The Speakers
Dr. Dominic Candeloro
Dr. Dominic Candeloro
Casa Italia Library Curator
Director of the Italian Cultural Center
Dominic Candeloro is the resident historian and curator of the Florence Bartolomei Roselli Casa Italia Library in Stone Park, Illinois. He is the co-editor of Italian Women in Chicago and Reconstructing Italians in Chicago which is currently in its second publication.
Carla Simonini
Carla A. Simonini received a BA from Amherst College, an MA in Comparative Literature from the University of Rhode Island and a Ph.D. in Italian Studies from Brown University. Her research interests include 20th century and contemporary Italian literature, theories and methodologies of second language acquisition and constructs of italianità in American and Italian American literature, which was the subject of her doctoral dissertation.
She is currently the founding director and endowed professor of a newly inaugurated interdisciplinary program at Loyola University Chicago serving as the Paul and Ann Rubino Professor in Italian-American Studies.
http://www.franoi.com/highlights/loyola-launches-groundbreaking-italian-american-studies-program/
Karen Tintori
Karen Tintori is an internationally best-selling author of fiction and non-fiction whose novels have been translated into more than 25 languages and to film. Her books cover a wide range of the human experience, from the lives of Italian-American immigrants to the mysteries of the Kabbalah.
Tintori is a dual U.S.-Italian citizen, with roots in Sicily (il mare) and Emilia Romagna (le montagne). She lives in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.
More at: www.karentintori.com
Christina Marrocco
Christina Marrocco works in memoir, short story, long fiction, and poetry. Her work has appeared in Silverbirch Press, The Laurel Review, House Mountain Review, VIA, Ovunque Siamo, and Red Fern Press. Her writing often deals with Italian American family structures and working-class concerns. She is a member of the English Faculty at Elgin Community College where she teaches Creative Writing and other courses. Christina's Sicilian ancestors came from Collesano and Alcamo, Sicily, and settled in Melrose Park and in the Taylor Street neighborhood of Chicago.
Tony Romano
Tony Romano is the author of the novel, Where My Body Ends and the World Begins (Allium Press), When the World Was Young (HarperCollins) and the story collection, If You Eat, You Never Die (HarperCollins). He is also the coauthor of Expository Composition: Discovering Your Voice and coauthor or the text, Psychology and You. He was recently named Illinois Author of the Year by the Illinois Association for Teachers of English (IATE) and was honored with a Norman Mailer award. One of his story collections was a finalist in AWP’s annual contest. He is a two-time winner of a PEN Syndicated Fiction Project award. Both stories were produced on National Public Radio’s “The Sound of Writing” series and syndicated to newspapers nationwide.
He lives near Chicago and writes about books, music, work, and family on his blog at tonyromanoauthor.com.
J.L. Iannino
Joseph "Joey" Louis Iannino is a self-taught writer from Lombard, Illinois. He's the author of several novels, two books of short stories, and a work of non-fiction. He has no formal schooling in the subject of English and had no literary background or interest in the field before he began writing in late 2019 at the age of twenty-eight. He now dedicates his time to writing, the craft he believes saved his life.
Arthur Cola
Arthur Cola was born in Chicago on the near west side. His family lived in the old Italian neighborhood on Taylor St. They moved to Oak Park where he attended
Oak Park River Forest High School. He met his wife While attending Loyola University/Chicago. He received his Bachelor’s Degree and began teaching. They have five adult children and seven grandchildren.
He entered school administration upon receiving his Master’s Degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. His post graduate work included studying in Rome. He began writing novels which range from Fantasies to Supernatural Thrillers, Christmas tales to the biography of Michelangelo. After completing his Doonagore Theft Trilogy he began writing in a new genre. His De Cenza Murder Mystery series now has four books beginning with Murder in the Abbey. The fifth adventure, “Murder on Capri” has just been completed.
Arthur had also written three screenplays, the newest one being “Murder in the Abbey” based on his book. It is registered with the Writers Guild of America. This August it will be presented to Amazon Studios and Netflix film divisions.
Fred Gardaphé
Fred Gardaphé is Distinguished Professor of English and Italian/American Studies at Queens College/CUNY and the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute. He is a Fulbright Fellow (University of Salerno, Italy (2011) and past president of the Italian American Studies Association (formerly AIHA), MELUS, and the Working Class Studies Association. His books include Italian Signs, American Streets; From Wiseguys to Wise Men; The Art of Reading Italian Americana, and Read ‘Em and Reap. He is co-founding/co-editor of VIA: Voices in Italian Americana, editor of the Italian American Culture Series of SUNY Press, and associate editor of the Fra Noi.
Terrence Quilico
Terry Quilico’s first exposure to journalism was through a Summer work program at the Joliet Herald while in college. After discharge from the Navy he gained experience as a photojournalist covering the antiwar movement. Along with Paul Basile he is co-author and co-editor of “Evviva La Festa - A Spiritual Journey from Italy to Chicago,” and has written two short plays, “iHamlet” which was performed at IA Literati 2017 and “Seatonville,” which debuted at IA Literati 2021. After much acclaim, he is bringing back his play to IA Literati this year with “iHamlet Redux”. He is proud to serve as one of the volunteers at Casa Italia and is a correspondent with Fra Noi.
Peter Pero
PETER N. PERO is an author, teacher, and community activist. He taught courses in Labor Studies at Prairie State College and Roosevelt University in Chicago. Pero has published articles on workplace economics in China, Japan, Costa Rica, and Brazil. Currently, he resides in Chicago’s “Little Italy” neighborhood.
Edward Izzi
Edward Izzi, a full-time CPA, is a native of Detroit, with a successful accounting firm in the north suburban Chicago area. A talented writer in high school, he was told by one of his English teachers that any career in anything other than writing would be a "waste of time". Edward didn't start taking his writing talents seriously until much later in life. He has now written a countless number of short stories, poetry, and has completed several fiction thriller novels, including: Of Bread and Wine – A Rose from The Executioner – Demons of Divine Wrath – Quando Dormo – El Camino Drive, the political thriller When A Rook Takes the Queen – The Buzz Boys and the recent Detroit based Detective novel: They Only Wear Black Hats.
Paul and Ann Rubino Endowed
Italian American Studies Program
Loyola University Chicago
