Alain Elkann is an author, intellectual, and journalist who was born in New York and grew up in Italy. Of international fame, he is the author of more than thirty books many of which have been translated into numerous languages, including French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Hebrew, Turkish, Japanese, and English. His many awards include the following: Premio Cesare Pavese, Premio Internazionale Tarquinia-Cardelli, Premio Capalbo, Premio Letterario Mondello-Città di Palermo, and the Premio Acqui Terme.Since 1989 Alain has maintained a weekly interview column for the Italian newspaper La Stampa. He has addressed an impressive range of celebrated subjects, including award-winning writers and editors; film stars and directors; fashion designers and businessmen; artists, collectors and museum curators; politicians and diplomats; economists and historians; thinkers and human rights activists. Two books of his more intriguing interviews have been issued by Bompiani, with whom he has published the majority of his books.A recurring theme in his writing is the history of the Jews in Italy, their centrality to Italian history, and the relation between the Jewish faith and other religions. He has lectured on art, Italian literature, and Jewish studies at the Universities of Oxford, Columbia, Jerusalem, and Milan's IULM. He is a member of the Board of Guarantors of the Italian Academy for Advanced Study in America, Columbia University. He is President of The Foundation for Italian Art & Culture (FIAC) in New York.
