When grief becomes a catalyst for change, culture flourishes. This is what happened in Villacidro in 2013, after the femicide of Marta Deligia: from that pain, a project was born that today illuminates Sardinia with words, stories, and female solidarity.
This is the Jane Austen Club of Sardinia, founded by Giuditta Sireus , art historian and cultural operator, together with Gabriela Podda, president who helped transform a small circle of women into a network of over six hundred readers throughout the island.
The spark was ignited a few weeks after the tragedy: one hundred handwritten letters, delivered door-to-door, inviting the women of Villacidro to join together in a cultural and social project.
Today that dream is a movement that promotes reading and women's culture with five locations across the island and a long series of events that, with December Literary 2025, will transform November and December into a busy calendar of meetings, dialogues, and reflections.
This year's theme, "Inhabiting Books, Places, and Time," invites us to think of books not as collectibles, but as living spaces : homes in which to take refuge, meet, and grow.
The program ranges from meetings against violence against women, such as "Parola, Singolare, Femminile" at the THotel in Cagliari, to presentations by major contemporary authors, including Massimo Carlotto, Cristina Caboni, Piergiorgio Pulixi, and Francesco Abate, in the cities of Cagliari, Nuoro, Villacidro, and Sassari.
There's no shortage of events throughout the area, with presentations in schools and local communities and moments of literary exploration dedicated to Jane Austen, with Alessio Ceccherelli committed to introducing the English writer to young students and a tea time reserved for members.
The grand finale will be online on December 16th with “Jane Austen Told,” a digital event featuring Alessia Gazzola and Felicia Kingsley.
"Inhabiting books means bringing literature to the local community, turning it into a community, and demonstrating that another story is always possible," explains Giuditta Sireus. And this is precisely the common thread that unites all the Club's initiatives: ensuring that reading becomes a tool for emancipation, sharing, and social transformation, restoring value to the spoken word and critical thinking.
The events are free and require reservations , with the support of the Department of Public Education, Cultural Heritage, Information, Entertainment and Sport of the Sardinia Region, the Municipality of Cagliari and the Fondazione di Sardegna.