Noor Naga is Premio Gregor von Rezzori 2024 finalist

Noor Naga’s novel Come Dividere una Pesca is a finalist for Premio Gregor von Rezzori 2024; the announcement was made on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.

Gregor von Rezzori was a novelist, memoirist, screenwriter, and author of radio plays, as well as an actor, journalist, visual artist, art critic, and art collector. He passed away in 1998 and his widow Beatrice Monti della Corte who chairs the Santa Maddalena Foundation conceived the Premio Gregor von Rezzori (the Gregor von Rezzori Prize in English) in his honour.

The prize awards the best work of foreign fiction translated in Italy and published in the preceding year. It is supported by the municipality of the City of Florence; Italy is promoted by the MiBACT Center for Books and Reading and sponsored by the Tuscany Region. Some previous winners have been Hisham Matar, Jhumpa Lahiri, Maylis de Kerangal, and Maaza Mengiste.

This year’s jury comprises Beatrice Montidella Corte, President, Andrea Bajani, Alberto Manguel, Maylisde Kerangal, Colm Toibin, and Edmund White. Award founder Beatrice Monti della Corte made the longlist announcement on World Book Day, April 23.  

“We extend affectionate and grateful thoughts to our dear Ernesto Ferrero, President of the Premio Gregor Von Rezzori for seventeen editions, whose wisdom and experience will continue to guide our jury even after his passing. During this period of transition, we are also delighted to welcome the new jury member Colm Tóibín, beloved and well-known in the city of Florence, where he has often resided and where he also crafted his The Master,” said Beatrice Monti della Corte.

On the longlist was Noor Naga’s novel Come Dividere una Pesca translated by Francesca Pè; this is the Italian translation of the Egyptian-American’s debut novel If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English.

The winner will be announced later in the year.

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