Melania Mazzucco

Melania Gaia Mazzucco (born 6 October 1966) is an Italian author.
Education and career.
She graduated from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in 1990 and the Sapienza University of Rome with a degree in History of Modern and Contemporary Literature in 1992.
Mazzucco wrote several screenplays in the 1990s before publishing her first novel, "Il bacio della Medusa" in 1996.
Her 2003 novel, "Vita" was awarded the Strega Prize. The novel tells the story of two children from a rural Italian village, Diamante aged twelve and Vita aged nine, who emigrate to New York. It was translated into English by Virginia Jewiss.
A film adaptation of Mazzucco's 2005 novel, "Un giorno perfetto" was released in 2008. It was directed by Ferzan Özpetek and was entered in the 65th Venice International Film Festival.
In 2008, Mazzucco published the first of two volumes on the Renaissance painter, Tintoretto, called "La lunga attesa dell’angelo" which won a Bagutta Prize. The second volume, "Jacomo Tintoretto e i suoi figli: storia di una famiglia veneziana", was published in 2009.