Ninth Edition Jury

Very active in children’s and young adult fiction, he is the author of novels including Fino alla fine del fiato and La mia estate Indaco (both published by Mondadori), as well as the essay L’Europa in viaggio (ADD editore). Together with Fabio Geda, he co-authored the Berlin saga, the noir novel Il lato oscuro della luna, and the I segreti di Acquamorta series (Mondadori). In addition to teaching at Scuola Holden, he collaborates with schools, bookstores, libraries, and festivals dedicated to reading education. He is also a member of the Mare di Libri festival team in Rimini.

She is a journalist for Famiglia Cristiana and an author of children’s and young adult books, with 120 publications to her name, many of which have been translated abroad. She directs the fiction book series Il parco delle storie for Edizioni Paoline and serves as president of ICWA (Italian Association of Writers for Children and Young Adults).

An Italian with a German father, he realized he didn’t want to be an engineer just before graduating (in engineering, no less). He then worked as a journalist for many years, but stopped because he grew tired of always having to write only true things. Now he writes children’s books and can finally invent his own stories, which he does with great pleasure. Among his best-selling books are Che Idea! (Edizioni EL) and Il Ladro dei Cieli (Rizzoli), winner of the 2020 Premio Cento. In addition to fiction, he writes for the screen and is one of the screenwriters for the animated series Topo Gigio.

A Milan native, she holds a degree in Modern Literature. She gained extensive experience at Mondadori and Electa in the art books and exhibition catalogues division. She served as Editorial Director of Editrice Abitare Segesta (publisher of the monthly magazines Abitare, Case da Abitare, Costruire, and Costruire Impianti). Additionally, she has been a member of the General Department of ADI (Association for Industrial Design) and of the Board of Directors of A.I.M. (Associazione Interessi Metropolitani, Milan).
For Bookcity Milano, she oversees special projects and social impact initiatives. As a partner at “Memoria & Progetto,” she manages cultural projects and events, and serves as a member of the editorial board for the journal Pretext. Libri e Periodici. Del loro passato, del loro futuro.

Francesco Gungui is a writer, editor, passionate cook, and recreational skater who has been writing and publishing books for children and young adults for over fifteen years. He has collaborated with all major publishing houses, starting with Mondadori, which published the adventures of Achille e la fuga dal mondo verde in 2007, to Giunti, which released the first three volumes of the Jack Pigòn series—following an explorer-investigator pigeon living in Volandia who also stars in an interactive gamebook released in autumn 2021. Additionally, he authored a sci-fi tetralogy set in Dante’s Inferno.