Commissioned by the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, a member of the FACE Association (Foundation of Arts for a Contemporary Europe), Tiziano Scarpa, a renowned Italian author, drew his inspiration from Franz Kafka's short story "Investigations of a Dog" (1922) to write "New Investigations of an Ant Nest." This short story also echoes the artworks—reproduced in the book—by the 36 international artists of the touring exhibition "Investigations of a Dog" organized by FACE in 2009–2011. Four other short stories—especially written for the project by Aristide Antonas, Jonas Hassen Khemiri, Rui Cardoso Martins, and Emmanuelle Pagano—and an exhibition catalogue are published simultaneously.

Tiziano Scarpa (*1963) is a multi-faceted and original Italian writer. He is a novelist, poet, essayist, and dramaturgist. In 2009 he won the prestigious Strega Prize for the novel "Stabat Mater," a narrative with a profound poetic influence. His books have been translated worldwide. He is a co-founder of and contributor to the online magazine "Il primo amore."