Gian Franco Svidercoschi is a journalist, Vatican watcher, and Italian writer of Polish extraction.

His interest in Polish affairs was appreciated by John Paul II himself. Svidercoschi was born in Ascoli Piceno in Italy. He was a correspondent at the Second Vatican Council. He worked for the Vatican's monthly L'Osservatore Romano, which gave him an insight into the everyday life of the Holy See. He wrote Pope John Paul II's biography, titled Stories of Karol: The Unknown Life of John Paul II, which was the basis for two film screenplays: Karol - A Man Who Became The Pope and Karol, The Pope, The Man. After John Paul II's death, he conducted an interview with Cardinal Dziwisz, which was published as a bestselling book, Testimony, known in Italy as Una vita con Karol.