Annalisa Strada

Annalisa Strada is an Italian author of children’s books. She is best known for her humorous and imaginative stories, often featuring eccentric characters and unusual settings. Since 2002, Strada has published a wide range of titles for children, teenagers, and adults.

Annalisa Strada was born and lives in Adro, in the province of Brescia. In 1993, she graduated in Modern Literature from the University of Milan. Until 2006, she worked in editorial services. Since then, she has taught literature in lower secondary school. She is married to Gianluigi Spini, with whom she has co-written many books.

One of her latest works is Schluck. Grusel. Heul: Urlaub der besonderen Art (2024). It tells the story of the Zitterstein family and their stay at the Hotel Zum langen Schatten. There, the guests encounter an odd cast of characters, including a fearful ancestral ghost, a missing cook, and a girl who holds a candelabrum as a spectre peers from a picture frame.

The daughter, Titania, and her mischievous brother, Giselbert, take centre stage as a series of strange events unfold. The story is rich in grotesque humour, with invented dishes such as "pudding made from furry chanterelles" and "pox pie with crunchy scab-caramel crust."

Illustrated in black and white with accents of acid pink by Marilisa Cotroneo, the book offers a vivid and amusing take on horror traditions for young readers.

Photo credit: FB @annalisa.strada