We’ll Just Ride Past by Ellen Strömberg has been shortlisted for the Mare di Libri Prize in Italy, where it is published by Terre di Mezzo.
We’ll Just Ride Past by Ellen Strömberg has been shortlisted for the Mare di Libri Prize in the category Fiction in Italy. The Italian edition of the book is published by Terre di Mezzo in translation by Samanta Milton Knowles.
For the Mare di Libri Prize a jury of experts picks a shortlist, and the winner is selected by readers aged 14-16 across Italy. Mare di Libri (literally “sea of books”) is also a literary festival for young readers, taking place in Rimini every June.
We’ll Just Ride Past follows Manda and Malin, a duo of best friends in ninth grade. They are nicknamed The Bicycles as they cycle everywhere looking for fun and something to do in a small town where nothing ever happens. One day Malin develops a crush on a guy working at the local pizzeria, and a series on events – both fun and not so fun – begins to unfold. We’ll Just Ride Past is an accurate portrayal of a moment in life where it’s perfectly normal to change style and music taste every week and the world awaits.
We’ll Just Ride Past won the August Prize, the most prestigious literary prize in Sweden, in 2022 and its rights has already been sold for Italian, Korean, Slovenian, Polish, and Catalan.
Ellen Strömberg is a Swedish-speaking Finnish author whose production ranges from picture books to novels. We’ll Just Ride Past was a domestic and international success and her latest YA novel No Beginning No End has been received with warm praise. It is the story of Benjamin, a shy teenage boy dealing with his mother’s death, as he grows close with Tristan, a mysterious boy.
Congratulations to the author and the publisher, and fingers crossed!