From wine to page: the Mandrarossa Literary Prize travels to independent bookstores in Italy

The Mandrarossa Literary Prize – La Sicilia che non ti aspetti crosses Italy with a journey that celebrates contemporary narrative and the wine and cultural heritage of Sicily. After the launch of the call, Mandrarossa , an on-trade brand of Cantine Settesoli based in Menfi (Agrigento), tells the public about its initiative through a tour of independent bookstores throughout the peninsula , true cultural cornerstones of the territory. The aim of the Prize is to create a union between the stories contained in the wine labels and those that come to life through literature, uniting the narrative world with the wine world .

The independent bookshops involved were selected from those present in the Italian capital cities of culture from 2015 to today (including the 2025 finalists, with the addition of Rome and Naples) and had the role of active protagonists in the phase of proposing the works to the technical jury . The latter will be chaired by Aldo Cazzullo and composed of illustrious exponents of the national cultural scene: Franco Cardini, Neria De Giovanni, Eleonora Lombardo, Carlo Moretti, Christian Rocca and Nadia Terranova.

The tour started in Agrigento on April 2nd at the Il mercante dei libri bookshop, and then moved on to Siena ( Rebecca Bookshop , April 10th) and Orvieto ( Sovrappensieri Bookshop , April 15th). The next appointments will see the Award in Palermo on Saturday May 9th at 5:30 pm at the Enoteca Buonivini , with the participation of the Modus Vivendi Bookshop , and in Brescia on Wednesday May 14th at 6:30 pm at the Tarantola Bookshop . The tour will also land at the Turin Book Fair in the institutional space of the Regional Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity on Friday May 16th at 4:00 pm. This will be followed by the appointment in Rome , scheduled for Tuesday May 20th at the Roma Tre University Bookshop.

The awards ceremony , scheduled for Saturday 28 June 2025 in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento , will see the proclamation of the first three classified in the Mandrarossa Narrativa Award and the overall winners of the five thematic sections dedicated to the company's wines: Cavadiserpe for thrillers, Bertolino Soprano for fairy tales, Calamossa for the first work, Cartagho for historical novels, Urra di Mare for the category dedicated to sustainability, the environment and paesology.

The following day, Sunday 29 June , the Mandrarossa Prize will offer the city of Agrigento the show Il romanzo della Bibbia , a theatrical adaptation of the book of the same name by Aldo Cazzullo (HarperCollins), by and with Aldo Cazzullo together with Moni Ovadia, with music by Giovanna Famulari.