Elena Ferrante

Elena Ferrante has been a household name in Italy - her hometown - for years before she eventually got her global success. Elena's very first novel - called L’amore Molesto, translated as "Troubling Love" - was first released in 1992, before her second one, Days of Abandonment, arrived ten years later.

Elena's Italian publisher firmly believed her writing had wider audiences than at first glance, and strived to find some US publishers willing to release this book. Nobody seemed interested, leading them to establish their own publishing house, named Europa Editions, to release Elena Ferrante's works in both US and UK. That was the start of her immense success.

When one of her latest works "Adults' Lying Life", got released in Italy in 2019, thousands of people queued to get on one copy, and "vigils for reading" were organized throughout the country. The success of the novel is so great that Netflix even decided to adapt it into a series. That's because Elena always defies all expectations of how stories writers - particularly women - should narrate their stories. By doing so, she has changed our literary landscape - both Italian and global scenes. Pick one of her books, and you will understand why she became the famous author she is today.

Born: 1943

Notable works: My Brilliant Friends, The Lost Daughter