Domenico Starnone was born in Naples and lives in Rome. He is the author of thirteen works of fiction, including First Execution(Europa, 2009), Ties (Europa, 2017) a Sunday Times Best Book of the Year, Trick (Europa, 2018), a Finalist for the 2018 National Book Award and the 2019 PEN Translation Prize, Trust (Europa, 2021), and The House on Via Gemito (Europa, 2023), winner of Italy's most prestigious literary prize, the Strega. It was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2024.

Jhumpa Lahiri is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Interpreter of Maladies. Her books include The Namesake, Unaccustomed Earth, The Lowland, and, most recently, In Other Words, an exploration of language and identity. She is the translator of Starnone's Ties and Trust.