Taobuk Awards

The Taobuk Awards were established in 2014 and are given annually to high-profile personalities in the literary, artistic and civic worlds. The International Award for Literary Excellence and the Lifetime Achievement Award have brought distinguished personalities in every field of knowledge to Taormina to form a Roll of Honour.

With the intention of recounting and making these talents known to the vast public that attends the Taobuk – Taormina International Book Festival every year, the awards ceremony takes place during events open to all that enhance the Festival’s most evocative venues.

On 18 June, in the extraordinary setting of Taormina’s Teatro Antico, the 2022 Prize was awarded to: Paul Auster (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence) and Michel Houellebecq (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence) the Nobel Prize for Physics Giorgio Parisi (Taobuk Award) the actor and director Roberto Andò (Taobuk Award) the actor Toni Servillo (Taobuk Award) the actors Salvo Ficarra and Valentino Picone (Taobuk Award) the astronaut Luca Parmitano (Taobuk Award) and the master of contemporary art Emilio Isgrò (Taobuk Award).

As many as 45 personalities have been honoured with the Taobuk Award over the years, including four Nobel Prize winners: Svetlana Aleksievič, Mario Vargas Llosa, Orhan Pamuk and Olga Tokarczuk.

David Grossman (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Olga Tokarczuk (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Emmanuel Carrère (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Claudia Gerini (Taobuk Award), Antonio Albanese (Taobuk Award), Simona Molinari (Taobuk Award), Giovanni Caccamo (Taobuk Award), Michelangelo Pistoletto (Taobuk Award).

Svetlana Aleksievič (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Mario Vargas Llosa (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Giorgio Montefoschi (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Pupi Avati (Taobuk Award), Giovanni Allevi (Taobuk Award).

Ian McEwan (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Jhumpa Lahiri (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Nancy Brilli (Taobuk Award), Simone Cristicchi (Taobuk Award), Nina Zilli (Taobuk Award), Fabrizio Ferracane (Taobuk Award), Massimo Ghini (Taobuk Award), Marella Ferrera (Taobuk Award).

Elizabeth Strout (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Amos Oz (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Paola Cortellesi (Taobuk Award), Anna Valle (Taobuk Award), Stefano Bollani (Taobuk Award), Sergio Castellitto (Taobuk Award).

Abraham Yehoshua (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Domenico Starnone (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Isabel Allende (Sicily Prize), Christian De Sica (Award for dramatic performance in the film ‘Fräulein’), Luigi Lo Cascio (Taobuk A Life for the Arts), Gianni Amelio (Taobuk Award for Lifetime Achievement)

Michael Cunningham (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Luis Sepulveda (Sicily Prize), Leo Gullotta (Taobuk A Life for the Arts), Claudio Madris (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Giuseppe Tornatore (Taobuk Award for Lifetime Achievement).

Tahar Ben Jelloun (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence), Noa Achinoam Nini (Taobuk Award for Peace), Uto Ughi (Taobuk Award for Lifetime Achievement), Orhan Pamuk (Taobuk Award for Literary Excellence).