A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in partnership with cultural association Monteverdelegge What is the fascination of books that start from an image, a drawing, rather than words? How important are comics, manga and graphic novels in the Italian publishing market? What are the characteristics of the increasing number of publishing houses that put “illustrations” at the centre of their production? And how do illustrators and...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in partnership with cultural association Monteverdelegge How does an extra-small publishing house operate? What are the challenges that the many small and very small Italian publishers have to overcome to get themselves known by readers? And how much do these miniscule firms, which are often based in secluded locations outside the big cities, count in the publishing market? Leafing through the...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in partnership with cultural association Monteverdelegge How did audio books – sometimes jokingly called “books for ears” - come about? How were they adopted in Italy? And how can their great popularity in recent years be explained? Leafing through the Alfabeto italiano, the page opens at the letter O, O for Orecchie or Ears in English, which we have become accustomed to using not only to...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in partnership with cultural association Monteverdelegge What does "new” mean when we talk about publishing? How long, that is, can a book be described as “new”? And what is the relationship between new books and those on the catalogue in a publisher’s production? But, above all, how important is it for a publishing house to offer innovative, original texts? Leafing through the Alfabeto...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in partnership with cultural association Monteverdelegge Who are the readers that come under the editorial definition “young adults”? What do teens want to read in that most complicated period of life, adolescence? And how has this segment of Italian publishing changed in recent times? Leafing through the Alfabeto italiano, the page opens at the letter Y, Y for Young Adults, an English term...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in partnership with cultural association Monteverdelegge How important are the classics in the backlists of publishing houses today? And, generally, how significant are they in the publishing market? Leafing through the Alfabeto Italiano, the page opens at the letter Z, Z for Zibaldone, Italian for Hotchpotch. A word that, in ancient times referred to a dish made up of many and varied...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in partnership with cultural association Monteverdelegge How did the cultural festivals held every year in so many Italian cities come about? Who are the people that attend them? What impact do they have on the places where they are held? Leafing through the Alfabeto Italiano, the page opens at the letter F, F for Festival. A word that, over the last twenty or thirty years, has gained...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in partnership with cultural association Monteverdelegge How do those very special books intended for schools come about and how are they put together? What impact does scholastic publishing have on the Italian publishing market? And how do those increasingly numerous courses, where the creation of a book coincides with the subject being studied, really operate? Leafing through the Alfabeto...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in partnership with cultural association Monteverdelegge How is the cover of a book created? How is it made up into pages? What is the relationship between the graphic designer and the publishing house? And, in general, what are editorial graphics? Leafing through the Alfabeto Italiano, the page opens at letter G, G for Graphics. A recent word, in use for around a hundred years, or even less,...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in partnership with cultural association Monteverdelegge Where does Italian publishing stand on the international market? How can Italian publishing houses reach out beyond the country’s borders? What are the relations between Italy and the world when it comes to books? Leafing through the letters of Alfabeto italiano, the page opens at the letter M: M for Mondo, World in English – a word that...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in partnership with cultural association Monteverdelegge What form will the books of the future take? How will the publishing industry evolve in the coming decades? What relationship do we think there will be between the practice of reading, basically very physical, and the virtual sphere, which seems to attract us more every day? These are questions that Italian publishing houses, and not just...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in partnership with cultural association Monteverdelegge How does the world’s most important professional event for children’s publishing, the Children’s Book Fair, held every spring in Bologna, work? How important is the segment dedicated to younger readers within the Italian publishing market? And, above all, is it possible to identify a specific feature that characterises children’s...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in collaboration with cultural association Monteverdelegge What is the relationship between reading and leisure time? In what way do books help us to pursue our hobbies and give us the tools to practise them better? And, above all, in an era when we have the impression that we can find the answer to everything on the internet, is there still any point in turning to the written page to find...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in collaboration with cultural association Monteverdelegge What does the “Fourth cover or back cover” mean? How do the short texts that we read on the back of a book and its flaps induce readers to buy it? Is this, as some argue, a minor literary form or are we dealing with a vehicle, albeit subtle, of commercial promotion? And, in this regard, do flaps and back covers actually have any impact...

How does a literary award work? What does it mean for a book to win the Strega or Campiello prize? What does the work of a jury entail? Entering a bookstore, passing by the display of new books on the counters, you can’t help being attracted by the colourful labels proclaiming in large letters: winner of prize X, finalist in prize Y. Leafing through the letters of Alfabeto italiano, the page opens at the letter P: P for Premio, Prize in English, the word on which we alight on for this stage...

When we talk about publishing in Italy, what are we referring to? What are the challenges that a publishing house has to face nowadays? What needs to be known by those who intend to operate in that gigantic and complex “machine” that is the publishing sector, when it goes through a phase, such as the current one, characterised by great transformations? Leafing through the pages of our Alfabeto italiano, the page opens at the letter K – K for Know-How, an English expression often used by...

What does the work of a literary agent involve? How come the number of literary agencies in Italy has multiplied in recent years? And what changes are underway? Leafing through the letters of Alfabeto Italiano, the page opens at the letter A: A as in Agenzìa, Agenzìa letteraria, literary agency in English, the word on which we alight on this stage of our journey into Italian publishing – a word that in Italy seemed almost exotic not very long ago. With Marco Vigevani and Fiammetta Biancatelli

How does a publishing house build up its catalogue? And what does this word generally mean when we include it in the complex system that is publishing? Leafing through the pages of Alfabeto Italiano, the page has opened at the letter C - C as in Catalogue, or Backlist, a vital word in the life of a publishing brand, the one that perhaps best represents its solidity and standing. With Andrea Gentile and Isabella Ferretti

What exactly does the editorial department of a publishing house do? What are the steps that a text, created by the pen or keyboard of the person who conceived and composed it, must go through to be ready for its public? Leafing through the letters of Alfabeto Italiano, the page opens at the letter R – R as in Redazione, or Editorial Department in English, which is sort of like a kitchen where the dishes, in our case books, that a publishing house will release are prepared and laid...

What is the role of a bookshop, now that we’ve gotten so used to buying books online? And what are booksellers doing to offer an alternative to the giants of the web? Leafing through the letters of Alfabeto italiano, the page opens at the letter L - L as in Libreria, or bookshop in English, the place where, in most cases, even today, books can find their reader. A shop unlike any other, if what Romano Montroni said is true: “Books are still the best way of circulating ideas and bookshops are...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in collaboration with cultural association Monteverdelegge What is the role of the press office of a publishing house? What strategies are deployed to enable the public to discover a book? Leafing through the letters of Alfabeto italiano, the page opens at the letter U: U as in “Ufficio Stampa”, or Press Office in English, the phrase on which we alight on for this stage of our journey through...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in collaboration with cultural association Monteverdelegge In 2005, Luigi Bernardi, who was an acclaimed mystery writer and, at the same time, a keen talent scout, advised aspiring young writers to go to a bookshop and try to imagine their book squeezed between thousands of others. Leafing through the letters of Alfabeto Italiano, the page opens at the letter E: E as in “Esordienti”, or Debut...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in collaboration with cultural association Monteverdelegge What does the work of a translator entail? Are there special rules to follow? How important is it to be faithful to the original text? These are ancient questions: Cicero raised them more than two thousand years ago when translating the speeches of Aeschines and Demosthenes. Leafing through the Alfabeto Italiano, the page opens at the...

A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in collaboration with cultural association Monteverdelegge What is a publishing house? A laboratory of necessary ideas. A place where ideas, work, expertise and curiosity are turned into books. Leafing through Alfabeto Italiano, the page has opened at the letter I: I as in Ideas, the word around which this stage of the journey through Italian publishing revolves: an apparently simple word, one...