Roberto Quaglia


Roberto Quaglia is an Italian science fiction writer. Many of his works have been translated and published in Romania, and some have also been translated into English, Russian, Spanish, French, Japanese, Czech, Hungarian and Dutch.

Life and career

Quaglia has held a variety of jobs, among them photographer, owner and barman of a pub, internet entrepreneur and politician. From the beginning of 1995 to the end of 1997, he was a Councilor in Genoa. Since 1989, he has been active in science fiction fandom. He has over a number of years occasionally written articles for the Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation, the SF zine that has won the most Eurocon Awards. Between 2002 and 2013 was vice-chairman of the European Science Fiction Society, the organization which coordinates the annual Eurocon science fiction convention.
In 1994 he became friends with American science fiction writer Robert Sheckley. In 1999, he and Sheckley traveled together around Europe for over a month, the first of a number of long journeys they took together. Some of Quaglia's articles, videos and photographs of these trips can be found on the Internet. In 2004, Quaglia and Sheckley began planning to write two books together, a project which became public a few months before Sheckley's death, in an article published by the Ukrainian press during Sheckley's last journey, a tour of Ukraine together with Quaglia. Sheckley's death put an end to this project.
In 2003, Quaglia and British writer Ian Watson met and became friends, which led to a literary collaboration. Together they wrote the collection of My Beloved stories, some of which are available on the Internet, having been published by Helix SF, Flurb and in the United States, Clarkesworld Magazine. Other stories have been published in the American magazine Weird Tales, the Canadian anthology Lust for Life, New Writings in the Fantastic, several Mammoth Books of Best New Erotica: Volume 7, Volume 9 and Best of Best New Erotica, and in other books. In 2009, these stories were collected into an anthology, The Beloved of My Beloved, published by NewCon Press, and launched in March–April 2009 at the Eurocon in Fiuggi and the Eastercon in Bradford.
Since the mid-2010s, Quaglia has been a guest on podcasts as a cultural and geopolitical commentator, participating in several hundred broadcasts across various Italian channels. He has also created content for Giulietto Chiesa’s PandoraTV channel, with whom he collaborated extensively. An archive of all these appearances has been compiled on his YouTube and Telegram channels.
Popularity in Russia: In November 2024, he was the only Italian guest at the first international symposium on the future held in Moscow, invited to speak at the opening plenary session. In June 2025, he was invited to speak about future professions at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. A 30-minute interview of his aired on 4 July 2025, on the Russian state Channel One in the program Samoe Vremya.

Awards and honors

  • 2009 – Eurocon ESFS Award for Best European Writer
  • 2010 – BSFA Award for best short story for "The Beloved Time of Their Life"
  • 2011 – Seiun Award – nomination for best SF/F work published in Japan ''
  • 2016 – Eurocon ESFS Award for Best European Promoter

Works

;Novels
  • 1994: Vagabondul interspaţial. :ro:Nemira.
  • 2002: Bread, Butter and Paradoxine. Solid.
  • 2009: Paradoxine: The Adventures of James Vagabond. Immanion Press.,
  • 2011: Jonathan Livingshit Pigeon: A Tail of Transcendence. Eagle Publishing House.
;Other fiction
  • 1992: Somebody up there is lusting for me - science fiction play
  • 1998: God Ltd - short stories collection, Nemira.
  • 2009: with Ian Watson: The Beloved of My Beloved - short stories collection, NewconPress. , , re-published as an ebook in 2011 by Gollancz Ltd|Gollancz],
;Non-fiction
  • 1995: The future of science fiction - essay
  • 2003: Pensiero stocastico - essay collection :it: Delos Books
  • *2004: Gandirea Stocastica :ro: Nemira
  • 2003: "Tutto quello che avreste sempre voluto sapere sull'11 settembre 2001, ma che non avete mai osato chiedervi" - essay, in Tutto quello che sai è falso. Manuale dei segreti e delle bugie. NuoviMondiMedia.
  • 2006: Il Mito dell'11 Settembre e l'Opzione Dottor Stranamore. PonSinMor.
  • *2009: 11 Septembrie, Mitul. Editura Stefan.
  • *2011: The Myth of 11 September: The Satanic Verses of Western Democracy. Eagle Publishing House.
  • 2011: Avatar: The New Fantastic Horizons of Oneiric Justice - essay