Francesca Cavallo
{{Short description |Italian author (born 1983)}}
{{Multiple issues|{{External links|date=February 2025}}}}
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1983|09|23}}
| birth_place = Lizzano, Apulia, Italy
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| nationality = Italian
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| alma_mater = BA in Liberal Studies in Communication (cum laude) University of Milan,
MFA in Stage directing from Academy of Dramatic Art ‘Paolo Grassi’
| occupation = Writer, entrepreneur, activist
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| notable_works = Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, Elfi al quinto piano
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| awards = PW Star Watch 2018
| website = https://www.francescatherebel.com
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Francesca Cavallo (born 23 September 1983) is an Italian author, public speaker, entrepreneur and podcast producer. She is the co-author of the Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series.{{Cite web |title=Francesca Cavallo |url=https://www.francescalauracavallo.com/#about |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=Francesca Cavallo |language=en}}
Early life, education and theater
Francesca Cavallo grew up in Lizzano, a small Southern Italian town in the Apulia Region. Her mother, Rosa Mandurino, is a housewife and a community organizer; her father, Domenico Cavallo, a FIAT car dealer.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}
When Cavallo turned 18, she moved to Milan. In 2005, she got her BA at Università Statale di Milano. She decided to continue her education, obtaining a diploma as a theatre director at the 'Academy of Dramatic Art Paolo Grassi' in Milan.{{Cite web |title=Cavallo, Francesca - Enciclopedia |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/francesca-cavallo/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Treccani |language=it}}
Between 2005 and 2011, Cavallo founded and led the theatre collective Kilodrammi, where she wrote and directed several productions.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} Among these was Somari, which won the 2011 Premio Infogiovani at the International Theatre Festival in Lugano (Switzerland) and was also nominated for the 2010 [https://www.associazionescenario.it/i-premi/premio-scenario-infanzia/ Premio Scenario Infanzia], an Italian award in Theatre for Young Audiences.{{Cite web |last=Melandri |first=Martina |date=2011-11-05 |title=Somari: viaggio nella parte buia dell'adolescenza {{!}} Recensioni |url=https://www.klpteatro.it/somari-kilodrammi-recensione |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Krapp's Last Post |language=it-IT}}
In 2010, Cavallo founded Sferracavalli, a festival focused on bringing contemporary theatre companies from countries with significant immigrant representation in Puglia to Southern Italy.{{Cite web |last=Lagioia |first=Nicola |date=2011-08-24 |title=Cose che (malgrado la crisi) funzionano: il "festival internazionale di immaginazione sostenibile" Sferracavalli {{!}} minima&moralia |url=https://www.minimaetmoralia.it/wp/teatro/cose-che-malgrado-la-crisi-funzionano-il-festival-di-immaginazione-sostenibile-sferracavalli/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |language=en}}
Publishing
In 2011, Cavallo and her then-partner, Elena Favilli,{{Cite web |last=Brocardo |first=Enrica |date=2024-09-28 |title=Francesca Cavallo: «E i maschi» |url=https://www.vanityfair.it/article/francesca-cavallo-maschi-del-futuro-libro |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Vanity Fair Italia |language=it-IT}} co-founded Timbuktu Magazine, which according to L'Italo-Americano was the first iPad magazine for children.{{cite news |last1=Wassermann |first1=Todd |date=6 April 2011 |title=The first iPad magazine for children makes its debut |url=https://mashable.com/2011/04/06/timbuktu-magazine/?europe=true/ |accessdate=31 March 2020 |work=Mashable}}{{Cite web |last=Staff {{!}} |date=2015-12-28 |title=Con Francesca Cavallo e il suo Timbuktu, il primo i Pad Magazine per bambini |url=https://italoamericano.org/francesca-cavallo-timbuktu/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=L'Italo-Americano – Italian American bilingual news source |language=en-US}}
In 2012, Cavallo and Favilli moved to California and founded Timbuktu Labs, where Cavallo served as co-founder and Chief Creative Officer until 2019. Under Cavallo's creative direction, Timbuktu Labs created Timbuktu Magazine, several other educational apps for children, and the Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls book series and podcast, which raised over £409,000($600,000) on Kickstarter in 2016,{{Cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=2016-05-25 |title=Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is 'dream' Kickstarter success |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/25/good-night-stories-for-rebel-girls-is-dream-kickstarter-success |access-date=2025-02-03 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} has been translated into 49 languages, and has won several international awards.{{cite news |last1=Stengel |first1=Geri |title=How To Blow Past Your Crowdfunding Goal Using Female Empowerment |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/geristengel/2016/08/10/how-to-blow-past-your-crowdfunding-using-female-empowerment/#612230735d78 |accessdate=28 December 2017 |work=Forbes |language=en}}
In 2018, Cavallo won the Publishers Weekly StarWatch Award.{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Porter |date=2018-09-13 |title=Frankfurt-Bound: 'Rebel Girls' Cavallo and Favilli Named PW Star Watch 2018 'Superstars' |url=https://publishingperspectives.com/2018/09/frankfurt-bound-rebel-girls-cavallo-favilli-named-pw-star-watch-2018-superstars/#:~:text=Navigation-,Frankfurt-Bound:%20'Rebel%20Girls'%20Cavallo%20and%20Favilli%20Named,PW%20Star%20Watch%202018%20'Superstars'&text=Praised%20for%20'heralding%20a%20%E2%80%9Crebellious,trip%20to%20the%20Frankfurter%20Buchmesse. |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Publishing Perspectives |language=en-US}}
In 2019, Cavallo was selected for the European Young Leaders program by the think tank Friends of Europe.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-08 |title=European Young Leaders (#EYL40) |url=https://www.friendsofeurope.org/initiatives/european-young-leaders?person-country=65&person-eyl=32#meet |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Friends of Europe |language=en-US}} The same year, Cavallo parted ways with Timbuktu Labs (now called Rebel Girls) and founded an independent media project aimed at increasing diversity in children's media called Undercats.{{Cite web |title=Writer and entrepreneur Francesca Cavallo on trusting in your journey – The Creative Independent |url=https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/writer-and-entrepreneur-francesca-cavallo-on-trusting-in-your-journey/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=thecreativeindependent.com |language=en}} Undercats' first project was a Christmas novel starring a lesbian, biracial family: Elves on the Fifth Floor, published in Italian by Feltrinelli, in German by Mentor Verlag, in Spanish, Catalan and Swedish by Bonnier.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Cavallo published and released for free the children's story Doctor Li and the Crown-Wearing Virus, an illustrated book about Doctor Li Wenliang. The book was praised by the LA review of Books and by Book Riot for its role in combating anti-Asian racism.{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Jean Kuo |date=2021-03-04 |title=7 Books for Kids That Fight COVID-19-Inspired Racism |url=https://bookriot.com/kids-books-to-fight-anti-chinese-racism/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Book Riot |language=en-US}} Doctor Li and the Crown-Wearing Virus has been translated by volunteers into 38 languages.{{Cite web |last=Koetse |first=Manya |date=2020-12-25 |title=50 of the Best New Books on China for the Holidays and Winter 2020/2021 |url=https://www.whatsonweibo.com/50-of-the-best-new-books-on-china-for-the-holidays-and-winter-2020-2021/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2020-10-24 |title=Where Are the Allies for Asian American Kids? |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/where-are-the-allies-for-asian-american-kids/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Los Angeles Review of Books}}{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Alicia |date=2020-04-15 |title=New children's book tells the story of Dr. Li Wenliang, who sounded the alarm on coronavirus |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/15/world/coronavirus-doctor-li-francesca-cavallo-book-trnd/index.html |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=CNN |language=en}}
In 2021, Cavallo moved back to Italy and launched the Paralympians book series on Kickstarter, a series of four picture books about the lives of Paralympic champions Tatyana McFadden, Jean-Baptiste Alaize, Beatrice Vio, and Zahra Nemati. The series has been published in English, Italian, and Spanish.{{Cite web |date=2021-06-24 |title=Francesca Cavallo: l'uguaglianza è il punto di partenza |url=https://www.rsi.ch/rete-tre/Francesca-Cavallo-luguaglianza-%C3%A8-il-punto-di-partenza--1261719.html |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=rsi |language=it}}
Public speaking
Cavallo is a public speaker and an advocate for women's and minorities' rights. She has spoken at the Massachusetts Conference for Women{{Cite web |title=Francesca Cavallo - Speaker |url=https://www.maconferenceforwomen.org/speakers/elena-favilli-and-francesca-cavallo/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=MA Conference for Women |language=en-US}} in Boston, at the Women in Tech Conference in Warsaw,{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg3gJaZBPxA&ab_channel=PerspektywyWomeninTech |title=Francesca Cavallo - Powerspeech during Perspektywy Women in Tech Summit 2023 |date=2023-06-20 |access-date=2025-02-03 |via=YouTube}} the Feminno Conference in Yerevan,{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gjhv6GOKYL4&t=31s&ab_channel=FemInnoGlobal |title=Francesca Cavallo at #FemInno22: "Gender Equality: the Path to Unlock the Collective Power" |date=2022-11-06 |access-date=2025-02-03 |via=YouTube}} the Novatore Summit in Riga,{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1RxDbJ7_es&ab_channel=Novatore |title=Storytelling about Women {{!}} Francesca Cavallo {{!}} Novatore Impact Summit 2022 |date=2022-10-26 |access-date=2025-02-03 |via=YouTube}} the State of Europe Conference in Brussels.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=-cmqAUwlZDtbLqiZ&v=WGiEem7-8gg&feature=youtu.be |title=Francesca Cavallo - Men and women, getting better and different leadership? |date=2019-10-22 |access-date=2025-02-03 |via=YouTube}}
Works
- Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls Volume 1 & 2
- [https://www.amazon.com/Am-Rebel-Girl-Journal-Revolutions/dp/0997895845 I am a Rebel Girl: a Journal to Start Revolutions]
- [https://www.amazon.com/Elves-Fifth-Floor-City-R/dp/1953592031/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TIOD86A7IXW8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.YrAETrNbirctV215QBYjW2mZOEItrXb_CXMsi53qRR_ROsHzj0qFf9eUM0dba8e1.S5hACGCk2AYLXN_aIWYEb2ZI4h4WXYrwUXgbdOEDnYU&dib_tag=se&keywords=elves+on+the+fifth+floor&qid=1738592761&sprefix=elves+on+the+fifth+%2Caps%2C204&sr=8-1 Elves on the Fifth Floor]
- [https://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Crown-wearing-Virus-Francesca-Cavallo/dp/1953592007 Doctor Li and the Crown-Wearing Virus]
- [https://www.amazon.com/Fastest-woman-Earth-McFadden-Paralympians/dp/195359204X/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1LZBAB2VCLZEJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ZnXjd-TjBEII1CO5EdqvLnTFfXgfUq7DAMuSkqMAe1BAMyXYe5GQ4pmXXDnJBdmQZCOA4FV7GuPHquB8tcW3GgywgPp_NsiDr79ZllDBgwYH7kLwVJdzLLxNUKDdq_XBwWG-jp_o1-ZHcHMIp-d-hUcVHLhc0ws-NAc9mXpEg3OG7b2BqLVItjeAtEy4LSigOTwiskhYaQOtmhECtzH7Ptpv2sGMlUy3XpMsQGyTpKk.5dE3yBxHzWIpMxyRPIdShMoLuKKONomDHKPaIpDZRg4&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+fastest+woman+on+earth&qid=1738592800&sprefix=fastest+woman+on+earth%2Caps%2C220&sr=8-2 Fastest Woman on Earth]
- [https://www.amazon.com/Long-Jump-Jean-Baptiste-Alaize-Paralympians/dp/1953592066/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BYP6MP3G56K4&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kbjcqKjkc1IEja5sVwz9sfSZyj7sQeMObQW5B_yTmgy63VwML5ibP4H6swDRH8dvS1B7jhIVORyBxSuKHGSLsg._gQdCaZSOeM3IucpBGTZ6RvQwLNxLaMrvFuaxhf1xKM&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+long+jump+cavallo&qid=1738592891&s=books&sprefix=the+long+jump+cavallo%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C189&sr=1-1 The Long Jump]
- [https://www.amazon.com/Ho-fuoco-nel-cassetto-Italian-ebook/dp/B09Z159V8K/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.x_QDVKJxQ8WGne6oAnDn9LNZUDvdHynLehlDmNwsAMLo_JICSscdhLBxCusollIPLVMovhyW8Cc6l7ulidjiSb1f0JcySuFb9GAzhgV09DNl1fnEWSpYIAVWrXkFehRrA0FC6QNP7VgaE9aFdlR2uNhiWXLbHaP5NN8NwxJMm7ZnolLy4yl8Qo0ygIxRW-l9wDePa81dfU9qVOvq9DTD-A.eHnk07sibMXlIJNJK9wdwXCk00Ot-g42rIIr6SowYxw&dib_tag=se&keywords=ho+un+fuoco+nel+cassetto&qid=1738592925&s=books&sr=1-1 Ho un fuoco nel cassetto]
Awards and acknowledgements
- 2010 - Nomination for Best Play, Premio Scenario Infanzia - Somari
- 2011 - Lugano International Theater Festival, Premio Infogiovani Winner - Somari
- 2011 - Principi Attivi, Winner, Sferracavalli
- 2012 - Best Italian Startup, Timbuktu Labs
- 2012 - Best Design Award, Launch Conference Education & Kids, Timbuktu Magazine
- 2014 - Biennale of Architecture Bordeaux, Special Mention, Timbuktu COLORS{{Cite web |last=NOVEDGE |title=The Edge: Timbuktu Labs, a toolkit for Playground Design. |url=https://novedge.com/blogs/news/the-edge-timbuktu-labs-a-toolkit-for-playground-design?srsltid=AfmBOopnOE8U5EIVH8KDY_Mx8hA3zEPFmIAcmEouUS1ZGeJPXWy0GfZI |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=NOVEDGE |language=en}}
- 2017 - New York Times Bestseller - Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
- 2017 - New York Times Bestseller - Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2
- 2017 - Book of the Year (Italy) - Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls{{Cite web |date=2018-01-04 |title=Storie della buonanotte per bambine ribelli più venduto 2017 - Libri - Ansa.it |url=https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cultura/libri/2018/01/04/storie-della-buonanotte-per-bambine-ribelli-piu-venduto-2017-_df1a4826-bc33-4828-9f98-4dbc367cb19c.html |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Agenzia ANSA |language=it}}
- 2018 - ABIA International Book of the Year (Australia) - Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls{{Citation |title=Australian Book Industry Awards |date=2025-01-27 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Book_Industry_Awards |access-date=2025-02-03 |language=en}}
- 2018 - Wissennschafts Buch des Jahres - Children's Book of the Year (Germany)- Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls{{Cite web |title=Wissenschaftsbuch des Jahres |url=https://www.wissenschaftsbuch.at/nominierung/sieger/#:~:text=Good%20Night%20Stories%20for%20Rebel%20Girls:%20100%20au%C3%9Fergew%C3%B6hnliche%20Frauen&text=100%20Geschichten%20%C3%BCber%20mutige%20Frauen,,%20Forscherinnen,%20K%C3%BCnstlerinnen,%20Aktivistinnen. |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Wissenschaftsbuch des Jahres |language=de}}
- 2018 - Best 30 Podcasts of the Year - Time Magazine - Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls{{Cite magazine |last=Dockterman |first=Eliana |date=2018-03-30 |title=The 50 Best Podcasts to Listen to Right Now |url=https://time.com/5178078/best-podcasts-2018/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |magazine=Time |language=en}}
- 2018 - PW Star Watch Superstar{{cite news|last1=Maher|first1=John|title=PW Star Watch 2018 Superstars: Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/awards-and-prizes/article/77976-pw-star-watch-2018-superstars.html|accessdate=31 March 2020|work=Publishers Weekly|date=13 September 2018}}
- 2018 - OUT 100 - Most Influential LBGTQ+ People of the Year{{Cite web |title=OUT100: 2018 |url=https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2018/11/14/out100-2018#rebelltitem1 |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=www.out.com |language=en}}
- 2023 - POD Italian Podcast Award - Nomination - Scintille
References
{{reflist}}
=Sources=
- {{cite news|last1=Cavallo|first1=Francesca|last2=Favilli|first2=Elena|title=Sexist stories keep girls down. A new kind of heroine can set them free {{!}} Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/13/sexist-stories-girls-heroine-films-books-boys-parents-daughters-adventures|work=The Guardian|date=13 April 2017}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:University of Milan alumni
Category:Italian women writers