Chiara Marchelli holds a degree in Oriental Languages from the University of Venice and an M.A. in Literary Translation from ISIT, Milan. In 2003, she published her first novel, Angeli e cani (Marsilio), which won the Premio Rapallo Carige Opera Prima. It was followed by a collection of short stories Sotto i tuoi occhi (Fazi, 2007) and three novels L’amore involontario (Piemme, 2014), which was shortlisted for the “Premio Internazionale delle Lettrici di Elle” international literary prize; Le mie parole per te (Piemme, 2015) and Le notti blu (Giulio Perrone Editore, 2017), shortlisted for the “2017 Premio Strega” national literary prize (the Italian equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize) and currently a finalist of the “Premio Rieti,” the “Premio Maria Cristina” and the “Premio Alvaro-Bigiaretti.” Her latest novel, La memoria della cenere, was published in 2019 by NNE. She was granted U.S. residency and eventually her American citizenship in recognition of her literary achievements. She has taught Contemporary Literature, Italian, translation, and creative writing at New York University since 2004.