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Raffaella Bolaffio was born in Trieste in late March 1977 during a snowstorm, in 1978 she learned how to hold a pencil in her hand, in 1979 she learned how to chew it, in 1980 she finally started using it to draw and since then hasn’t stopped except to eat or use the bathroom. To earn a living she chose a very nice job: she writes and draws and has published many books with various Italian and foreign publishers. She especially loves to write and draw animal stories, because she feels a certain affinity with creatures. In her spare time, she writes, draws, chews pencils, creates puppets, walks her dog, and plays the ukulele.
As an author and illustrator, Peppo Bianchessi has collaborated with some of the most important Italian and international children’s authors: Roberto Piumini, Aidan Chambers, Melvin Burgess, Anna Vivarelli, Ugo Vlcic, Guido Quarzo, Tsuji Hitonari, Kaori Ekuni, P.D.Baccalario, Luca Crovi and others. He has published in Italy and abroad. As a video artist, he has created various installations and video clips (including “Chinatown” by Caparezza). He has received several awards and exhibited his works in Italy and around the world.
An illustrator from Rimini, Marianna Balducci has a degree in fashion and works on advertising and publishing projects for children. She likes to experiment with combinations of traditional and digital tools, combining drawing and photography in particular. With her photo-illustrated books she has received the Nati Per Leggere prize (2018) and the Andersen prize (2021). For ten years, she has accompanied her drawing with a visual communication seminar for the fashion department at Rimini (Alma Mater Studiorum, Bologna). She holds workshops in collaboration with academies and training institutions in the field of illustration.
An illustrator from Genoa, for some years Alice Piaggio has been living in Ticino, Switzerland, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, green meadows and chestnut woods. Selected in 2021 among the 20 most promising young Italian illustrators by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and exhibited in the “Eccellenze Italiane - La nuova generazione degli illustratori italiani per ragazzi” exhibition, she collaborates with Italian and foreign magazines and publishing houses.
Sarah is an editor and children’s book author. She has worked passionately in the children’s literature world for more than a decade, for all the most important publishers around. She lives in the woods surrounded by winds, deer and books.
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 (Ulysses Moore, Irene Adler). We’re not sure whether his name is written attached or detached.
Mariapaola Pesce is an author and coach. She has published picture books, novels and comic biographies for children which have been translated in various countries around the world.
Giuseppe Festa has a degree in Natural Sciences and is involved in environmental education. He’s published several novels, including La luna è dei lupi (The Moon Belongs to the Wolves), Salani; Cento passi per volare (A Hundred Steps to Freedom), Salani; I figli del bosco (The Children of the Forest), Garzanti; and Una trappola d’aria (An Air Trap), Longanesi. He won the 2021 Rodari Prize, the 2022 Bancarellino Prize and the prestigious Kadaitosho Prize in Japan. He is the founder and singer of the band Lingalad, with which he plays concerts in Italy and abroad. Protagonist and screenwriter of the award-winning documentary film Oltre la Frontiera, he’s also the author of nature reports broadcast by Rai. He has written articles and reports for National Geographic, Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica.
Eduardo Jauregui is a Spanish psychologist who specialises in humour, play, laughter, mindfulness and well-being in general. His books, for adults and young people, have been translated into 20 languages. When he grows up, he wants to be a Jedi.
Daniele Nicastro was born in 1978. He currently lives in a small village in the province of Cuneo, where he writes everything: novels, postcards, messages in bottles and phrases on the walls. He began telling stories as a boy, to his mother, whenever he came home late without warning her. Over time he made a profession out of it. He made his debut with the novel Grande, which won the Legenda Junior Prize and was shortlisted for the Bancarellino Prize 2018. He has consolidated experience in several genres, from adventure novels to funny stories, but always focused on themes related to growing up.