Massimo Mongai (3 November 1950 – 1 November 2016) was an Italian author of science fiction.^[1]

Born in Rome, by the age of 12 Massimo Mongai was a dedicated reader of science fiction. He graduated in law. According to the biography printed in many of his books, his influences include the science-fiction writers Isaac Asimov, A. E. van Vogt, Poul Anderson and Philip José Farmer and the crime writers Rex Stout and Andrea Camilleri.

In 1997, he wrote Memorie di un cuoco d'astronave. This blend of space saga and cooking manual won Italy's Urania Award.

His other books include Il gioco degli immortali, Tette e pistole, Memorie di un cuoco di un bordello spaziale, Cronache non ufficiali di due spie italiane, Il Fascio sulle stelle di Benito Mussolini and Alienati, a novel about an inter-planetary convention of psychoanalysts. He also worked on the Italian magazine Il Falcone Maltese, dedicated to crime fiction, known in Italy as giallo.