Possible and impossible futures, worlds near and far, stories that push beyond the boundaries of the present. Time travel, dystopian societies, technologies capable of revolutionizing the entire universe. It is within this imaginative realm–where literature and science meet–that the Mondofuturo Literary Award was born, promoted by the national research institute Area Science Park and the La Cappella Underground Film and Audiovisual Research and Experimentation Center.
Now in its third edition, the award annually honors the best original science fiction book published for the first time in Italy during the qualifying year, excluding translated works. The current edition is dedicated to books published in 2025. Competing for the 2026 Award are La terra tersa by Ilaria Matteoni (effequ), La luce inversa by Mota (Wojtek), and Uomini pallidi by Giovanni Peparello (Zona 42).
The three finalists, selected by an expert jury, are then handed over to a panel of scientists tasked with choosing the work that offers the best scientific, technological, and social vision.
A multinational corporation that solved world hunger but harbors a secret, a woman safeguarding the memories of a world almost devoid of humans, three consciousnesses meeting to confront the violence of the past: which story will claim the Award?