Nicola Lagioia was born in Bari. An editor and writer, he is the author of Tre sistemi per sbarazzarsi di Tolstoj (2001, Premio lo Straniero), Occidente per principianti (2004, Premio Scanno), Riportando tutto a casa (2009, Premio Viareggio Rèpaci, Premio Vittorini, Premio Volponi, premio SIAE-Sindacato scrittori), La ferocia (2014, Premio Strega 2015 and winner at the Ubu 2024 in four categories in the theatrical transposition directed by Michele Altamura and Gabriele Paolocà of VicoQuartoMazzini) and La città dei vivi (2020, Premio Alessandro Leogrande, Premio Lattes Grinzane) also turned into the omonimous film by Edoardo Gabbriellini (2026). He had a short story featured in the collection Contro Roma (2018), he is among the authors of the anthology The Passenger - Rome (2021) and of Animalia (2022). He is one of the voices of Pagina3, the daily cultural press review on Rai Radio 3, he writes for several newspapers and he is among the founders of the cultural magazine Lucy Sulla Cultura. He was the director of the Turin Book Fair from 2016 until 2023.

His most recent book is Santa Barbara (2026).