Malaguti Paolo

Paolo Malaguti is an Italian writer born in Monselice in 1978. He spent his childhood and adolescence in Padua. With a degree in literature, he has been teaching since 2004, currently at the high school in Bassano del Grappa, where he has lived since 2007. He lives in Asolo. He loves 20th-century Venetian literature, citing authors such as Meneghello, Rigoni Stern, and Buzzati, and also enjoys walking and cycling, especially on Monte Grappa.
He made his debut in fiction in 2009 with Sul Grappa dopo la vittoria. His literary output spans several genres, including historical novels such as I mercanti di stampe proibite, La reliquia di Costantinopoli (The Relic of Constantinople) (selected for the Strega Prize), Prima dell’alba (Before Dawn) and Piero fa la Merica (Piero Goes to America), a story about Italian emigration to Brazil in the late 19th century, which won several awards, including the Acqui Storia Prize. He has written narrative essays exploring the Veneto region, its words, and its landscape, such as “Sillabari veneti” and “Lungo la Pedemontana.” His novels also include the fantasy “L’ultimo Carnevale,” which won the Città di Como Fantasy Prize, Se l’acqua ride (finalist for the Campiello Prize, winner of awards such as the Biella and Latisana prizes, and the basis for a docufiction), and Il Moro della cima (awarded in the mountain fiction category, including the Mario Rigoni Stern Prize). His novel Fumana was published in 2024. The Veneto region as a whole and Monte Grappa in particular are recurring places and themes in his works.
In addition to writing and teaching literature, he teaches creative writing courses and, since 2021/2022, has directed the Alba Pratalia creative writing school. In 2022, he co-directed the first edition of the States General of Literature in Veneto in Bassano del Grappa and has been collaborating with L’Osservatore Romano since 2022.