Michele Mari wins the 2026 Strega Prize

Michele Mari won the 2026 Strega

Prize, Italy's most prestigious literary award, with his novel

'I Convitati di Pietra' (The Stone Guests) at a ceremony in

which the votes were counted in Rome on Wednesday.

The story of the rivalries and misfortunes of a group of

high-school students who reunite for a dinner every year, Mari's

23rd book got 190 votes, ahead of Matteo Nucci's 'Platone - Una

storia d'amore' (Plato - A Love Story) with 152.

Third place at the 80th Strega prize went to Bianca Pitzorno's

'La Sonnambula' (The Sleepwalker) with 84 votes.

The name Strega, which means 'witch' in Italian, refers to the

prize's sponsors, producers of the famed yellow liqueur of the

same name.

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