Laura Pugno was born in Rome in 1970. She is the author of novels, poetry, essays, screenplays, and plays. She recently published the contemporary fairy tale Melusina, illustrated by Elisa Seitzinger (Hacca), the novels La metà di bosco, La ragazza selvaggia, and Sirene (Marsilio), the poetry collection Noi (Amos), and the essays Mappa immaginaria della poesia contemporanea (Il Saggiatore) and In territorio selvaggio (Nottetempo). With Giulio Mozzi, she co-wrote L’oracolo manuale per poete e poeti (Sonzogno). She has won the Campiello Selezione Letterati Prize, the Franco Fortini International Prize for Poetry, the Frignano Prize for Fiction, the Dedalus Prize, the Libro del Mare, and the Scrivere Cinema Prize for screenplay. She is one of the editors of the poetry series “I domani” by Aragno and a member of the Scientific Committee of the Strega Poetry Prize. She has worked as a translator of poetry, novels, and essays from English, French, and Spanish. She collaborates with L’Espresso, Le parole e le cose, the Guides of Repubblica, and Radio 3, for which she curated the program "Oltrelontano. Poesia come paesaggio." Together with Annamaria Granatello, she created the Solinas Italy-Spain Prize. From 2015 to 2020, she directed the Italian Cultural Institute in Madrid.