Milena Agus (born 1959) is an Italian author from

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

. She is one of the leading novelists in the so-called

Sardinian Literary Spring Sardinian Literary Spring is a definition of the whole body of the literature produced in Sardinia from around the 1980s onwards. History About the denomination Sardinian Literary Spring, also known as Sardinian Literary Nouvelle Vague, is a de ...

which began in the 1980s and which includes other international names such as

Michela Murgia Michela Murgia (born 3 June 1972) is an Italian novelist, playwright and radio personality. She is a winner of the Premio Campiello and the Mondello International Literary Prize. Biography Michela Murgia was born in Cabras, Sardinia on 3 June 1 ...

Biography

Milena Agus was born in

Genova Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of Ge ...

to Sardinian parents. She lives and works in

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

, where she teaches Italian and History at the Liceo Artistico e Musicale "Foiso Fois" in Cagliari, a creative school. She is a practitioner of the 'New Sardinian Literature'. Her first novel, ''While the Shark is Sleeping'' (Nottetempo, 2005) had two reprints within as many months, but it was ''Mal di Pietre'' ('' From the Land of the Moon'' in English) which brought her to the attention of a wide audience. Translated into five languages, it was a bestseller in France, where it rose to international fame. ''Mal di Pietre'' was a finalist for the Strega prize, the Campiello prize, and the Stresa di Narrativa prize. In 2016 it was adapted into a feature film called ''Mal de Pierres'', or in English '' From the Land of the Moon'' directed by

Nicole Garcia Nicole Garcia (born 22 April 1946) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter. Her film '' Charlie Says'' was entered into the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Her film ''Going Away'' was screened in the Special Presentation section at the 20 ...

and starring

Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress, film producer, singer, and environmentalist who is widely known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters in both European and Hollywood productions. She has received ...

. It was entered into competition at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

in May 2016.

Works

*''While the Shark is Sleeping'', Rome, Nottetempo, 2005 *'' From the Land of the Moon'', Rome, Nottetempo, 2006 *''Perché scrivere'', Rome, Nottetempo, 2007 *''Scrivere è una tana''. La Sardegna pure, in AA. VV. (Edited by Giulio Angioni), Cartas de logu: scrittori sardi allo specchio, Cagliari, CUEC, 2007 *''The Neighbour'', Cagliari, Tiligù, 2008 *''Ali di Babbo'', Roma, Nottetempo, 2008 *''La Contessa di Ricotta'', Roma, Nottetempo, 2009 *''Nascosto al giorno''. Il piacere di leggere e di scrivere, (con Ettore Cannas), Cagliari, Tiligù, 2010 *''Sottosopra'', Rome, Nottetempo, 2011 *''Guardati dalla mia Fame'' (with Luciana Castellina), Nottetempo, 2014 *''Terre promesse'', Nottetempo, 2017 *''Un tempo gentile'', Nottetempo, 2020

Works in English

* ''The house in via Manno'' Carlton North, Vic. : Scribe Publications, 2009. * ''Daddy's wings'' translator Brigid Maher, Melbourne : Scribe, 2011. * ''While the shark is sleeping'', translator Brigid Maher, Publisher: London : Telegram, 2014.

Prizes

*Junturus Prize 2004, for Mal di Pietre *Relay Prize («roman d'évasion») in France *Forte Village Prize 2007 *Campiello Prize, Jury's special selection 2007 *Santa Marinella Peize 2007 *Elsa Morante Prize 2007 *Zerilli-Marimo Prize for Italian Fiction, New York 2008, for Mal di Pietre Nordicus Mediterranaeum Journal
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References

External links

Italian Encyclopoedia of WomenNon Solo Gialli, Corriere della Sera article 2007Scribe Australia, Milena Agus Author Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agus, Milena Italian women novelists Italian educators 21st-century Italian novelists Living people Sardinian culture 1959 births People from Cagliari 21st-century Italian women writers Sardinian women Writers from Sardinia