Enrico "Erri" De Luca is an Italian novelist, translator, and poet born on May 20, 1950, in Naples. Recognized by critic Giorgio De Rienzo of Corriere della Sera as "the writer of the decade", De Luca is known for his literary contributions and his opposition to the Lyon-Turin high-speed train line. He was sued for advocating its sabotage, but on October 19, 2015, he was cleared of inciting criminal damage. Upon receiving the not-guilty verdict, he remarked, "An injustice has been avoided."

Completing high school in 1968, De Luca joined the radical left-wing movement Lotta Continua. After its disbandment, he worked various blue-collar jobs, including at the Fiat factory in Turin and Catania airport. He also worked as a truck driver and mason in job sites across Italy, France, and Africa. During the war from 1993 to 1999, he rode relief convoys in Yugoslavia.

De Luca is self-taught in several languages, including Ancient Hebrew and Yiddish, and is a passionate mountain climber. A reclusive character, he currently resides in a remote cottage in the countryside of Rome. Despite starting to write at age 20, his first book, Non ora, non qui (Not now, not here), was published in 1989, followed by numerous others.