The Match PoiNT theme
This year’s theme was “FUTURE OR NOT?”. In a period of strong political turbulence, of regional wars, of technological developments with possible, obscure implications, of general uncertainty with repercussions on everyone’s life, it seemed an almost obvious subject to propose. Nearly one hundred participants agreed with the choice by sending entries which, once again, surprised the judges’ panel with their quality and creativity.
The Awards Ceremony
On 17 October, the third edition of Match POiNT‘s awards ceremony took place at the Italian Cultural Institute in London. The competition for unpublished stories written in Italian by residents in the United Kingdom is organized by Il Circolo in collaboration with Londra Scrive, the creative writing school founded by writer Marco Mancassola. The project is sponsored by the Consulate General of Italy in London and is part of the ”Week of the Italian Language in the World”, an initiative organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Etta De Benedetti, board member of Il Circolo, presented the awards event, impeccably directing the traffic of guests and winners on and off the stage.
The evening was opened by the greetings of Consul Alessandro Mignini, on behalf of the Institutions, and then of the President of Il Circolo, Simona Spreafico who thanked all who had contributed to the success of the initiative underlining the presence, for the first time, of an exclusive corporate sponsor of the competition. This year Match PoiNT enjoyed the support of the prestigious accounting firm Del Vigna Dobson, specialized in offering advanced accounting services for companies that operate or wish to expand on the UK and Italian markets.
After a brief introduction by Lorenzo Tamburini on the theme of the competition, and an overview of the prestigious members of the jury, came the announcement of the winners.
A new prize from Il Circolo Mondo Nuovo Book Club
This year Il Circolo added a new prize called ”Mondo Nuovo”, the name of the Il Circolo new Book Club, directed by Olga Campofreda, writer and member of the MatchPOiNT jury. The award winner, almost unanimously voted by the club’s readers, was Anna Sergi, university professor of criminology and author of various books on organized crime.
The Match Point Finalists
The name of the first winner raised further anticipation among the public who were increasingly curious to discover the winners chosen by the panel of judges composed of prestigious names such as the writers Paolo Nelli, Daniele Derossi, Caterina Soffici, Olga Campofreda, Luisella Mazza, important literary agents like Isabella D’amico and great editors like Giovanna Salvia. The jury was coordinated by Marco Mancassola, writer and creator of Londra Scrive, the school of creative writing, founding partner, together with Il Circolo, of MatchPOiNT.
After the announcement of the first six finalists (Anna Sergi, Irene Morlino, Luciano Parisi, Marco Chiola, Martina Draft, Paolo Barucca) the names of the three special mentions were revealed (Simon D’Aquino, Marco Medugno, Martina De Camillis), for stories which, despite not reaching the podium, were nevertheless particularly appreciated by the jury.
The Winners
Finally, the winners were: third place “Il dito” by Max Mauro and second place “La musica dentro” by Alessia Piermarini. Both receive a trophy and a cash prize of £500.
The winner of the third edition of Match Point is the story “Rabbia” by Flavia Catena, which wins a trophy and a prize of £1000. The jury backed their choice with the following motivation: “For the ability to explore the theme of the uncertainty of the future with a strong, compelling allegory; the original approach to tackling the dystopian genre; the creation of an intense and unmistakable atmosphere; the balance of a story poised between explicit narration and mystery”.
Flavia Catena is Sicilian; she graduated in Publishing and Journalism at the Sapienza University of Rome and then specialized in reportage photography in Milan. For nine years in Oxford, she now lives in London where she works as a professional photographer. When she’s not shooting, he writes and volunteers in some of the city’s museums. Her first collection of short stories, “The Courage of Bradamante”, will be released by Edizioni Kalós in autumn 2024.
The three winning stories, excerpts of which were read during the evening by the actor Alex Marchi, also won a professional editing process and publication in the online literary magazine Cattedrale – Osservatorio sul storia, partner of the competition.
The 2025 Match Point theme – Buon Viaggio
The evening ended in a climate of great enthusiasm, with photos and interviews with winners and organizers, but not before the President of Il Circolo had revealed the theme of MatchPOiNT 2025, ‘’Buon Viaggio’’. Real journey or metaphor of life experiences, the topic seems to be perfect for another year of great stories!
