Amalago Literary Prize

A literary award like no other

The Amalago Literary Prize is an award born on the shores of Lake Maggiore and dedicated to the historical novel. Organized by the Amalago ETS Association, chaired by Massimo Ciaccio, it has found its home at Villa Giulia, the historic residence overlooking the lake in the heart of Pallanza, a district of Verbania (Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Piedmont).

What sets Amalago apart is its "reversed" selection criteria: instead of starting with publisher submissions, it begins with titles that have genuinely captured the public's heart. Readers drive the process through a Nomination Group composed of independent bloggers, reading groups, and book influencers. From this selection, a Technical Committee identifies up to fourteen semi-finalists, narrowing them down to the three finalists voted on by the jury.

The 2025/26 finalists

The fifth edition of the prize features three historical novels in competition:

• La sirena di Posillipo by Paolo Jorio and Claudia Carrescia (Rizzoli)
• I giorni della libertà by Alessandro Milan (Mondadori)
• La fabbrica delle ragazze by Ilaria Rossetti (Bompiani)

The jury is chaired by journalist Giovanni Grasso and coordinated by Sibyl von der Schulenburg, the prize's founder. Alongside the main award, the Agar Sorbatti Special Prize and the Schools' Special Prize, voted on by local high school students, are also presented.

A prize rooted in the region

Amalago is more than just a ceremony: it is a cultural project that unites twenty-six municipalities along the shores of the Verbano (in Piedmont, Lombardy, and the Swiss Canton of Ticino), under the patronage of the Piedmont Region and the Monte Rosa Laghi–Alto Piemonte Chamber of Commerce. Throughout the year, the prize takes authors and books on tour to schools and libraries across the three shores of the lake, transforming the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola area into a vibrant laboratory for shared reading.

The setting of Villa Giulia

The award ceremony takes place at Villa Giulia, an elegant 19th-century villa overlooking the Borromean Gulf, one of the most picturesque locations in all of Verbania. The ceremony, which is free to attend, brings together authors, jurors, students, and readers for a morning of meetings, readings, and dialogues on the value of the historical novel as a tool for understanding the present.