Every country has its beloved author, who is disproportionately little known abroad. The Italian Bianca Pitzorno is one of them. A native of the Italian island of Sardinia, she spent many years creating children’s programs for Italian Television and Radio in Milan. In 1970, she won a competition held by Swiss publishers for young readers, and the following year published her first children’s book. From that point on, Bianca Pitzorno began writing steadily for young readers. To the great bewilderment of Italians, who hold their children’s writer in no less esteem than Swedes do, for example, Ulf Stark, Pitzorno is practically unknown in the rest of the world. Her books have never even been translated into English.

With the novel Listen to My Heart (1991), Bianca Pitzorno achieved major success in Italy and abroad. In Italy, the book sold nearly 300,000 copies. In total, Bianca Pitzorno has published more than 45 books of her own and about 10 written in collaboration with others.