The First Time Ever

Pierdomenico Baccalario has been writing children’s novels since 1997, when he won the Il Battello a Vapore literary prize with La strada del Guerriero (The Way of the Warrior) using his neighbour’s name. Since then, his bestsellers have been written under as many pseudonyms (the best known being Ulysses Moore and Irene Adler), translated into more than thirty languages and published with major Italian and foreign publishers. He has collaborated with Lucca Comics & Games for more than twenty years, has written for Repubblica, and is a columnist for the newspaper Corriere della Sera’s La Lettura literary supplement. In 2014, he founded the Book on a Tree creative agency in London.

Alice Basso lives surrounded by books, combining a deep passion with extensive professional experience. For years, she has collaborated with various publishing houses as a translator, editor, and editorial consultant. Recently, she made her debut in adult fiction with her first novel, L’imprevedibile piano della scrittrice senza nome (The Unpredictable Plan of the Nameless Writer).

Fausto Boccati has been working for over twenty years as a bookseller at the historic Libreria dei Ragazzi in Milan. He conducts workshops focused on reading and professions related to the world of books, as well as training courses for librarians and teachers. He is a regular contributor to the magazines LiBeR and Andersen and the website Movieforkids.        

Zita Dazzi, a journalist for La Repubblica, lives and works in Milan. In 1993, she received the journalism award from the Associazione Interessi Metropolitani, and in 2002, she was honored with the Reporter of the Year award by the Lombard Journalists Association. La banda dei Gelsomini marks her debut in children's fiction.

Antonio Ferrara is a writer, illustrator, and trainer. In 2012, he received the Premio Andersen in the over 15 category for his book Ero cattivo, which tells the story of an adolescent victim of prejudice. He worked for seven years in a community for minors. He has collaborated with numerous publishing houses, including Mondadori, Rizzoli, Salani, San Paolo, Interlinea, Condè Nast, Falzea, Tolbà, Fatatrac, La Compagnie Creative, Artebambini, and Nuove Edizioni Romane. He conducts creative writing workshops for young people, teachers, prisoners, and patients, organizing them in schools, libraries, bookstores, prisons, cultural associations, and hospitals.

A journalist, author of books for children and young adults, and translator, she is the editorial manager for the children's division at the publishing house Rizzoli. Her novel Bambini nel bosco (Fanucci) was the first children's book ever nominated for the Premio Strega. In 2004, she won the Premio Andersen as Best Author.    

Born in Ovada in 1977, Tommaso Percivale is an author of children's books. He lives and writes on an isolated hilltop surrounded by rocks, wind, woods and roe deer. Passionate about stories, sleight of hand, comics and games, he is a curious writer and, as such, tackles various genres, ranging from historical fiction to science fiction, from adventures to thrillers, even touching on the field of non-fiction. He writes to excite and stimulate deep reflections of an ethical, philosophical and social nature. Freedom, courage and rebellion are the themes he holds most dear.

Giulia Sagramola (Fabriano, 1985) is an illustrator and author of comics and picture books.
She has worked with clients such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Ferragamo, Il Castoro, Feltrinelli, Mondadori, Linus, and The Nib.
She is the author of Incendi Estivi (Bao Publishing, Dark Horse), Bacio a cinque (Topipittori), Un drôle true pas drôle(Rouergue), and several illustrated books, including My Banana Dog (Greystone Kids, Les 400 coups) and Sonno Gigante Sonno Piccino (Topipittori).
Her work has received awards such as the Society of Illustrators’ Gold Medal, and she regularly exhibits at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
She teaches illustration and comics at ISIA Urbino, LABASAD, and Escola La Gossa. She lives and works in Barcelona.

Fabrizio Silei, born in Florence in 1967, spent many years working as a sociologist at various research institutes, focusing primarily on themes related to identity and memory. In addition to being a graphic designer and author of posters and illustrated stories, in 2007 he received the Special Award for Iconic Experimentation and Expressive Research at the Stepan Zavrel International Illustration Award for his paper illustrations. His children's novel, Alice e i Nibelunghi (Salani, 2008), was the only Italian book to be shortlisted for the UNICEF Prize for literature on children's and human rights. In 2014, he won the Andersen Award as Best Author.

Annalisa Strada has been committed to encouraging reading among young people for years, in addition to being a teacher and author of books for children and young adults. Among her best-known works are the Mastino Machiavelli series and the novel Una sottile linea rosa (A Thin Pink Line), which earned her the Andersen Award in 2014.

Antonio Vincenti, known by his artistic name Sualzo, is a comic book author and illustrator who collaborates with numerous Italian and international publishers. Among his graphic novels are L’improvvisatore (Rizzoli-Lizard) and Fermo (Bao Publishing). Together with Silvia Vecchini, he wrote Fiato sospeso (Tunué), which won the Boscarato Award and the Orbil Award in 2012 for Best Comic for Children and Young Adults. Among his collaborations, the Disegni DiVersi project, created with the radio show "Caterpillar" on Radio2, stands out.