DAME CONNIE SPENUZZA, M.S. ED., 2024 social history book The Unique Women of the Venetian Republic was selected Runner Up – Non-Fiction category at the Los Angeles Book Festival. Kirkus Reviews praised this book: “A gorgeous book that fully immerses readers in Venetian history, both visually and through its vivid narrative.
In May 2024, the international dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies known as the Constantinian Order of St George knighted Dame Connie Spenuzza in recognition of her literary and philanthropic achievements.
On January 10, 2024, Orange County, California, County Supervisor Katrina Foley presented Spenuzza with a county proclamation honoring her prolific writing and philanthropic contributions.
Spenuzza was invited by the Angels of the Arts, a support group of the Segerstrom Center of the Arts, to lecture on her book The Unique Women of the Venetian Republic at the Orange County Museum of Art.
Orange Coast Magazine, January 2024 issue, featured a two-page article on Spenuzza, titled International Inspiration: “Connie Spenuzza is an arts patron supreme and an award-winning author who has published 13 books and visited 128 countries.”
On March 31, 2025, Dame Connie Spenuzza was selected as one of Orange County’s Kickass Women for her literary accomplishments and philanthropic contributions to Orange County.
The Newport Beach Public Library Foundation selected Connie as the 2022 featured speaker. She has been invited to speak at the Los Angeles Times Book Festival, Book Expo America, the Guadalajara Book Festival, the Big Orange Book Festival, and the Smithsonian Institution.
Connie received first place from the International Latino Book Awards for her novels Lucia Zárate(2017), Missing in Machu Picchu (2013), and Traces of Bliss (2020. Her travel memoir Jubilant Journeys (2019) was awarded second place, following first place winner and Nobel Peace Prize nominee José Andrés. At the London Book Festival, Chocolate Runs Through my Veins (2022) was runner-up for the nonfiction and memoir award categories. The Association of American Publishers and Las Comadres selected her novels to the National Latino Book Club. Foreword Reviews selected Lucía Zárate as the INDIES Book of the Year finalist. The Smithsonian Institution endorsed her children’s bilingual fable Olinguito Speaks Up. In 2021, her art history book Spanish Colonial Paintings with European Engravings debuted with an immersive multimedia exhibit at the California landmark Mission San Juan Capistrano. In 2021, she and her husband, Dr. Peter Spenuzza, were selected as the Honorees of the Mission’s Preservation Foundation Gala.
Connie was born in Ecuador and raised in California and France. She received her graduate degree from the University of Southern California, speaks four languages, and has traveled to 128 countries. She serves on the board of directors of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the Orange County Museum of Art, and the Mission San Juan Capistrano Preservation Foundation. She lives with her husband in Dana Point, California.