Nino Ricci is a renowned Canadian author, best known for his Lives of the Saints series. He was born in Leamington, Ontario in 1959 to a family of Italian immigrants. After completing his high school education, Ricci pursued his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at York University, specializing in English literature and creative writing.
Throughout his career, Ricci has taught English literature and language in various high schools and universities, including the University of Toronto Scarborough and the Canadian Centre of International PEN. His work has earned him several awards, including the Alistair MacLeod Awards and the Engel Award. In 2006, he was awarded the inaugural Alistair MacLeod Award for Literary Achievement.
Ricci's first novel, Lives of the Saints, was an international success, earning him numerous awards such as the F.G. Bressani Prize, the Books in Canada First Novel Award, and the Governor General's Award for Fiction. The novel was also adapted for a television miniseries starring Sophia Loren and Kris Kristofferson. His subsequent works, including Testament, The Origin of Species, and Pierre Elliott Trudeau, have also received critical acclaim and various accolades.
Ricci is currently an affiliate of the Order of Canada and resides in Toronto, Ontario, with his family. His latest novel, Sleep, was published in the fall of 2015.