The International Booker Prize 2026 nominated author and translator on writing about life on the margins, and how the hyperlocal can allow us to think global
Matteo Melchiorre
Italian writer Matteo Melchiorre was born in 1981
After working as a researcher at the University of Udine, Ca’ Foscari University, and the IUAV University of Venice, Melchiorre has been the director of the Library of the Museum and Historical Archive of Castelfranco Veneto since 2018. His work focuses on the economic and social history of the Middle Ages and the early modern period, as well as the history of mountains and forests.
Antonella Lettieri’s English language translation of Melchiorre’s debut novel The Duke was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026.
Author photo © Alberto Bogo
The village itself is one of the strongest ‘characters’ and we loved the feeling of claustrophobia of the place as the narrative unfolds. Packed full of plot twists, this is storytelling at its best
The International Booker Prize 2026 judges on The Duke
All nominated books
A character study of both its protagonists and of life in a tiny mountain village governed by nature, The Duke presents a new vision of Italy
