by InTrieste
A literary award celebrating original science-fiction writing in Italy will announce its winner on Sunday, as the Mondofuturo Prize reaches the finale of its second edition.
The prize honors the best work of science fiction — originally written in Italian and published in 2024 — that demonstrates a strong scientific, technological and social vision. It is organized by Area Science Park, Italy’s national research organization based in Trieste, in partnership with La Cappella Underground, a center for cinematic research and experimentation.
The award ceremony will take place on Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. in Piazza della Borsa, coinciding with the closing day of the 25th Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, one of Italy’s leading events dedicated to genre cinema and speculative storytelling. The writer and broadcaster Loredana Lipperini will host the event.
Three books have been selected as finalists: Nero. Il complotto dei complotti by Luca Giommoni (effequ); Anticaja Canaglia by Cobol Pongide and Emiglino Cicala (Edizioni Progetto Cultura); and Cronache dalla deriva by Carlo Roselli (Zona 42). They were chosen from 19 submissions by a panel of journalists, authors, university faculty members and experts in the field.
The winner will be selected by a jury of 50 scientists from Area Science Park, joined by researchers from several of Trieste’s major scientific institutions, including the International School for Advanced Studies (Sissa), Italy’s National Research Council, Elettra Sincrotrone, the Italian Liver Foundation, the National Institute for Nuclear Physics and the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.
Honorary members of the scientific jury include Giovanna Fragneto, scientific director of the European Spallation Source; Fabio Pagan, a science journalist; Fabrizio Brancoli, deputy director of the NEM — Nord Est Multimedia group; Giovanni Covone, a professor at the University of Naples Federico II; and Stefano Liberati, professor of astroparticle physics at Sissa. The jury is chaired by Caterina Petrillo, president of Area Science Park.
The winning title will receive recognition for its ability to imagine the future through a rigorous, innovative and socially conscious lens — continuing the prize’s mission of fostering public interest in science and literature by way of speculative fiction.
