Alba Donati worked for years in publishing before moving back to her home village of Lucignana, near Lucca in Tuscany, and opening the 'Bookshop on the Hill', which has since become a refuge for countless readers from all over Italy. In 2020 the shop was included on a list of the 20 most beautiful bookshops in Europe. An award-winning poet, this is Alba's first work of non-fiction.

Elena Pala translates from Italian and French. Following a stint as a tour guide at the Eiffel Tower, a PhD in Linguistics at Cambridge University, four years at a London advertising agency, and a year backpacking in South America, she finally found her calling as a literary translator. Recent translations include The Hummingbird by Sandro Veronesi (W&N), Down and Out in England and Italy by Alberto Prunetti (Scribe) and Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop by Alba Donati (W&N). Forthcoming titles include The Wicked One (title tbd) by Beatrice Salvioni, which will be published by HarperVia.