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Canale Mussolini was chosen in the section dedicated to the historical novel in honour of the memory of the founder of the Prize, the writer Marcello Venturi.

The jury motivated the award as follows:

The novel is a fresh and invigorating reconstruction, characterised by an original stylistic and aware approach, that recounts the story of a family of colonists from the Veneto to the new towns established after the draining of the Pontine marshlands, over a number of generations. It paints a highly suggestive picture and manages to translate into a colourful daily language a authentic country saga laced with civic passions and dreams of social redemption against a backdrop of significant historical moment. Added to this is the pathos of personal memory – the author himself comes from a family of colonists – that is able to evoke the atmosphere and characters of events that have for some time been removed from a “politically correct” historical research.

The award ceremony will be held at the Teatro Ariston in Acqui Terme on Saturday 23 October at 5.30 pm, in the presence of the President of the Piedmont Region, Roberto Cota.

In addition to Antonio Pennacchi, during the event, which will be presented by Alessandro Cecchi Paone, prizes will also be presented to Alessandro Orsini, in the historical research category, for his book Anatomia delle Brigate rosse. Le radici ideologiche del terrorismo rivoluzionario (Rubbettino), Marco Patricelli, in the popular history category, for Il volontario (Laterza), and Folco Quilici in the “History on TV” category. The special prize “Testimone del tempo 2010” will be awarded to the Hon. Sandro Bondi, Vittorio Messori and Massimo Ranieri. While Ennio Di Nolfo will receive a Special Prize “for his career.”

Mondadori Retail has opened in Rome, in the heart of the city, a new sales outlet of the Librerie Mondadori chain.

The store, located in the central Piazza della Radio, close to Via Marconi, has a sales area of 800 square metres, where visitors will find an offer of more than 40,000 book titles.

This new Mondadori bookstore will also have an extensive area dedicated to children and younger readers with toys, games and a catalogue of 8,000 titles especially for them.

Alongside the offer of books will be a range of multimedia products with a DVD and Blue-Ray section, while the area called Emporio provides an extensive range of stationery, gifts and gadgets.

The new Piazza della Radio bookstore strengthens the Mondadori Retail network in Italy’s capital city, adding to the existing stores in the Via Appia Nuova and Piazza Cola di Rienzo, and outlets in the Parco Leonardo, La Romanina and Roma Est shopping malls.

PROFILE

Address: Piazza della Radio, 1 – Rome

Opening hours:

From Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 8 pm (On Sunday from 10 am to 2 pm and from 4 pm to 8 pm)

Area: 800 square metres

Product line:

• Books: 40,000
• Children’s books: 8,000
• DVD and Blu-Ray: 5,000
• Emporio: stationery, gifts and gadgets

Customer services:

• MONDADONO Gift Vouchers
• The new loyalty card: MONDADORI CARD

In this novel Ken Follett tells the interrelated stories of five families (an American, a Russian, a German, an English and a Welsh) against the backdrop of the historic events that took place from 1911 to the First World War and the October Revolution. As in Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, Follett ably reconstructs a historical saga, weaving the events of big history into the smaller stories of protagonists that move, love, struggle and suffer against the background of the terrible events of the twentieth century. From the coal mines of Wales to the sparkling candelabra in sumptuous palaces, and from the corridors of politics to the alcoves of power, from Washington to St Petersburg, from London to Paris, the story moves incessantly between hidden dramas and international intrigues. The protagonists are rich aristocrats, the ambitious poor, courageous and strong-willed women, all of whom have to deal with war and the consequences of war.

Good and evil, love and hate, peace and war intertwine in this epic novel and are also graphically represented by two different covers, one white, one black.

Ken Follett is considered the world’s leading author of bestsellers and has sold more than 120 million copies, 18 million with Pillars of the Earth alone.

From 1 October, Sky Italia will broadcast the Ridley Scott-produced TV drama series based on Pillars of the Earth.

Grazia readers now have a an extra way to get access to and read – at any time of the day, also when travelling or abroad – their favourite magazine.

First among women’s fashion weeklies, Grazia has launched its app for the iPad and with iGrazia it is now possible to flick through a digital version of the magazine every week and discover – in addition to everything that is in the print version – a range of additional features specially created for enthusiasts of the new device, including a video-editorial by the editor Vera Montanari, interviews and “chats” with the magazine’s staff.

And to coincide with the Milan Fashion Week there will also be a photo gallery and backstage coverage, which thanks to the quality of the images, will provide a taster of the collections on the catwalks for the 2011 Spring/Summer season.

And for those who want to re-read or get more background from already published interviews, with iGrazia you can access all the content of the last ten issues of the magazine.

To coincide with the 2010 Women’s Fashion Week, the City of Milan and the Mondadori Group, with its titles Grazia and Interni, are the promoters of an initiative entitled Fashion & Design 2.0.

The weekly magazine Grazia, a qualified interpreter of Italian fashion and style, has involved prestigious Italian brands and exploited the know how of its editorial staff to produce a series of innovative fashion performances at the centre of the Ottagono, and open to the whole city.

The monthly Interni, with its long and consolidated experience in the world of design, has selected 4 important and world famous designers and architects to produce 4 large installations inspired by the themes and values of the world of fashion in order to illustrate the connection between the fashion system and the world of design.

The opening of Milan’s Fashion Design House

A symbolic space in the centre of Milan, the Galleria, is transformed into a place of encounter and events dedicated to fashion, but also to design, in order to engage not only the media and fashion professionals who during the Fashion Week converge on Milan, but above all local citizens, during one of the most important periods of the year for Italian industry.

The event is organised in three distinct areas:

1. The design installations at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele

Four designer/architects selected by Interni were asked to produce four installations, macro objects of great symbolic value, celebrating the cross-fertilization between fashion and design; in the creation of the installations, the designers have been inspired by the content of the world of fashion, with the possibility of working with the sorts of materials that are most identifiable with it.

The four installations:

Air du temps,
by Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and Partners with Moncler

Wooden Thread,
by Lissoni Associati with Gallo

Timeless Chic,
by Vudafieri Saverino Partners with Tod’s

Apparition,
by Alberto Biagetti with yoox.com

2. The Fashion Design House at the centre of the Ottagono

A stage and a large tiered stand built in the centre of the Ottagono, and enriched with highly suggestive design objects design, creating an original and modern backdrop to enliven every day the fashion performances; Grazia has organised 4 days of appointments during which more than 20 Italian fashion brands will give life to the same number of fashion events created and organised exclusively with the magazine’s fashion department. The tiered stand of the Fashion Design House makes it an authentic exhibition space: with the tiers and the terrace decorated by prestigious furniture and design companies, creating an original and very evocative backdrop.

3. Piazza San Fedele, animated by fashion and design

Piazza San Fedele will become an open-air exhibition space dedicated to the city, in which there will be a combination of moments dedicated to the world of fashion and contemporary design.

Circulation figures continue to reward Tu Style, the Mondadori weekly edited by Marisa Deimichei, re-launched in mid-July with a completely new look.

The appreciation of readers has been immediate, with a circulation in the July/August period of 260,000 copies, a 32% increase on the already excellent results of the previous months.

These summer results consolidate and give a new impetus to the positive trend recorded by the title since its initial launch, just over a year and a half ago. A success that the latest ADS figures, for the 12 months May 2009 – April 2010, had already established at 192,646 copies.

There has also been an extremely good response from the advertising market, with revenues up by 49% in July and 72% in August.

“Tu Style is the advertising phenomenon of the year,” declared Angelo Sajeva, chairman and chief executive of Mondadori Pubblicità. “Advertisers have understood the evolution of the title and have particularly approved of the format and the new layout, which is both more modern and, in line with Mondadori’s activities, has an international feel. We immediately noticed a very positive attitude and the results were quick to follow,” underlined Sajeva. “Despite the low season, the revenues of Tu Style have increased considerably, as has the number of clients and the average price of the title. There has been constant growth in all sectors, especially fashion, which has become the main sector even in a title that is not seen as a priority in planning terms. September is also showing an overall increase of around 60%, with fashion and cosmetics reaching 76% of total billings,” concluded Sajeva.

Tu Style has captured women’s attention thanks to an original and revolutionary editorial formula: the large format and completely new layout amplifying the title’s characteristics and giving readers a product with a big impact.

For the editor Marisa Deimichei: “the new Tu Style is increasingly glamorous and exciting. Fashion, beauty and shopping have become more appealing, thanks to an impeccable redesign of the layout and use of photographs, the increase in the number of pages and an even more focused selection of content. Readers are happily captivated by the desire to go out an buy the up to date items shown, even in their super-accessible versions. Just as they are drawn into the world of women that is reflected in Tu Style: stories about celebrities and ordinary women that alternate to give a picture of the many shades and variety of real life,” Deimichei.

Mondadori France launched Grazia in France a year ago, on 29 August 2009: a new up-market title that – in line with the company’s innovation and development strategy – has enriched the French women’s magazine market, and rapidly became a new point of reference.

With Grazia Mondadori France has created a new up-scale women’s weekly that is both different and immediately recognisable..

With the benefit of the international experience of the Mondadori Group and the strength of a brand that is currently present in 16 countries, Grazia made its debut on the French market with an original editorial concept that combines news, celebrities, fashion, beauty and culture.

The excellent results achieved by the title confirm, one year from the launch, the validity of the Grazia identity as a “news fashion magazine”: a formula that is highly appreciated by readers in the 25 to 44 year-old age range who are active, metropolitan, independent, passionate about news, fashion, new technology and with a high level of purchasing power.

Circulation:
Since its launch Grazia France has reached an average weekly circulation of 177,360 copies (OJD/dsh 2009-2010): +11% on the declared target of 160,000 copies.

The web site Grazia.fr:
910,000 unique visitors and 5 million page views (Source: Nielsen, June 2010).

iPhone app:
71,000 downloads since the app was launched in February 2010.

Advertising sales:

A total of 1,600 advertising pages sold for the first 52 issues of the magazine (an average of 30.8 pages per week): +60% on the declared target of 1,000 pages.

Grazia France has won the unanimous approval of advertisers, 63% of the client portfolio made by up-market advertisers. A success that has also resulted in an evolution of the overall composition of the advertising revenues of Mondadori France, 22.4% of which now comes from the up-scale sector (compared with 6.5% in 2009).

Innovation
The strategy of the Group is to reinforce its portfolio of historic mass market titles, including Télé Star, Closer, Science & Vie, Auto Plus, Biba, Nous Deux, Modes & Travaux and Top Santé, thanks to the constant updating of the editorial offer supported by a focused marketing policy.

Significant events in recent months:

– significant growth for the monthly Biba in its sector: with an increase of 5.1% in the first half of the year, raising the title’s circulation to more than 300,000 copies. A success that has resulted in an increase of 44% on the performance over the previous four years. Meanwhile, advertising revenues in the first seven months of the year were up by 30%.

– For the second year in a row the weekly Closer has confirmed its position as the undisputed leader in the people sector: advertising pages were up 10% on 2009, and market share up by 2.8%.

– The new formula for the monthly Modes & Travaux – launched in June – has met with exceptional success, with a 30% increase in circulation compared with the months prior to the re-launch.

– With annual sales of 15 million copies, Nous Deux continues to be very popular with readers, thanks to a strengthening and renewal of the title. Among the most successful initiatives were a series of twelve previously unpublished novels sold along with the weekly, the publication of five special issues and the launch of “Miss Nous Deux” in June. The solidity of the Nous Deux brand is an authentic point of strength for the Group.

– Following the launch of the new formula, the magazine L’Auto-Journal saw circulation grow by 16% in the period January-July 2010.

First half 2010: a comment on the results

In the first six months of the year Mondadori France generated revenues of €1684 million, an increase of 6.6% (on a like-for-like basis, excluding titles no longer in the portfolio and includingGrazia) compared with the first half of 2009, thanks to a good performance in terms of circulation (+5.3% on a like-for-like basis) and, above all, a significant increase in advertising revenues (+21.1%), mainly due to the success of Grazia.

There was also a big improvement in gross operating profit, which came to €16.4 million (+35% on the €12.2 million of the first half of 2009), and equal to 9.7% of total revenues.

With a portfolio of 28 titles, including Télé Star, Closer, Science & Vie, Auto Plus, Biba, Top Santé, Nous Deux and Modes & Travaux Mondadori France is the France’s third largest magazine publisher in terms of circulation.

With total sales of some 200 million copies, Mondadori France publishes three of the top selling consumer magazines in the country: Télé Star, Télé Poche and Pleine Vie.

In the last two years the company has distinguished itself in the “Magazine de l’Année” competition, organised in France by the Syndacat de la Presse Magazine et d’Information (SPMI), winning four prizes in 2010 (including the prizes for “the best new magazine” for Grazia France; “best people magazine” for Closer; “best passion magazine” for Réponses Photo; and “best TV magazine” for Télé Star) and five awards in 2009, including “best magazine of the year”.

With a staff of around 1,000, Mondadori France generated total revenues in 2009 of €343.5 million.

Piemme and Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori have announced the launch of an original editorial concept: Focus Geronimo Stilton, a new monthly for children between the ages of 6 and 10. The magazine, edited by Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, will be on newsstands from Saturday 7 August.

This joint initiative by the two publishing houses aims to combine and valorise the great experience of both in the children’s segment.

“Focus Geronimo Stilton is really something new in the panorama of editorial products for children. And it marks the first time that an international publishing phenomenon and a leading publisher of magazines for younger readers have joined forces,” declared Giacomo Moletto, managing director of Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori. “We are proud to be able to exploit the experience and success of Focus Junior for such an innovative format, full of educational themes and content, that also brings together fun and knowledge,” Moletto concluded.

“We are delighted with this opportunity to work with Focus Junior, which will allow Geronimo Stilton to open up a new channel of communication with his young readers, helping them to develop their imagination and creativity through reading, and facilitating learning and individual growth while having fun,” explained Laura Donnini, managing director of Piemme.

Piemme will contribute its most celebrated personality, the mouse Geronimo Stilton: a truly extraordinary publishing phenomenon which, since 2000, when Piemme published the first books, has become famous not only in Italy but around the world and can now be considered a “classic”, that will both continue to grow and is destined to last well into the future.

Translated into 35 languages, the books have sold more than 20 million copies in Italy alone, and more than 40 million worldwide.

Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori meanwhile will contribute its leadership position in magazines for children. With a circulation of 160,000 copies, Focus Junior is Italy’s top monthly for young readers and is conceived as an educational and entertaining tool that allows kids to “have fun learning”.

THE CONTENT

The content mix of the new monthly is a perfect balance of fun and learning. The character of Geronimo Stilton and his numerous family members accompany readers through pages of games, jokes, cartoons and English, as well as diversions into the worlds of art, history, literature and, of course, science.

The magazine has 64 pages and will sell for €3.50 with, as a gift, the poster of the “Isola dei topi”. The planned print run for the first issue is of 150,000 copies.

Advertising sales for Focus Geronimo Stilton are managed by PRS.

Antonio Pennacchi won the 64th edition of the Premio Strega with the novel Canale Mussolini.

Pennacchi’s book recounts the story of a large, patriarchal, peasant family that together with 3,000 other families in 1932 is relocated to Lazio from Veneto to colonise the Agro Pontino swamps that had just been drained by Mussolini.

The heroes of this moving saga are the Peruzzis, from the grandfather to Pericle to Adelchi, three generations of agricultural labourers who with tenacity fight the march of destiny. Drawing a large picture that has the wide scope of a poem, the story weaves the adventures of the Peruzzis together with the no-less engaging events that took place during the half century of Italian history spanning from the beginning of the 20th Century to the Second World War.

Pennacchi recalls the past with a clear and critical spirit and merges it with subtle emotion to produce a vast and rich story, an authentic epic, a great Italian novel.

Focus Brain Trainer is rolled out with a new look and important new offerings inside.
The Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori monthly dedicated to “gymnastics for the brain” lands on the newsstands with a completely new layout and updated and engaging games (cover price 2.90 euros). The makeover is immediately visible on the cover, which is itself a logic game that puts readers immediately to the test.

“We are proud of the results obtained by the new Focus Brain Trainer”, said deputy editor Mauro Gaffo. “It is the fruit of reflections, experiments and a regular exchange of ideas over the last six months with our readers. The new release has above all more space for images and various news items and curiosities from the world of logic games.”

With the objective of being ever more stimulating for its readers, the new Focus Brain Trainer is divided into four sections that vary continually. There are logic and number-based games as well as those based on words and intuition. The true novelty is the introduction of image-based exercises (sketches, photos, comic strips) that have a strong visual impact. Almost every page of the monthly is accompanied by an aphorism from a famous author that refers to the theme of the game.

A true novelty of the restyling is a new section for online games that enriches the print copy of the magazine. Clicking on www.focus.it (in Brain Trainer) it is possible to have fun playing new games such as “circuito chiuso.”

The success of the new editorial formula of Focus Brain Trainer is consolidated with other editorial initiatives for the summer of 2010. For Sudoku fans, beginning on July 10 Scuola di Sudoku, a special dedicated to the celebrated Japanese game, will be available on newsstands (cover price 5.90 euros). It will have 12 complete lessons and 84 diagrams as part of a new course for all adults whether they be Sudoku neophytes or cunning experts. Together with the magazine, readers will also find the rerelease of n. 1 and n. 2 of Sudoku 10 e lode, the pamphlet with hundreds of diagrams of varying difficulty. To conclude the rich summer offering of Focus Brain Trainer, there will also be in August the release of Super Logik n. 4, the magazine-book dedicated to the best puzzles in the world.