The aim of the Premio Città di Cuneo per il Primo Romanzo is to let the readers know the origins of the writers that debut in fiction in the Italian language. It is a restricted work group, referring to the Public Library of Cuneo, that singles out all the debut novels that are noticed each year. It reads them and selects 25 for adults and 6 for boys and girls and proposes them to the readers who are interested, whether they are gathered in organized groups (both adults and schoolchildren) or individual people.
The activities of the Premio come to an end in November at the Scrittorincittà event, when the readers can meet the 4 writers that have obtained the best acclaim. Through a mechanism that is explained in detail in regulations, the adult readers single out the winner and recommend another two authors to whom a further recommendation by the school reading committees is made.
The choice to link the Premio with the Scrittorincittà event has defined the deadlines: in each new edition that opens within Scrittorincittà, novels that came out between 1 October of the previous year and 30 September of the current year are read. The reading will end on 30 June of the following year. The winner and the recommended authors will be invited to meet the readers in the following edition of Scrittorincittà.