Literary prize nomination for 'This Darkness Will Never End'

My translation, This Darkness Will Never End, has been nominated for the Italian Prose in Translation Award!

It is a thrill but I also have to say: this was my goal, from the outset!

To create a translation worthy of being nominated for this prize, which is awarded by the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA). 

If for no other reason than Edith Bruck's story deserves the best treatment, it deserves an English vehicle capable of conveying all the horror she experienced during the Holocaust and the intrinsically creative way she had of converting these experiences into fictional stories.

Just as a reminder, you can buy a copy on Amazon here.

You can buy a copy at Bookshop here.

Oh and you can ask your library to purchase a copy! (Most recently, I got word from the Baltimore County Public Library that a copy has been purchased for its collection. YAY! I think that makes at least 5 states where there's a library with the book in its collection. Thanks to Silvia and many others who are asking their public libraries to buy the translation).

I believe the photo above is of a copy of the translation that was for sale at River Bend Bookshop in West Hartford. So you can also ask your local independent bookstore to purchase you a copy!

The other books that were nominated for the prize are all important books -- works by Cesare Pavese and Luigi Pirandello, heavy hitters in the sphere of Italian literature. And the other translators are far more experienced than I am, and if you think I'm being humble, consider that Ann Goldstein, also known as Elena Ferrante's translator, is nominated as well. She translated a book called The Night Trembles by Nadia Terranova, whom I met in Italy and whose previous novel Gli anni al contrario impressed me so much, I wanted to translate it almost as soon as I began reading it (someone else beat me to the punch, though the English translation hasn't been published yet in the US).

That means I probably won't win but it's an incredible honor to have the translation included in this group of works of Italian literature.

The winner will be announced in October at ALTA's annual conference. Learn more about the works nominated for IPTA here:

https://literarytranslators.org/awards/2026-italian-prose-in-translation-award/ 

And if there are young translators out there who would like to learn more about ALTA, please get in touch! It's a wonderful association. I've attended one ALTA conference and I was so impressed with the translators who attended, all committed to bringing foreign literature to American readers.

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Top photos from 20 years of blogging

Leo in Rome, 2018 (Piazza Bucarest)

I love this photo so much because it's the honest result of introducing a curious boy to the Eternal City. 

Leo was 5 years old when we snapped this photo, and excited to visit Italy (actually, really just excited to do anything except go to bed).

It's one of many photos taken in Italy that make me swoon. 

Here's a selection of photos posted previously on the blog that I love, and which best express the joy Italy has injected into my life -- which I guess, come to think of it, is the theme of this blog. The pure beauty of this country I happened upon during a study abroad program, chosen all because a week before I began college, I saw a movie that convinced me to study Italian or bust.

I'm reposting these photos to celebrate 20 years of writing this blog. Note, some were taken in Italy, some just reflect the life of Ciambellina, the person. Might need another post just for photos of actual ciambelle/ciambelline (hold that thought).

In the past two decades, I've had the thrill of visiting Torino (under the radar for many American travelers even though it's a fantastic city with a coffee culture all its own and a mountainous locale that's just stunning), various places in Puglia (including Trani), and of course Rome, Milan and Florence (and Siena and Pistoia and Pisa and Le Cinque Terre and San Marco dei Cavoti and Lucca and Bologna and and Focene and Matera and Venice and ... ). 

Torino, a city of grand piazzas

I've also chronicled Ciambellina's transition from aimless, vagabond journalist to besotted mother whose favorite subject (via photos or writing) is Leonardo.

He was an adorable little boy -- no thanks to me since I wasn't this cute as a child -- and now he's a teen with a gorgeous smile and rather strong opinions (Milan is the best city in Italy, don't challenge him!).

The most adorable Leonardo ever (Atlanta)

When you eat calamari fritti for the first time

My favorite place in Milan

The photo I always take when visiting Florence

To be sure, this is a make-shift photo gallery that includes my favorite moments during my travels to Italy and also my favorite moments from this lifelong project of remaining fluent in Italian and immersed in everything that Italy's one-of-a-kind culture has to offer. Buona lettura!

Monte Sant'Angelo, Puglia -- road-side pranzo!

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A gem of an appetizer in Puglia

Weekly flower market, Piazza della Repubblica, Firenze

The photos of Italy are more enchanting but of course the little Italian touches we've brought stateside feel pretty cozy. Our not-so-little shrine to the place we met.

Buon Natale Christmas decoration (in Atlanta)

Buon Natale sign with my little tesoro! (Leo's 1st Christmas)

Little souvenirs for little Italophiles

What I saw during those 24 hours in Rome

At Bennington, thinking of Leo

Priests crossing a piazza in Trani (2006)

Thank you for reading my blog. Thank you for caring about the ways I've incorporated Italy into my life. And if I know you in person, thank you for caring about Leo. That's the most important thing you could for for me. I love Italy, no question, but nothing is bigger than my love for Leonardo.

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Postcard from Montreal (2026)

I'm terribly behind on blogging about Montreal but let me quickly say it's one of my favorite cities in the whole wide world.

I love the way it allows me to slip into a foreign locale, just a few hours from my boring, suburban life in Connecticut.

Everyone is on bikes in Montreal.

Everywhere there's a mural waiting for your gaze. Everywhere there's a patch of greenery, a pocket park, a median full of flowers tended by anyone and everyone.

Every neighborhood seems conceived for people to stroll or bike or sit on a front balcony and enjoy the world as it passes by. The city, but with touches of the country.

Every block in Montreal appears to have a bakery whose pastries will literally warm your heart! Conceived with love and lots of butter.

All of this to say, if you haven't visited Montreal, go. Go now, go soon, just go there.

I'll be blogging about the city again but I wanted to begin gushing about this place, which has become a beloved spot once again, after first visiting as a child.

When I visit Montreal, I go to immerse myself in a Francophone world that also leaves space for other cultures (especially Italian culture). I go so I can be somewhere foreign without an overnight flight that leaves me sleepless. I go because the pastries are gorgeous and delicious.

But it feels especially important to visit Canada now for a completely different set of reasons.

Canadians are our neighbors! Our friends. A country so similar to ours -- and one that's lent us some of the best comedians of the past 50 years -- but which has retained arguably a stronger sense of community and a sharper notion of neighborliness.

In other words, we have much to learn from this neighbor, regardless of what politicians may say. 

Highlights from the trip:

*We once again biked using the city's Bixi bike-sharing app, and it was delightful. 

*We visited a lot of bookstores and they were a joy to explore (including Librairie Le Port de tête, various branches of Renaud-Bray, and Multimags, which arguably is really just an extremely large newsstand but which sells a lot of wonderful books, and a lot of wonderful magazines, which were a balm for my heart. Magazine World is wonderful).

*We stayed near Parc Fontaine where Montrealers biked, played boules, held concerts at an outdoor amphitheater, sat by a pond, ran and danced. Delightful!

Signs of a good trip: everyone in the family embraces Montreal, finding an outlet for needs and passions, and I couldn't stop writing in my journal.

More to come!

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