Fabio Stassi receives the Kesten Prize 2024

Najem WaliWriters-in-Prison representative and PEN Vice President, explains in the award announcement: “Fabio Stassi writes as a cosmopolitan and enlightened thinker in the spirit of radical humanism, entirely in the narrative tradition of the Mediterranean. He loudly emphasized his concern, his horror and his disgust at the symptoms of an infection that takes us back to the ghosts of the past, to the dictatorships of the twentieth century and their methods. Because of his courageous stance against the neo-fascist tendencies in Italy, the guest country of this year's Frankfurt Book Fair, and because he also researches the subject of book burnings, he is a more than worthy winner of the award.

Minister of Arts and Culture Timon Gremmels adds: “All of Fabio Stassi's works are united by a strong belief in the healing power of storytelling. In doing so, he by no means ignores the problems and challenges of our time. With poetic realism, Stassi succeeds in convincing his readers that all people can bring out the good in themselves. In addition to his literary talent, Stassi is committed to defending freedom of expression and democracy, standing up for humanity and freedom.

In October, the Edition Converso Stassi's essay “I, yes I will take care of you. Short essay on Dante, poetry and pain”. Already available are: “The soul of all coincidences” and “I kill whoever I want”.