Paolo Cognetti (born 27 January 1978 in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

writer. He started studying mathematics at university, but quit to enroll at Milan's film-making school ''Civica Scuola di Cinema «Luchino Visconti»'', where he graduated in 1999. He taught himself

American literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...

and started directing documentaries in 2004, especially about social, political and literary topics. His first work as a writer was the short story ''Fare ordine'', which won the Premio Subway−Letteratura. He loves

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, which has become the main subject of some of his documentaries. His other passion is the mountains, where he likes to spend a few months alone every year. In 2016, he published his first novel ''Le otto montagne'' (''The Eight Mountains'', English translation by Simon Carnell and Erica Segre for Atria Books, 2018), which granted him the

Premio Strega The Strega Prize ( it, Premio Strega ) is the most prestigious Italian literary award. It has been awarded annually since 1947 for the best work of prose fiction written in the Italian language by an author of any nationality and first published ...

2017,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

′s most prestigious literary award, as well as various international awards, such as the

Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and . It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent." The award goes to a work of fiction in the French language. In 19 ...

étranger, the Prix François Sommer, and the English Pen Translates Award.

Works

*''Fare ordine. enere: storia d'amore; 1 racconto da 5 fermate', Milan, 2003 * ''Manuale per ragazze di successo'', Rome, 2004 * ''Una cosa piccola che sta per esplodere'', Rome, 2007 * ''Sofia si veste sempre di nero'', Rome, 2012 *''Il nuotatore'', with Mara Cerri, Rome, 2013 * ''Le otto montagne (The Eight Mountains)'', Turin, 2016 *''La felicità del Lupo'', Turin, Einaudi, 2021

Documentaries

*Scrivere/New York, 2004

Essay

* ''New York è una finestra senza tende'', 2010 * ''Il ragazzo selvatico. Quaderno di montagna'', Milan, 2013 * ''A pesca nelle pozze più profonde'', Roma, 2014 * ''Tutte le mie preghiere guardano verso ovest'', 2014 *''Senza mai arrivare in cima'', Turin, Einaudi, 2018 *''L'Antonia. Poesie, lettere e fotografie di Antonia Pozzi scelte e raccontate da Paolo Cognetti'', Milan, Ponte alle Grazie, 2021.

References

External links

Sito casa editrice minimum fax, scheda di Paolo Cognetti
1978 births Living people Writers from Milan 21st-century Italian male writers 21st-century Italian novelists Strega Prize winners Italian male novelists Prix Médicis étranger winners {{Italy-writer-stub