Luigi De Pascalis was born on 7 August 1943 in Lanciano, Abruzzo, and currently lives in Rome.
His works span a wide range of genres, including fantasy, historical and philosophical fiction, and mystery. He is also well known outside Italy, with his books reaching an international readership.
Luigi De Pascalis has published numerous short stories in newspapers and magazines, and his books have been translated and circulated in France, Germany, and the United States.
His short fiction has appeared in the American anthology The Fantastic Swordsmen, alongside works by L. Sprague de Camp (who described him as a “Mediterranean Tolkien”), Lord Dunsany, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and Michael Moorcock.
His novel Il Signore delle Furie Danzanti (The Lord of the Dancing Furies, 2006) launched a mystery series set in 4th-century AD Ancient Rome, featuring the protagonist Gaius Celsus. His work Byzantine Vespers was nominated in 2016 for Italy’s major literary prize, the Premio Strega, and also received the historical fiction award Premio Acqui Storia.
The author has been awarded twice the fantasy literature prize Premio Italia, and also received the Carlo Lorenzini Award for his illustrated graphic novel Pinocchio (2011).
