All is ready in Porto Cervo for the final act of the 2026 Costa Smeralda Award. Today, Saturday, April 18, at 5:30 PM, the Porto Cervo Conference Center will host the public awards ceremony for the seventh edition of the event. The event will see the announcement of the overall winners, chosen from the three finalists, selected by a jury of experts led by Stefano Salis and composed of Lina Bolzoni, Marcello Fois, Elena Loewenthal, and Chiara Valerio. For Fiction: Niccolò Ammaniti (The Guardian, Einaudi), Paola Barbato (Heart Upside Down, Neri Pozza), and Dario Ferrari (The Family Idiot, Sellerio). For Nonfiction: Edoardo Camurri (Life That Burns, Timaeus), Adriana Cavarero (The Sirens' Song, Castelvecchi), and Andrea Moro (Lucretius and the Blue-Eyed Bat, La Nave di Teseo).

The previously announced special awards will also be presented during the evening: the International Prize to Spanish writer Javier Cercas, one of the most authoritative essayists on the contemporary scene, known for redefining the "non-fiction novel" genre, and the Special Prize to Commander Giuseppe Lai (originally from Ozieri, in the province of Sassari), known for being the 125th commander of the training ship Amerigo Vespucci, which he led during its historic world tour that began in 2023 and concluded in 2025. In addition, the Mediterranean Culture Prize will be awarded to artist Emilio Isgrò for his extraordinary ability to interpret the roots and identity of the Mare Nostrum.

The initiative, promoted by the Costa Smeralda Consortium and sponsored by Smeralda Holding, with the patronage of the Municipality of Arzachena, is open to the public.