Sicily is also in the running for the 2026 National Book Awards. Beginning Middle End (Principio Metà Fine in the Italian edition published by Einaudi), the new novel by Valeria Luiselli set largely on the island — across Catania, the ruins of Piazza Armerina, volcanoes and family memories — has made the longlist of ten titles selected for the prestigious American literary prize in the Fiction category.
Published in the United States by Knopf on July 28, the Mexican-American writer's novel tells the story of a mother and her twelve-year-old daughter travelling to Sicily following the end of a marriage. The two arrive in the places where, many years earlier, the girl's great-great-grandmother had worked, disguised as a man, on the excavation of the Villa del Casale. A journey back through family memories across Sicily in a kind of modern odyssey.
The National Book Foundation today announced the ten titles on the longlist, chosen from 451 novels submitted by publishers. Italy also surfaces in another book on the list, The Renovation by Kenan Orhan, a novel about exile set between Salerno/Baronissi and Istanbul. Also in the running are Hannah Lillith Assadi with Paradiso 17, Kimberly Blaeser with Red Ants, Edwidge Danticat with Dèy, Julián Delgado Lopera with Pretend You're Dead and I Carry You, Louise Erdrich with Python's Kiss, Marlon James with The Disappearers, Alexander Maksik with Passengers and Morgan Thomas with Mad Eden.
The 2026 Fiction jury is composed of Matt Bell, Caro De Robertis, Danielle King, Akhil Sharma and Diane Wilson. The five finalists will be announced on October 6, while the winner will be proclaimed on November 18 in New York, during the 77th awards ceremony.
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