Ermal Meta wins Italy’s “Elsa Morante” prize for song and book “Stella Stellina”
The Albanian singer will be honored on May 12 at the Diana Theatre in Naples; his work was dedicated to children who are war victims.
NAPLES, April 22, 2026 — Albanian-Italian singer Ermal Meta has won the “Elsa Morante” musical prize for his song and book “Stella Stellina”, a work blending lyric and prose that was dedicated to children affected by the Gaza conflict.
The news was reported by Bota Sot, citing the organizers’ official announcement. According to the portal, the awards ceremony will be held on May 12, 2026 at the Diana Theatre in Naples, where Meta will share the stage with winners of parallel categories.
The 2026 edition theme
The “Elsa Morante” Prize, one of Italy’s longest-running literary and musical honors, has chosen as its 2026 theme “Children Saved by the World”. According to the jury’s reasoning, “Stella Stellina” portrays children’s perspective as “a place of truth, hope and salvation”, an assessment Bota Sot quoted from the event communique.
Meta first presented the song at this year’s Sanremo Festival, where his performance was followed by a moment of silence for civilian victims in the Middle East. The set was watched live by millions across Italy and the diaspora.
A growing career in Italian music
Born in Fier and raised in Italy from a young age, Ermal Meta is among the most successful Albanian artists on the Italian scene. He previously won Sanremo in 2018 in a duet with Fabrizio Moro, and his literary works have been published by La nave di Teseo.
“His work portrays the children’s perspective as a place of truth, hope and salvation,” the jury’s motivation read, according to the Bota Sot report.
Meta has not yet publicly commented on the win, but in a post on his official account he thanked readers and listeners who, he said, had “transformed” the book from a personal project into a wider conversation about childhood in wartime. Bota Sot reports that he is expected to deliver a short speech after receiving the prize.
The Albanian community in Italy has welcomed the news as “another point of cultural pride”, while Kosovo portals have widely shared the achievement, which adds to other awards the artist has received in recent years at Italy’s major festivals.
Source: Bota Sot.