Massini’s hallmark as a writer is to combine a distinctly literary style with a strong flair as a live storyteller. With his narrative frescoes, he “touches the heart and the mind,” excites and makes people think, and creates short circuits with his unique style.

The general Italian public discovered him through his refined and unsettling interventions on television in Piazzapulita, and other TV programs such as “Ricomincio” on Rai 3.

Since 2016, he has also collaborated with la Repubblica with his weekly column “Manuale di Sopravvivenza” (“Guide to Survival”) and daily columns on repubblica.it (“Parole in corso” [Words in Progress] and “Ufficio racconti smarriti” [Office for Lost Stories]).

A biting, unsettling, and ironic artist of the people, he is far from the aura of the self-aggrandizing and elitist intellectual. Instead, Massini is a composer and ‘dissector’ of words and stories, an investigator of everyday lives and states of mind.

His special ‘lessons’––stories about books featured in the talent show Amici, have made him also loved by young audiences. 

Qualcosa sui Lehman (Mondadori, 2016) was one of the most acclaimed novels of recent years (Selezione Campiello prize, SuperMondello prize, De Sica prize, Prix Médicis Essai, Prix Meilleur Livre Étranger). His latest books are Dizionario inesistente [Nonexistent Dictionary] (Mondadori, 2018), Ladies Football Club (Mondadori, 2019), Eichmann. Dove comincia la notte [Eichmann. Where the Night Begins] (Fandango, 2020) and Manuale di Sopravvivenza. Messaggi in bottiglia d’inizio millennio [Survival Manual. Messages in a Bottle from the Beginning of the Millennium] (Il Mulino, 2021).

In addition to winning a Tony Award, he won both the Drama League Award 2022 and the Outer Critics Circle Award 2022.