Milena Agus (born 1959) is an Italian author from

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

. She is one of the leading novelists in the so-called

Sardinian Literary Spring Sardinian Literary Spring is a definition of the whole body of the literature produced in Sardinia from around the 1980s onwards. History About the denomination Sardinian Literary Spring, also known as Sardinian Literary Nouvelle Vague, is a de ...

which began in the 1980s and which includes other international names such as

Michela Murgia Michela Murgia (, ; 3 June 1972 – 10 August 2023) was an Italian novelist, playwright, and radio personality. She was a winner of the Campiello Prize, the Mondello International Literary Prize and , and was an active feminist and left-wing v ...

Biography

Milena Agus was born in

Genova Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitants ...

to Sardinian parents. She lives and works in

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

, where she teaches Italian and History at the Liceo Artistico e Musicale "Foiso Fois" in Cagliari, a creative school. She is a practitioner of the 'New Sardinian Literature'. Her first novel, ''While the Shark is Sleeping'' (Nottetempo, 2005) had two reprints within as many months, but it was ''Mal di Pietre'' ('' From the Land of the Moon'' in English) which brought her to the attention of a wide audience. Translated into five languages, it was a bestseller in France, where it rose to international fame. ''Mal di Pietre'' was a finalist for the Strega prize, the Campiello prize, and the Stresa di Narrativa prize. In 2016 it was adapted into a feature film called ''Mal de Pierres'', or in English '' From the Land of the Moon'' directed by

Nicole Garcia Nicole Garcia (born 22 April 1946) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter. Her film '' Charlie Says'' was entered into the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Her film '' Going Away'' was screened in the Special Presentation section at the ...

and starring

Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress who has appeared in both European and Hollywood productions. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Marion Cotillard, various accolades, including an Ac ...

. It was entered into competition at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

in May 2016.

Works

*''While the Shark is Sleeping'', Rome, Nottetempo, 2005 *'' From the Land of the Moon'', Rome, Nottetempo, 2006 *''Perché scrivere'', Rome, Nottetempo, 2007 *''Scrivere è una tana''. La Sardegna pure, in AA. VV. (Edited by Giulio Angioni), Cartas de logu: scrittori sardi allo specchio, Cagliari, CUEC, 2007 *''The Neighbour'', Cagliari, Tiligù, 2008 *''Ali di Babbo'', Roma, Nottetempo, 2008 *''La Contessa di Ricotta'', Roma, Nottetempo, 2009 *''Nascosto al giorno''. Il piacere di leggere e di scrivere, (con Ettore Cannas), Cagliari, Tiligù, 2010 *''Sottosopra'', Rome, Nottetempo, 2011 *''Guardati dalla mia Fame'' (with Luciana Castellina), Nottetempo, 2014 *''Terre promesse'', Nottetempo, 2017 *''Un tempo gentile'', Nottetempo, 2020

Works in English

* ''The house in via Manno'' Carlton North, Vic. : Scribe Publications, 2009. * ''Daddy's wings'' translator Brigid Maher, Melbourne : Scribe, 2011. * ''While the shark is sleeping'', translator Brigid Maher, Publisher: London : Telegram, 2014.

Prizes

*Junturus Prize 2004, for Mal di Pietre *Relay Prize («roman d'évasion») in France *Forte Village Prize 2007 *Campiello Prize, Jury's special selection 2007 *Santa Marinella Peize 2007 *Elsa Morante Prize 2007 *Zerilli-Marimo Prize for Italian Fiction, New York 2008, for Mal di Pietre Nordicus Mediterranaeum Journal
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References

External links

Italian Encyclopoedia of WomenNon Solo Gialli, Corriere della Sera article 2007Scribe Australia, Milena Agus Author Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agus, Milena Italian women novelists Italian educators 21st-century Italian novelists Living people Culture of Sardinia 1959 births People from Cagliari 21st-century Italian women writers Sardinian women Writers from Sardinia