--- title: Elena Ferrante's Real Identity Claimed by Italian Journalist description: An Italian journalist has claimed that he has uncovered the true identity of international bestselling-novelist Elena Ferrante canonical: https://time.com/4516310/elena-ferrantes-identity/ author: Suyin Haynes article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-03T10:58:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:57:59.773Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Elena Ferrante's Real Identity Claimed by Italian Journalist og:description: An Italian journalist has claimed that he has uncovered the true identity of international bestselling-novelist Elena Ferrante og:url: https://time.com/4516310/elena-ferrantes-identity/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37926b56d0c81a70/6988a85fe20a87aa2da92a03/image-20150903-24512-hf87ly2.jpg?branch=production&width=951&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 951 og:image:height: 535 og:image:alt: Elena Ferrante og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Elena Ferrante's Real Identity Claimed by Italian Journalist twitter:description: An Italian journalist has claimed that he has uncovered the true identity of international bestselling-novelist Elena Ferrante twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37926b56d0c81a70/6988a85fe20a87aa2da92a03/image-20150903-24512-hf87ly2.jpg?branch=production&width=951&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Who Is Elena Ferrante? Italian Journalist Claims to Have Found Out > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Suyin Haynes](https://time.com/author/suyin-haynes/) ## Suyin Haynes Oct 3, 2016 10:58 AM UTC  Text Publishing by [Suyin Haynes](https://time.com/author/suyin-haynes/) ## Suyin Haynes Oct 3, 2016 10:58 AM UTC An Italian journalist claims to have uncovered the identity of the pseudonymous Italian novelist Elena Ferrante. In an [article](https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2016/10/02/elena-ferrante-an-answer/) for the _New York Review of Books_ published Sunday, journalist Claudio Gatti claims that Ferrante is the pen name of Anita Raja, a translator based in Rome. Gatti argues that “new revelations from real estate and financial records” confirm the identity of Raja, who has previously worked with Ferrante’s publishing house Edizione e/o. In [an accompanying article,](http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2016/10/02/story-behind-a-name-elena-ferrante/) Gatti reveals a deep investigation into the life of Raja, whose family had been victims of Jewish persecution in Germany and Italy in the Second World War. Raja did not respond to Gatti’s request for comment. Ferrante is best known for her successful quartet of [novels set in Naples](http://time.com/4010504/neapolitan-novels-history/?iid=sr-link5) in southern Italy, including the 2012 international bestseller _My Brilliant Friend_. This year, the author was also included in the [TIME 100](http://time.com/4299844/elena-ferrante-2016-time-100/?iid=sr-link1) list of the world’s most influential people. Numerous [previous attempts](http://time.com/4257446/elena-ferrante-identity-guess/?iid=sr-link6) to unveil the anonymous writer have been unsuccessful, and Gatti’s investigation has provoked fierce backlash from the literary world. Authors and literary critics such as Jojo Moyes and Pamela Paul have also tweeted criticizing the ‘unmasking’ of the author and defending her decision to remain anonymous. > [](https://twitter.com/jojomoyes/status/782663061173899266) > [](https://twitter.com/PamelaPaulNYT/status/782630268502962176) > [](https://twitter.com/ruth%5Ffranklin/status/782627314173616129) In a statement made to [the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/02/elena-ferrante-literary-storm-as-italian-reporter-identifies-author), Sandro Ferri, Ferrante’s publisher said “We just think that this kind of journalism is disgusting.” \[[_NY Review of Books_](https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2016/10/02/elena-ferrante-an-answer/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4516310/elena-ferrantes-identity/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4516310/elena-ferrantes-identity/"},"headline":"Who Is Elena Ferrante? 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