Saviano's

To those critics who may have thought Gomorrah to be Saviano's debut novel and swan song all rolled up into one, he's since written Beauty and the Inferno which won the 2010 non-fiction European Book Prize and is a look at his life living under constant protection.

E. Nina Rothe: The Face of Courage: An Exclusive Interview With Roberto Saviano -- Part Two E. Nina Rothe 2012

And yet, Saviano's own strength seems to lie in his ability to feel, to love his Italy, his world and so much so that he's given up his freedom for it all.

E. Nina Rothe: The Face of Courage: An Exclusive Interview With Roberto Saviano -- Part Two E. Nina Rothe 2012

Security arrangements for Roberto Saviano's performance are thorough.

Lia Petridis Maiello: Roberto Saviano and Nouriel Roubini Discussing the Global Financial Mafia at NYU Lia Petridis Maiello 2011

Security arrangements for Roberto Saviano's performance are thorough.

Lia Petridis Maiello: Roberto Saviano and Nouriel Roubini Discussing the Global Financial Mafia at NYU Lia Petridis Maiello 2011

Saviano's secret sojourn in NYC and his stint at NYU were organized with the help of Scholars At Risk.

E. Nina Rothe: The Face of Courage: An Exclusive Interview With Roberto Saviano -- Part Two E. Nina Rothe 2012

In fact, no one heard of Saviano's presence in NYC until his appearance at Zuccotti Park on Nov, 19, for a speech in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

E. Nina Rothe: The Face of Courage: An Exclusive Interview With Roberto Saviano -- Part Two E. Nina Rothe 2012

The first film is set in the Italian seaside town of Castel Volturno, which shot to infamy in Roberto Saviano's multi-award winning movie Gomorra.

Azeem Ibrahim: The Dark Underbelly of Immigration Azeem Ibrahim 2011

In his three years as Italy's Salman Rushdie, Saviano's book sold 3 million copies and was translated into 42 languages.

Nina Burleigh: A Visit with Italy's Salman Rushdie 2010

VF Daily: how much did you depart from Saviano's book?

Best Foreign-Language Film: Omerta over Gomorrah: Julian Sancton Sancton, Julian 2009

Saviano's Gomorrah, by contrast, quite self-consciously (sometimes a little too self-consciously) models itself on such books as Michael Herr's Dispatches and Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.

Picture Dreams 2009