The Terzani Prize

Excerpt from the Prize Statute

This international literary prize is awarded to the author of a work (essay, reportage or novel) which has been translated in the Italian language and addresses the themes of intercultural relations, cultural confrontation and conflict, with particular reference to East/West relations.

In agreement with his family, the prize was founded in 2004 in memory of the late Tiziano Terzani (1938-2004), the celebrated journalist and writer, whose unforgettable stories and articles presented Asia to the Western world. 

While nominees for the award are selected by individual members of the Jury, nominations are also accepted from publishing houses, as are proposals from writers themselves. To be eligible for consideration, works must have been published in Italian at least three months prior to the Prize award.

Candidates are further required to send 12 copies of their work to the organizing committee no later than three months before the Prize ceremony. Each copy must be accompanied by a brief abstract and the author’s curriculum vitae.

A prize of 5.000,00 Euros will be awarded to the winning candidate.

The winner will be announced at least one month before the award ceremony, which will take place during a gala evening organized by the Association as part of the Vicino/Lontano Festival programme. 

President of the Jury
Angela Terzani Staude

Members of the jury – 2008
Giulio Anselmi, Toni Capuozzo, Andrea Filippi, Ettore Mo, Valerio Pellizzari, Peter Popham, Paolo Rumiz

The ceremony for the 2008 Terzani Prize will take place in Udine on May 17th, 2008.

WHY AN AWARD DEDICATED TO TIZIANO TERZANI?

The Association saw the institution of an award dedicated to Tiziano Terzani and his work as a natural complement to its cultural festival vicino/lontano – identity and difference in a time of conflict, whose key events are a series of debates on East/West relations and conflicts. 

“Tiziano didn’t care for awards” his wife Angela recalls. “Throughout his life, he accepted just one – and only because it was dedicated to the “eternal child”. This prize [the Terzani Prize] is also intended as an alternative award, one not driven by commercial motives. What inspires us is the desire to acknowledge those who demonstrate a willingness to understand, the willingness to look at the world and at different cultures with the eyes of a curious child”.

It is sentiment shared by the Terzani Prize jury and one eloquently expressed by the late Ryszard Kapuściński, the celebrated Polish journalist and poet who, on the occasion of the first meeting of the jury on 5 December 2004, explained the reasons for instituting a prize dedicated to Terzani as part of the Vicino/Lontano project initiative: “I have very fond memories of Tiziano Terzani. Our world, which they say, is globalized, is instead made up of many regions and many different cultures. Through his work as a journalist, Tiziano created a bridge between these diversities and differences and thus provided the means by which others could understand the world, a world which is rapidly and dramatically changing. Terzani was able to do this because he knew how to observe, his eyes knew the right way to look, and this is why he became such an important witness for our times. Many write – today we are submersed by a deluge of words – but little of what is written will remain”.

TIZIANO TERZANI (1938-2004)

A Florentine of the East and born in the east of Florence, Terzani lived in Asia for 30 years with his wife Angela and his children Folco and Saskia. His work as Asia correspondent for the weekly magazine Der Spiegel took him to Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, Bangkok and New Delhi, where he also worked for La Repubblica, L’Espresso and Il Corriere della Sera.

His books, which chronicle the major events of contemorary Asian history, have been translated into other languages. They include: Leopard Skin (1973), Giai Phong! The Fall and liberation of Saigon (1976), Behind the Forbidden Door (1984), Goodnight, Mister Lenin (1992) and In Asia (1998). His later publications, which have a more philosophical and existentialist tone, are: A Fortune-Teller Told Me (1995), Letters Against the War (2002), One More Ride on the Merry-go-round (2004), and The End is My Beginning (2006).