Butterflies in Your Stomach

Elena Peduzzi lives in Milan. She has a degree in Classics with an archaeological specialisation and has worked in editing children's books for Mondadori. She is a ghostwriter and author of novels published by the main Italian publishing houses and translated into numerous languages. She has recently published Uomini d’amore (Men of Love) for Solferino and Amore, sesso e altre cose così (Love, Sex and Other Such Things) with Fiore Manni for Rizzoli.

A screenwriter, director, writer and film critic, Manlio Castagna has also been involved in the artistic direction of the Giffoni Film Festival for more than 20 years. He made his debut in children’s fiction in 2018 with the bestselling Petrademone trilogy (Mondadori), which has been translated into several languages. Since then, he has explored many different genres: from historical fantasy with La notte delle malombre (The Night of the Malombre) and Draconis Chronicon, to horror with Goodwill and Le Belve (The Beasts), passing through the “story” of cinema with the manual 116 film da vedere prima dei 16 anni (116 Films To See Before You’re 16) and the novel Dedalo & Dharma, up to social noir with Barriera (all for the Mondadori group). La reincarnazione delle sorelle Klun (The Reincarnation of the Klun Sisters) and Prova a non dormire (Try Not to Sleep) are his adult fiction books. In 2022, he made his film debut as a director and screenwriter with “Il viaggio degli eroi”, produced by Rai Cinema and rewarded with record audience numbers on Rai1.

Sonia Elisabetta Corvaglia was born in Salento and lives and works in Milan. Passionate about Greek literature, rock music and cats, she teaches at a high school and is involved in projects for the inclusion and promotion of reading. She is the author of children’s books which have also been translated abroad. Her favourite stories are about diversity and today’s adolescents.

Mariachiara Lobefaro, originally from Puglia, honed her education in Bologna and now calls Florence home. Before teaching literature in high schools, she shaped her professional journey in the fields of publishing and journalism. She is one of the contributors to the anthology Le farfalle nello stomaco, published by Gallucci. With her novel Mestoli e misteri, she earned a spot among the finalists of the Premio Strega Ragazze e Ragazzi 2024, in the category for best debut.

Caterina was born in 1982 in Florence, and perhaps it is this very city that inspired her to immerse herself in the world of Dante, an author she studied extensively before moving on to reading contemporary writers. After working as an archivist, she found her path in the publishing world, joining the Treccani Giunti T.V.P. publishing house, where she has been working for years as a project manager, mainly focusing on secondary school textbooks. In 2011, she edited the collection of letters between poets Parronchi and Bellintani, titled Al vento della vita (Olschki), and in 2015, she collaborated with Giorgio Pinotti on the edition of La pelle by Curzio Malaparte for Adelphi. She is also the co-author, with Carlotta Cubeddu, of Buoni Cattivi propositi (Edizioni EL) and Le notti chiare (Il Castoro).

Marco Magnone is one of the children’s authors who is most appreciated and requested by schools, events and reading groups, thanks to which he meets thousands and thousands of young readers throughout Italy every year. He also teaches at Scuola Holden in Turin and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, as well as collaborating on the artistic direction of the Mare di Libri festival in Rimini and Storie in Cammino in Firenzuola.

Lucia Stipari was born in Milan and has been working in the publishing field for many years. She’s a partner at Studio Pym, a creative agency that deals with books, graphics and communication, but since she lost herself among the branches of Book on a Tree, she has understood that the thing she likes most is writing.

Journalist, writer, television host, and author for Italian radio and TV, she has made her mark on the media landscape with a unique voice and countless creative projects. Throughout her career, she has contributed to prestigious magazines and newspapers such as Sipario, Pianotime, Il Giornale della Musica, L'Unità, Il Secolo XIX, and L'Espresso. Since 1990, she has written for the cultural pages of La Repubblica and Il Venerdì, while also being one of the hosts of the popular radio show Fahrenheit on Radio Tre. Her blog Lipperatura, a beloved digital space among readers, serves as a go-to reference for those wishing to explore literature and the worlds surrounding it, with a sharp and passionate perspective.

Barbara Gozzi is a senior editor, author, creative, ghostwriter and much more. She coordinates publishing projects and various types of content, curates training courses and has a hand in events, initiatives and, before the camerawork, in outlines and scripts.

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.

Paola Zannoner was born in Grosseto in 1958 and now lives in Florence, the city where she grew up and graduated in Literature. After her studies, she pursued various professions: librarian, translator, editor, and director of school fiction series. Her writing career began in the early 2000s, and since then she has written numerous short stories and novels for readers of all ages, from children to teenagers. Thanks to her talent, she has received several awards and recognitions, including the Bancarellino in 2004 for *La linea del traguardo*. Recently, she has published books for young readers with De Agostini, such as Rocco + Colomba, a love story set during the Risorgimento, Voglio fare la giornalista, and Specchio, specchio, an interesting modern reinterpretation of traditional tales, exploring the theme of the double.

Carlotta Cubeddu is an Italian writer and educator. Passionate about popularisation and novels, she manages to combine both her passions. As a reading facilitator and author of the book Penso, Parlo, Posto (To Post or Not to Post), Il Castoro, translated into Russian and Spanish, she also dedicates part of her time to training teachers and parents, sharing her experience with them.

Vernante Pallotti (Verona, 1998) is an Italian screenwriter, writer, and journalist. Her name was given to her by mistake and means "She who brings spring." An author of television and film projects for young audiences, Vernante believes that the most intelligent thing to do today, along with planting trees, is to give importance to children and teenagers. She does this by writing for them. Banshee, selected for the Milano Pitch, is her debut novel.

Gisella Laterza lives in Bergamo, or more precisely, in a cafe in the centre of Bergamo where she spends her time writing. When she’s not writing, she teaches Italian and Latin in a high school in the city and runs creative writing courses for boys and girls aged 6 to 99. She has published novels, short stories for school anthologies, biographies and a rewriting of The Divine Comedy for boys and girls for the I Classicini series (EL, 2022). Streghetta (My Friend is a Witch), Salani 2022, is her most successful series and has also been translated into Spanish (Duomo Ediciones).

Eleonora Babbo and Vincenzo Gallo were born as screenwriters and story editors. They have several television series to their credit, sometimes written together (Alex&Co – Disney), other times not (I Cesaroni – Canale 5). Isotta Illusion e la mirabolante magia (Isobel Illusion and the Miraculous Magic), Lapis Edizioni is their first book. Together they write publishing projects aimed at different targets, which they don’t always write under their own names.

Eleonora Babbo and Vincenzo Gallo were born as screenwriters and story editors. They have several television series to their credit, sometimes written together (Alex&Co – Disney), other times not (I Cesaroni – Canale 5). Isotta Illusion e la mirabolante magia (Isobel Illusion and the Miraculous Magic), Lapis Edizioni is their first book. Together they write publishing projects aimed at different targets, which they don’t always write under their own names.

Azzurra D’Agostino was born and lives in a small town in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. She has published several poetry collections (for which she has received the Carducci Prize, the Ciampi Valigie Rosse Prize and was a finalist at the Viareggio-Repaci Prize), and writes for theatre both for adults and children. She had published the picture books Piccoli amori, Intervista alla felicità, Luce and Poesie della neve. She curated Da grande voglio fare il poeta, an anthology of poems written by children – the results of workshops held throughout Italy. Her first children’s novel was released in October 2020: Il giardini dei desideri ("The Garden of Wishes"). In 2023, the palmistry deck she designed was released, with an instruction booklet, Oracolo del destino and picture book for very young children Ciao Nido!. In addition to writing, she runs poetry workshops for people of all ages.

Lorenzo Rulfo was born in Turin in 1985 and splits his time between Rome and Alba, a city he has chosen as his home. Raised in a family of journalists, he spent his childhood between school and theater classes. At the Avogadro Scientific High School in Turin, perhaps to follow in his brother Simone's footsteps, he finds himself in an environment that doesn't suit him. Thus, he decides to pursue his passion for art and entertainment by enrolling in the Accademia del Teatro Nuovo in Turin. It is during this time that RAI offers him a major opportunity: a leading role. He begins his acting career at a young age, works as an assistant to some of Italy's greatest directors, and writes numerous theater plays. During his years as a student-actor, he discovers an unrelenting passion for narrative, which leads him to win the Biennale dei Giovani Artisti del Mediterraneo – narrative section (Bari 2006 – Piemonte section). He is also an author for the renowned "Quelli della Rodari" series and serves as general manager of Book on a Tree.

Marco Ponti is a writer, director and screenwriter. His films include the cult movie Santa Maradona (winner of two David di Donatello awards), the great successes with audiences Io che amo solo te and La cena di Natali based on the novels by Luca Bianchini, and La Bella Stagione (winner of a Nastro d’Argento), created with Gianluca Vialli, Roberto Mancini and the Sampdoria players who achieved the epic feat of winning the football championship in 1991 and remained lifelong friends. He has also published the novels Alice resta a casa (Alice Stays at Home) with Manlio Castagna, winner of the Watty 2020 for the best Young Adult story on Wattpad, R – Ribelli, revoluzione e rock ‘n’ roll (R – Rebels, Revolution and Rock ‘n’ Roll) with Christian Hill, and the ghost book series that began with Ombre che camminano and continues with La città delle streghe.