What a thrill this victory is
Lazio Innova and the Lazio Region have given aspiring writers a unique opportunity. With the 'Narrative Hearts' competition, open to anyone between the ages of 14 and 35, they have created something unprecedented. Whether it was someone simply passionate about the subject. Whether it was someone from the industry itself. Whether it was someone from the industry itself who wanted to become one. With this competition they have brought everyone under one roof. A huge roof. Vast. Heterogeneous. Dotted with their diverse and colourful ideas. It is not everyone's cup of tea to bring such a project to life. A vast project. Ambitious in its aims but concrete. Even if it is 'mere' words. Lending a helping hand to this enterprise is the Turin Book Fair. The 'Più libri più liberi' association. Amazon with its kindle direct publishing system. This made it more real. More tangible. Once I found the advertisement for the competition and read the announcement, it was around the end of October, I could hardly believe it. My eyes were shining with happiness. I had already entered other literary competitions, but never one like 'Narrative Hearts'.
Never anyone to really bring their project to the attention of the publishing world. To step firmly into it. To make it real. So I reread the announcement a couple of times. Just in case. I wanted to make sure I read it right. I needed to understand whether I was dreaming or not. It was not about winning any prize money. It was about winning glory. It was about winning the chance, even if you were 'only' in the top five finalists, to see your book published. A real book. With pages. Words printed inside. A cover. And on that cover, one's own name. Placed at the top. Above the title. Like real writers. Not to mention the chance to attend the 'Molly Bloom' writing academy.
I could not miss such an opportunity. As luck would have it, the competition deadline was pushed back to the end of November. I had nothing ready. But I did not back down. For the next three weeks, I wrote non-stop. Night and day. Every opportunity was useful for jotting down ideas. To flesh out my work: 'Diary of a Captain'. It was an arduous challenge. At times even difficult. Especially to respect the limit of lines per folder. Yet it was worth it. Not so much because I managed to win first place. As much as for the chance to have been part of the project. To be able to say: "I was there. I participated'. Even if I had finished 'only' fifth. Even if I had stopped at the semi-finalists. Even if I had not even made it to that stage. I would still have been proud and proud to have sent my novel to enter the competition. The plot of my work is simple. It partly describes what I have just said: the realisation of a dream.
Because writing is my dream as much as, for the protagonist of the novel, taking to the sea is. As a captain, in fact. In the Spanish navy of the 1500s. The story is written in the first person. With his eyes. His ears. His nose. His skin. All the sensations he experienced. The people he met. The good and the bad. Everything that led him to reach his dream. Without ever forgetting where he started from. Because it is right to understand who you really are and who you want to become in the future. But it is equally right, perhaps more right, to keep in mind where you started from. Remember your origins. The zero point of that Cartesian diagram that is life. With all its straight lines. Its circumferences. Its ellipses. This is the meaning of history: LIVING. Pursuing one's own goals. I thank Lazio Innova and the Lazio Region for this adventure and all those behind this project. Especially those who deemed my work worthy of winning.
Hearing my name pronounced in front of an audience of people at the Turin Book Fair made me emotional. I certainly did not expect it. The nomination of the winner was secret until the day of the award ceremony. Unfortunately, for work reasons, I could not be there in person. Maybe it was a good thing. I think I would have been paralysed. I certainly would not have been able to say a word. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. To describe my happiness is impossible. For me, it is a dream come true!
