Alessandro D'Avenia is an Italian writer, teacher, and screenwriter. Born on May 2, 1977, in Palermo, he is best known for his book White as Milk, Red as Blood, which was adapted into a film. D'Avenia holds a PhD in classics and works as a high school literature teacher.

He grew up in a family of six children and was deeply influenced by father Pino Puglisi, a religion teacher at his high school. D'Avenia pursued his studies in classics at La Sapienza University in Rome, where he graduated in 2000 and later obtained a doctorate in Greek literature with a specialization in Anthropology of the Ancient World.