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Biography
Italian

Niccolò Ammaniti

1966

Niccolò Ammaniti is an Italian novelist whose I'm Not Scared (2001) — about a nine-year-old boy who discovers a kidnapped child hidden in a hole in the ground in a southern Italian village — became an international bestseller, was adapted into a critically acclaimed 2003 film by Gabriele Salvatores, and is one of the most widely read Italian novels of the twenty-first century. His work combines thriller plotting with psychological depth and a gift for capturing childhood experience.

Past sales0
PeriodContemporary
NationalityItalian
1. Biography

A short life of the author

Niccolò Ammaniti (b. 1966) was born on 25 September 1966 in Rome, Italy. He studied biology before turning to writing.

Life and Career

Io non ho paura (2001, I’m Not Scared) — narrated by Michele Amitrano, a nine-year-old boy in a remote southern Italian village who discovers a kidnapped child hidden at the bottom of a hole beneath an abandoned farmhouse, and gradually realises that the adults of his village — including his own father — are the kidnappers — was an immediate bestseller in Italy and an international success. The 2003 film adaptation by Gabriele Salvatores was critically praised.

Ti prendo e ti porto via (1999, Steal You Away) was a sprawling, Dickensian novel. Come Dio comanda (2006, As God Commands) — about a father and son in Italy’s impoverished north — won the Premio Strega, Italy’s most prestigious literary prize. Io e te (2010, Me and You) was adapted by Bernardo Bertolucci into his final film (2012). Anna (2015) — a post-apocalyptic novel set in Sicily where all adults have died from a virus — was adapted as a 2021 Sky Italia series.

Key Works

  • I’m Not Scared (2001)
  • As God Commands (2006)
  • Anna (2015)

Collecting Ammaniti

Italian firsts (Einaudi/Mondadori) are the true editions. I’m Not Scared (2003, Canongate English) brings $10–$25.