Annamaria Piccione was born in Syracuse (Italy) in 1964 and has been writing children’s books and plays since the 1990s. She has published over 100 books on various topics, including gastronomy and popular traditions, but prefers social themes, such as the fight against the mafia, immigration, and interculturalism. Her books have been translated into several languages. She lives between Syracuse and Palermo with five cats and two dogs. Children call her “the cat lady.”