Michela Murgia

Michela Murgia
Murgia in 2019 speaking at Radio Radicale
Born	(1972-06-03)3 June 1972 Cabras, Italy
Died	10 August 2023(2023-08-10) (aged 51) Rome, Italy
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	Italian
Period	2006–2023
Notable works	Accabadora
Notable awards	Premio Campiello
Spouse	Lorenzo Terenzi ​ (m. 2023)​

Michela Murgia (3 June 1972 – 10 August 2023) was an Italian novelist, playwright, and radio personality. She was a winner of the Premio Campiello and the Mondello International Literary Prize and an active feminist and left-wing voice in the Italian public scene, speaking out on themes such as euthanasia and LGBTQ+ rights.

Early life

Michela Murgia was born in Cabras, Sardinia, on 3 June 1972. At the age of 18, she was taken in by her adoptive family as a filla de ànima, a 'soul-child', a traditional Sardinian adoption. In contrast to the usual age of between 10 and 14 years, Murgia's adoption was delayed because of her natural father's opposition.

Murgia attended the Lorenzo Mossa Institute for Technical Studies in Oristano, and then joined the Institute of Religious Studies of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oristano to study theology. She taught religious studies at middle and grammar schools in Oristano for six years but never finished her studies. She was also active in the Catholic Action for a period and she has always considered herself a "believer."

Career

Literary career

Michela Murgia's first work, Il mondo deve sapere, was published in 2006. This was a satire on the telemarketing call centre, highlighting the economic exploitation and psychological manipulation of its workers. The book was dramatised for the stage by David Emmer and starred Teresa Saponangelo. It was also filmed by Paolo Virzì, and released in 2008 as Tutta la vita davanti.

In 2008, Murgia wrote a travel book on her native Sardinia, Viaggio in Sardegna.

Murgia's 2009 novel, Accabadora, gained several awards including the Mondello International Literary Prize and the Molinello Award for First Fiction.

L'incontro, a novella, appeared in 2012.

In 2013, Murgia co-authored a book titled L'ho uccisa perché l'amavo. Falso! with Loredana Lipperini, which tackled the issues of violence on women in Italy.

In 2016, Murgia published Chirú, a novel about a cross generational mentoring relationship.

Journalistic career

Murgia wrote as a columnist for L'Espresso; her column, which began in January 2021, was titled "L'Antitaliana" ("the anti-Italian").

Acting career

Murgia performed in Quasi Grazia, a play by Marcello Fois, as Grazia Deledda.

Political career

In the regional elections of February 2014, she stood as a candidate as part of the Possible Sardinia coalition, which aimed to achieve Sardinian independence via the ballot, similar to the Catalan and the Scottish referendums of 2014. Murgia did not get a seat; she came third in the polls, gaining 10% of the vote.

Personal life and death

In July 2023, she married Lorenzo Terenzi (born 1988), wearing a wedding dress designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri; the two lived together with four fillos de ànima.

Murgia died in Rome on 10 August 2023, after battling a fourth-stage kidney carcinoma. She was 51.

Awards and honours

Murgia was a member of the Società Italiana delle Letterate.

• 2010 – Premio Campiello
• 2010 – Premio Mondello
• 2009 – Premio Dessì

Bibliography

Novels

• Il mondo deve sapere: romanzo tragicomico di una telefonista precaria (Milan: Edizioni, 2006). ISBN 88-06-23095-6.
• Accabadora (Turin: Einaudi, 2009). ISBN 978-88-6621-311-6.
• L'incontro (Turin: Einaudi, 2012). ISBN 978-88-06-21883-6.
• Chirú (Turin: Einaudi, 2015). ISBN 978-88-06-20633-8.
• Noi siamo tempesta (Milan: Salani, 2019). ISBN 978-88-310-0763-4
• Tre ciotole: rituali per un anno di crisi (Milan: Mondadori, 2023). ISBN 978-88-04-77489-1.

Non-fiction

• Viaggio in Sardegna: undici percorsi nell'isola che non si vede (Turin: Einaudi, 2008). ISBN 978-88-06-22219-2.
• Ave Mary: e la chiesa inventò la donna (Turin: Einaudi, 2011). ISBN 978-88-06-20134-0.
• L'ho uccisa perché l'amavo: falso! (with Loredana Lipperini) (Bari: Laterza, 2013). ISBN 978-88-581-0730-0.
• Morgana: storie di ragazze che tua madre non approverebbe (with Chiara Tagliaferri) (Milan: Mondadori, 2019). ISBN 978-88-04-71711-9.
• #Stai zitta e altre nove frasi che non vogliamo sentire più (Turin: Einaudi, 2021). ISBN 978-88-06-24918-2.
• God save the Queer. Catechismo femminista (Turin: Einaudi Stile Libero, 2022). ISBN 978-88-06-25910-5.

Works in English

• Accabadora (translated by Sylvester Mazzarella) (Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint, 2012). ISBN 978-1-4448-2040-9.
• How to Be a Fascist: a Manual (New York: Penguin Books, 2020). ISBN 978-0-14-313605-7.