Stefano Benni (born 12 August 1947) is a renowned Italian satirical writer, poet, and journalist. His works have been translated into around 20 foreign languages, achieving notable commercial success with over 2.5 million copies sold in Italy.

Benni has contributed to prominent Italian publications such as Panorama, Linus, La Repubblica, and il manifesto. In 1989, he directed the film Musica per vecchi animali.

Since 1999, he has been directing an international jazz cycle and is one of the founders of the 'Pluriversidad de la imaginación', an itinerant school of theater and voice reading, created in Bologna's Italo Calvino association.

His novels and stories often present a strong satire of Italian society through imaginative worlds and situations. Benni is known for his unique writing style, characterized by extensive use of wordplay, neologisms, and literary parodies.

Benni maintains a close friendship with French writer Daniel Pennac and played a pivotal role in introducing Pennac's works to the Italian audience by persuading publisher Feltrinelli to translate Pennac's initial books into Italian. The work Merci by Pennac is dedicated to Benni.

Several of Benni's works have been adapted into films, including the French animated movie and TV series Foot 2 rue, based on his book La compagnia dei celestini.

On 29 September 2015, Benni publicly declined the Vittorio de Sica award, expressing his protest against cuts to culture and education enacted by the Renzi government.