Cagliari slashes funding for Tuttestorie children's literature festival

The city of Cagliari has drastically reduced public funding for Tuttestorie, an international children's and young adult literature festival, from €96,600 in 2021 to just €8,307.43 for its 17th edition scheduled for October 5–10, 2023. The festival, founded in 2006 by the eponymous bookstore, has become a multidisciplinary cultural landmark in Sardinia, organizing 210 events including workshops with national and international authors and illustrators, 140 of which are school-oriented involving approximately 5,300 pre-registered students. Despite boasting its largest-ever international guest lineup, the festival received a score of 71.20 out of 100 in the municipal cultural activities tender, down from 96.60 the previous year. Organizers, including co-founder Manuela Fiori, expressed shock at the low evaluation, particularly the commission's failure to award full points for youth engagement and school involvement. They have requested access to evaluation documents and sent a letter to the mayor and culture councilor without response. The festival's total budget is around €230,000, and Fiori noted that finding private sponsors in Sardinia is extremely difficult due to a lack of corporate investment in culture. The funding cut raises questions about Cagliari's cultural policy strategy, as other historic associations also received zero funding.