Stefania Maggi

My work as a university professor promotes the wellbeing of children and youth. In 2012, I visited Iqaluit in Nunavut, Canada and what I experienced there changed my goals as a researcher. Most importantly, it brought me to writing fiction. I have dedicated my whole career to improving the wellbeing of young children and youth. My visit to Iqaluit made me realize that what I had been writing as a scientist for the past twenty years will never reach my audience (youth). I realized that, if I wanted to make a difference in the life of young people, I had to connect with them at the emotional level. That’s why I turned to writing. I had a story to tell and a message to share, and that’s how my first science fiction manuscript came about. My goal as a writer is to tell stories for young people so that they can become empowered. I want my stories to help them realize that not only they have the right to a clean planet and a socially functional world, but also that they have the responsibility to fight for that; that action and sacrifice are necessary; and that the world’s future is truly in their hands.