (Marcos y Marcos), proposed by Daniele Mencarelli
- Nadeesha Uyangoda, Dirty water (Einaudi), proposed by Gaia Manzini
- Piera Ventre, Stray star (NN Editore), proposed by Romana Petri.
This year, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Prize, the final evening will exceptionally be held on 8 July at the Campidoglio: a highly symbolic choice that pays homage to Rome, the city that saw the birth and growth of the most prestigious Italian literary recognition, and which reaffirms the profound bond with its cultural and civil history.
To embellish the celebrations, a rich calendar of events is also planned which will involve cultural institutions, authors, archives, exhibitions and public meetings, reiterating the central role of the Award in Italian cultural history and in contemporary debate.
The poster of ’80. Witch Award
