The novel Dove cadono le comete by Vito di Battista, published by Feltrinelli, has won the DEI Award – Diversity, Equity, Inclusion as part of the IV edition of the literary festival and award “Parole a Braccio”, held in Perugia on May 22 and 23, 2026.
Organized by the Rotary Club Fortebraccio Perugia, the “Words at Arm’s Length” festival promotes the culture of the book through meetings with authors, presentations, and awards dedicated to contemporary fiction. Among the three sections of the competition is the DEI Award, reserved for works that address the themes of diversity, equity, and social and cultural inclusion.
Dove cadono le comete, released in 2025 by Feltrinelli, tells a family saga set on the Abruzzo coast, spanning decades of Italian history, from World War II to the Seventies, with a writing style that intertwines orality, memory, and dialect. The novel had been nominated for the Strega Prize 2026 by Maria Ida Gaeta and has already been winner of the Dante Arfelli Prize, and honorable mention at the Franco Loi Prize – City of Grottammare.
The award received in Perugia further confirms the strong critical attention that has accompanied Vito di Battista’s novel within the contemporary Italian literary landscape. In addition to the awards already mentioned, during the latest Salone Internazionale del Libro di Torino, Dove cadono le comete was announced as one of the five Italian finalists for the The Bridge Book Award.
