Laura Imai Messina was born in Rome and moved to Tokyo at the age of 23. She teaches at some of the most prestigious Japanese universities and at Scuola Holden. She collaborates with various newspapers and with NHK. Her debut, Tokyo orizzontale, was released in 2014 by Piemme. Quel che affidiamo al vento (Piemme, 2020) is being published in over 25 countries. Her most recent novel is L'isola dei battiti del cuore (Piemme, 2022).