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Tazrià - Metzorà, Rosh Chodesh Yiar, secondo giorno - Lev. 12-1/15-33, Num. 28-9/28-15
After selecting the finalists for the Children’s Section in December, the Jury of the 26th ADEI WIZO Adelina Della Pergola Literary Prize has announced the three finalists who will compete for the main section of the 26th edition of the Prize. The selection choose three authors with three very different works: Enrico Fink with Patrilineare (Lindau Edizioni), Eli Sharabi with L’ostaggio (Newton Compton Editori), and Roy Chen with Il grande frastuono (Giuntina Publishing).
The ADEI WIZO Adelina Della Pergola Literary Prize was founded in 2000, on the initiative of the Association of Jewish Women of Italy, and today it is a point of reference in the Italian literary scene, both for its methodology and for the objectives for which it was conceived. Created with the founding goal of highlighting contemporary fiction authors publishing books on Jewish topics by making their works known to the general public, it has increasingly taken on a social value: raising awareness among readers of the connection between the history and values of Judaism and the civil progress we all benefit from. This goal, recently, in a climate of rising anti-Semitism, has become a fundamental mission for ADEI WIZO.
We live in very complicated times – recalls the National President of ADEI WIZO Susanna Sciaky Reading, learning, and informing ourselves remain the best ways to understand the present, avoiding the dangerous simplification that prejudice brings. Today, we see an ancient hatred against Jews that continues to claim victims across the world, once again threatening an entire people. Restoring the truth is a moral duty of every human being. This is also why I am so pleased with the works chosen this year: they tackle the diverse facets of contemporary history from different perspectives. There is the brutal testimony of the terrible fate of those kidnapped by Hamas and subjected to every kind of deprivation and abuse simply because they are Jewish; there is the value of intergenerational memory, with that touch of humor that characterizes our culture; and there is daily life in Israel and among the Judaism of the diaspora. Regardless of the winner, all these books are profound.
After the works have been chosen by the Selection Jury chaired by Sira Fatucci, now the word goes to the Popular Jury, composed of 500 readers from all over Italy After reading the three volumes, the winner will be announced in April. The awards ceremony, the details of which are currently being finalized, will take place in May 2026. As per tradition, the ceremony will take place in a particularly prestigious location, in the presence of leading figures in Italian culture, and all finalists from both sections of the Literary Prize will be invited.
The finalist books and the jury’s reasons
Enrico Fink, Patrilineare, Lindau Edizioni
Enrico Fink, a writer, musician, and playwright from Castiglion Fiorentino, tells us a curious ghost story that oscillates between past and present. It’s also a family story, as the vicissitudes of the protagonist Elias intertwine with those of the Finks and the Bassanis.
The Jury of the Prize chose it precisely for this ability to engage with history. “The author’s ability to make the past tangible, like a lingering shadow to be interrogated, gives the work a testimonial value,” the motivation states. “The novel, in fact, addresses the theme of family memory and identity with intensity and originality, transforming it into a broader reflection. The ability to intertwine private events and collective history creates a rich historical framework, particularly in the evocative tale of the Jewish world of Ferrara.”
Eli Sharabi, L’ostaggio, Newton Compton Editori
Eli Sharabi’s book is a firsthand account of a tragedy that affected not only him, but all of Israel and beyond. Kidnapped on October 7, 2023, by Kibbutz Be’eri, while his wife Lianne and their teenage daughters were murdered, Sharabi was held hostage in Gaza for 491 days in inhumane conditions and was only released in February 2025. The book is a bestseller not only in Israel: it ranks fourth on the New York Times bestseller list.
“A text of exceptional value for the historical and human testimony it conveys,” explains the Prize’s Selection Jury. “With essential, lucid, and unvarnished writing, the book directly and authentically conveys the experience of imprisonment, a reality of violence, humiliation, and suffering that dramatically pertains to our present. Alongside the horror, human dignity and the capacity to resist through solidarity, memory, and the will to remain human emerge forcefully. The work transcends the confines of traditional literature to take on a civic and ethical value, taking the form of a denunciation of indifference and a warning against war and the ideology of destruction. A necessary book, capable of leaving a lasting mark on the conscience of its readers.”
Roy Chen, Il grande frastuono, Ed Giuntina
Gabriela, her mother Noa, and her grandmother Tzipora: three generations to tell a story of lost and found loves, of long silences and too many words, of unfathomable mysteries and a “gefilte fish” served at the perfect moment.
A book that promises to be another great success for this Israeli writer, translator, and playwright, and one that the jury who selected it highly recommends. “Through three female voices, different in age and sensibility, the novel offers a choral and profoundly human portrait of contemporary Israel, capable of speaking to readers of all generations. The book’s strength lies in its successful balance of different registers: withering humor, poetic moments, the grotesque, and existential reflection coexist in a “creative chaos” that reflects the din of modern life and, at the same time, invites us to rediscover the value of silence and listening. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem become universal settings, symbolic places of a human condition marked by excessive noise and the difficulty of communicating.”
ADEI WIZO Adelina Della Pergola Literary Prize
Established in 2000 and dedicated to Adelina della Pergola, the Prize considers works of fiction on Jewish subjects by living authors published in Italy between September of the current year and the year preceding the announcement. The Selection Panel selects a minimum of two and a maximum of three works, which will be submitted to a People’s Jury of female readers from the Italian ADEI WIZO Sections, who will vote for the winning work and the runner-up. A Children’s Prize is also awarded, in which the Panel selects two suitable titles for a panel of high school students, who will select the winner.
