Well-known Italian novelist Niccolo' Ammaniti has won Italy's prestigious Strega book prize with his fourth novel Come Dio Comanda (As God Commands).
Ammaniti, 40, sprang to fame with his previous novel Io Non Ho Paura (I'm Not Scared, 2001) which was translated into several languages and became an acclaimed film by Oscar-winning director Gabriele Salvatores in 2003.
It made Ammanati, then 34, the youngest-ever winner of another leading book contest, the Viareggio Prize.
Like its predecessor, Come Dio Commanda (aka Properly) is a disturbing noir-ish thriller with grotesque overtones and social comment involving a young protagonist.
Despite a mixed critical reception, it has been top of the Italian best-sellers' lists for months.
Ammaniti was hot favourite to win and in the end claimed almost 50% of the votes from the Strega jury.
Second place went to Mario Fortunato with I Giorni Innocenti della Guerra (The Innocent Days Of War) while Franco Matteucci was third with Il Profumo della Neve (The Smell of Snow).
The Strega is perhaps the most high-brow of Italy's three big book awards (the other is the Campiello).
Recent winners have included Maurizio Maggiani and, last year, Sandro Veronesi.
The prize, now in its 60th year, was founded in 1947 by the author Maria Bellonci (1902-1986).
Bellonci, best-known for her successful biographies of historical figures like Marco Polo and Lucretia Borgia, wanted to encourage literary freedom of expression after its repression under Fascism.
The name Strega, which means witch in Italian, refers to the prize's sponsors, producers of the famed yellow liqueur of the same name.
Past winners include Cesare Pavese, Alberto Moravia, Giorgio Bassani, Elsa Morante, Dino Buzzati, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Carlo Cassola, Natalia Ginzburg, Primo Levi, Umberto Eco and Gesualdo Bufalino.
In the past, the Strega prize has been marked by controversy.
There have sometimes been rowdy arguments involving publishers and writers and even allegations of vote rigging.
