An earthquake didn’t stop 1.200 unbridled students from turning the 2025 Elsa Morante Award into a riot of cultural chaos and improvised votes, filling two halls in the City of Science in Naples with an enthusiasm that shook the walls more than the earthquake itself.
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Students in Charge: From Song Titles to Literary Awards
These furious youngsters were the real bosses of the 39th edition, chaired by Dacia Maraini, deciding that the next single by LDA—winner of the Ragazzi Musica Award—will be called Non m'illudere. The singer, who had just arrived from a wild filming session in Sardinia, let the crowd vote between two options, proving that in this makeshift jury, the kids rule more than a committee of wise guys. The Schools Award also went to Alessandro D'Avenia for Resisti cuore (Mondadori), already a multiple award winner, with D'Avenia talking to Maraini and the jurors Marco Cerbo, Enzo Colimoro, Antonio Parlati, Teresa Triscari and Tiuna Notarbartolo. During the chat, he launched: “Ulysses is the story of all stories. Literature is necessary for life”. A comment that sounds like an epic sermon, but who knows if these students, with their heads full of social media, will take it seriously or ignore it as an old fairy tale.
Awards and vitriolic words between authors and artists
Other stars of the stage collected their laurels, with Donatella Di Pietrantonio who won the Elsa Morante Ragazzi – Prossa e Poesia Award for Lucciole, squaletti e un po' di pastina (Salani), and Francesca Mannocchi who won the Elsa Morante Ragazzi – La Storia Award for Sulla mia terra (De Agostini). Connected via streaming from the Newton Hall, Mannocchi thundered: "I think these times ask us for clarity, but they are dark. We storytellers must stay close to the kids because the world is not yet what we would like, it is what we have in front of us". Phrases that hit hard, almost like a punch in the stomach of young people, reminding us that in the shadows of the real world, narrators are the new heroes a little messed up. The ceremony, led by journalist Tiuna Notarbartolo and actor Alessandro Incerto, also awarded Roberto Andò for Il cocco di Palermo (La nave di Teseo) in the Fiction category, and Daniela De Crescenzo and Tommaso Montanino for Il Narcos (Paper First), chosen by the youth of the juvenile prison in a twist that makes culture seem like a dirty and intriguing game.
Music and Shocks: The Event That Ended Before Expected
The Elsa Morante Ragazzi Musica Award celebrated Luca D'Alessio as the king of R&B, together with the producer Noya and Anastasio, who celebrated his birthday on stage talking about his latest album: “It seems like a science fiction album, projected forward. Art is a cutting light that lengthens the shadows and highlights the defects and contours and this is the most interesting expedient of this genre. I have always listened to singer-songwriters, I have always liked the investigation around the song. You can create beautiful songs even without words”. A space monologue that makes art seem like a double-edged sword, ideal for those who want to shake consciences without too many frills. But the euphoria was abruptly interrupted by the earthquake tremors in Campi Flegrei, forcing the event to close early for safety reasons—no comments from the kids on the award-winning books, only memories of a day that danced on the edge of disaster. Among those present, influential names such as Riccardo Villari, President of Città della Scienza, and various local exponents, with the event organized by the Associazione Culturale Premio Elsa Morante and supported by various partners.
Article published on May 14, 2025 - 16:07 pm
Video Chronicles
The article talks about an important event for youth culture, but there are some points that could be clarified better. Did the kids really have such a big role? And how do the opinions of the jurors compare with those of the young people? It would be interesting to know more.