Nino Ricci

Nino Ricci CM (born April 23, 1959) is an internationally acclaimed Canadian novelist, biographer, and cultural leader whose deeply psychological, historically rich fiction has earned him two Governor General’s Literary Awards and positioned him as a defining voice in contemporary Canadian literature. Born in Leamington, Ontario, to Italian immigrant parents, he earned a bachelor's degree from York University, a Master of Arts from Concordia University, and a second master's degree from the University of Florence before dedicating his full creative energy to authorship. Ricci vaulted into immediate international literary superstardom with his masterful 1990 debut novel, Lives of the Saints, a poignant portrayal of a young boy leaving a superstitious Italian village that won the Governor General’s Award for Fiction, swept the WH Smith First Novel Award, and launched his blockbuster, internationally bestselling Saints trilogy alongside its subsequent installments, In a Glass House and Where She Has Gone. Renowned for his meticulous prose and sharp eye for the complex intersections of faith, immigrant dislocation, and scientific truth, his extensive bibliography features a string of highly praised works including the historical biblical re-evaluation Testament, the Giller Prize-longlisted dark comedy The Origin of Species (which secured his second Governor General’s Award), the contemporary dependency study Sleep, and a definitive, concise biography of former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. A prominent advocate for free expression and human rights who has served as the national president of PEN Canada, Ricci is a Member of the Order of Canada and continues to inspire emerging authors through his active faculty roles, public lecture series, and ongoing creative writing masterclasses across North America.