About
I am Ambra Guarnieri, an Italian writer.
I was born and raised in Venice, Italy. In high school, I studied classics. At eighteen, I moved to Rome to study Philosophy at Sapienza University. I graduated summa con laude from the University of Rome La Sapienza with a degree in Philosophy (BA) in 2006 and, in 2008, Philosophy and The History of Ideas (MA) with a thesis on Hegel and phenomenology. Alongside my philosophy degree, I studied music, singing and music theory at Saint Louis College of Music of Rome.
My international journey began with a Master’s Degree in Journalism from City University of London, where I focused on African development. I then worked as a cultural journalist for various esteemed platforms, including La Biennale, where I covered the International Venice Film Festival for Venews, a partner of the renowned American entertainment magazine Variety, and The Literary Review. I also contributed to INFO, a bi-monthly magazine published by the French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain.
In 2012, I started my PhD in Postcolonial Literature at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. In 2015, I taught a course on the history of African and Asian communities in Britain at SOAS’ Department of Anthropology and Sociology. In July 2017, I was awarded the Doctor of Philosophy degree by The School of Oriental and African Studies Centre for Cultural, Literary and Postcolonial Studies.
In 2018, I founded a start-up tech business, Bonanova, operative in the retail industry. We marketed and sold artistic craftsmanship made in Sicily – Ceramiche Alessi to private customers and retailers in the UK, including Designer Department Store Liberty. However, in 2020, due to the introduction of import duties on goods from Europe following Brexit, we had to close the company down. to private customers and retailers in the UK. However, in 2020, due to the introduction of import duties on goods from Europe following Brexit, we had to close the company down.
With the pandemic, I followed my long-standing ambition to become a creative writer. I have been working on a play, a collection of poetry, and a postmodern novel so far and honed my playwriting skills studying at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London.
My first book of literary criticism, Decolonizing the Literary Imagination: Dialogue and The Postcolonial Encounter, is out now. The book delves into the postcolonial encounter in literature, exploring the dialogue between different cultures and the impact of colonialism and postcolonialism on the literary imagination.