Born in Montichiari, in northern Italy near Lake Garda, Busi was a footlose youth. He left home at 14 and, while he was learning foreign languages and earned his living with temporary employees, he began writing Il Monoclino, which would have become Seminario sulla gioventù. He gravitated towards Milan, where he worked as a waiter, but he also spent several years living in different parts of Europe, earning a living in a variety of jobs before becoming a writer.

One of the most controversial contemporary writers, Busi has had a high profile since the publication of his first novel, Seminario sulla gioventù (Seminar on Youth, 1984). Since then he has published some twenty volumes, including six novels. But the relationship between Busi, writing and sexuality changed considerably since 1984.

Although he has never hidden his own homosexuality, he insists that this should not be read into his work. He totally rejects the label of "gay writer", and has distanced himself from the various Italian gay movements. A prolific and accomplished writer, who made many classical novel translations, mainly from German and English.