Books

The Mondadori Group announces that, through Mondadori Libri S.p.A., it has entered a start-up to develop the webnovel market in Europe.

The initiative, which involves an initial investment of € 1.5 million in 2024, and an additional € 1.5 million planned for 2025, stems from an agreement with Bookrepublic, an industrial partner with specific know-how and capable of supporting future operational growth. The company led by Marco Ferrario has been at the forefront of digital publishing in Italy for more than 10 years and has always been attentive to new literary trends.

The deal will come to fruition with the launch by the end of the year of a dedicated proprietary app – to be called Narae. Developed by an in-house team, initially with content in Italian and French, it will gradually expand its reach to encompass other European countries.

Designed to be read on a smartphone screen, webnovels are a form of serialised fiction of a highly innovative nature which, having started with great success in South Korea, has gained growing popularity and a solid fanbase in Japan and China as well. Content takes the form of series – primarily in the romance, fantasy, and crime genres – and is designed to originate and be enjoyed in other formats as well. Webnovels consist of a large number of short episodes, often more than a hundred, and, if successful, they can extend indefinitely.

After a recent launch in the United States and a successful debut in France, webnovels are now ready to conquer Europe, particularly following the global spread of Korean entertainment content in music, film, and comics.

«This investment reaffirms our Group’s willingness to look at what is most innovativein the international publishing environment. As it evolves, the world of webnovels is demonstrating creativity and the ability to feed other media as well, such as cinema, television series, and in many cases even book publishing itself» says Enrico Selva Coddè, CEO of Mondadori Libri.

«Webnovels are a very interesting and avant-garde model of digital publishing: they could be defined as the digital reinterpretation of serialised novels published in newspapers in the 1800s – says Marco Ferrario, CEO of Bookrepublic; and it is not surprising for it now to originate in an Asian country. The content is created specifically to be read on a mobile, borrowing techniques used in the production of video series and providing ways of accessing content that are inspired by gaming. Our challenge will be to find the route into Europe with this model», concludes Ferrario.

Bookrepublic was founded in 2010 by Marco Ferrario together with financial partners Gianluca Andena and Guido Paolo Gamucci (both former Permira partners), Marco Pittini and Guido Carissimo and has always been one of the leading players in the distribution and sale of ebooks and audiobooks in Italy. Over time, Bookrepublic has played a leading role in many digital publishing initiatives, including the organisation of IfBookThen, one of the most successful events in Europe on digital innovation in publishing, and the launch of digital-only brands such as 40K and emma books. In March 2024, the German group Bookwire, European leader in digital distribution, chose Bookrepublic as its Italian partner for its entry into this market.

Milan, the city where Gabriele Basilico (August 1944 – February 2013) was born and lived, celebrates the 10th anniversary of the photographer’s death with “Gabriele Basilico. My Cities”, an extensive exhibition divided across two venues: Palazzo Reale and Triennale Milano. The exhibition is open to the public from 13 October 2023 until 7 January 2024 and is the first major tribute that the city of Milan is dedicating to Gabriele Basilico, his work and his cosmopolitan point of view, which let him capture the soul of every city.

The exhibition consists of more than 500 works, starting in Milan, at the Triennale, before arriving at the World, at the Palazzo Reale.

“Gabriele Basilico. My Cities” is promoted by the Comune di Milano-Cultura, Palazzo Reale and Triennale Milano, together with our publishing house Electa. The exhibition was made possible with the research partnership of the Gabriele Basilico Archive.

At the Palazzo Reale, the exhibition has been organised by Giovanna Calvenzi and Filippo Maggia and features a selection of Basilico’s works realised for major international clients. At the Triennale, a large selection of images of Milan and its suburbs, curated by Giovanna Calvenzi and Matteo Balduzzi, is on display.

The exhibition at the Palazzo Reale

Around 200 works selected from the Basilico Archive, which contains the artist’s most important works from international events throughout his career, are on display at the Palazzo Reale.

In the Lucernario, “Sezioni del paesaggio italiano (Sections of the Italian Landscape)” is exposed. It is a seminal study on the transformation of the national landscape created for Venice’s 6th Biennale Architettura in 1996, in collaboration with Stefano Boeri (96 prints, 30×40 cm). The study involves six sections of the country, from North to South Italy, corresponding to about 50 km each, linking a well-established urban area to a densely populated suburban area.

On display in the Sala delle Cariatidi are 100 photographs of more than 40 cities taken for prestigious international commissions, including Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Moscow, London, Paris, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Boston, Liverpool, Rome, Berlin, Lisbon, Valencia, Jerusalem, Beirut, Amman, Monte Carlo, Hong Kong and others.

As part of the celebrations for the centenary of Italo Calvino’s birth, our publishing house Electa is presenting two exhibitions dedicated to the great writer, one in Rome and one in Genoa.

The Roman exhibition entitled “Favoloso Calvino. Il mondo come opera d’arte. Carpaccio, de Chirico, Gnoli, Melotti e gli altri” will open Oct. 13 at the Scuderie del Quirinale and will remain open to the public until Feb. 4, 2024. The exhibition, curated by Mario Barenghi in collaboration with Electa, thoroughly explores Calvino’s connection with the arts through more than 400 works including paintings, sculptures, drawings and first editions of the writer’s books. The exhibition, which began as a “visual” project, will enable not only Calvino lovers, but also new readers, to learn more about the life and literary production of one of the leading figures of twentieth-century literature.

Parallel to the exhibition in Rome, from October 15 2023, to April 7 2024, the exhibition project “Calvino cantafavole” curated by Eloisa Morra and Luca Scarlini opens at Palazzo Ducale in Genoa, in the spaces of the Loggia degli Abati. The Genoese exhibition organized by Electa, in collaboration with the Scuderie del Quirinale, Teatro della Tosse and Lele Luzzati Foundation, is divided into six sections to give visitors a chance to explore Calvino’s relationship with the world of fairy tales in greater depth.

The exhibitions, part of the program for the centennial celebration of Calvin’s birth, will be accompanied by the publication of related catalogues:

In addition to the catalogues, Electa has also planned other publishing activities dedicated to Italo Calvino: a new edition of Idem by Giulio Paolini, a valuable and now unobtainable work; the volume Calvino A-Z, edited by Marco Belpoliti, for the Enciclopedie series; Il dubbio e il desiderio, a new title in the Oilà series edited by Silvia Bencivelli and dedicated to Eva Mameli Calvino, the writer’s mother.

This year, 15 October marks the centenary of the birth of Italo Calvino, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, and the Mondadori Group wants to pay tribute to his life and literary output with a rich program of events.

New editions in bookstores

Events for this anniversary include new editions of Italo Calvino’s works. The author’s books are now available in bookstores with a new layout designed with illustrations by Jack Smyth, a young British illustrator.

After the success of Cucina verde (2021) and Cucina a colori (2022), Mondadori Store is launching a new exclusive initiative made in collaboration with Mondadori Electa: Mari e monti in cucina, a journey through the regions of Italy to rediscover the tastiest and most traditional recipes that support sustainability by using local ingredients and local producers.

The cookbook, available from 2 October, and only in Mondadori Stores, contains 180 dishes, divided by their region of origin, where raw materials play a central role. From mountain cuisine, with its rich, spicy and warm dishes, to the fresh and fragrant dishes of the sea, passing through the lakes, which are often forgotten but which offer endless culinary insights, and the golden-brown countryside, with healthy and authentic dishes, in this book you will embark on a journey through the Italian regions to rediscover the tastiest and most traditional recipes, and delve into some of the aspects that make Italy a true standard for beauty in the world.

The book will be available from 2 October for only €2.90 when purchasing 2 additional books of your choice in participating Mondadori Stores and at mondadoristore.it.

Press office references
Mondadori Electa
Daniela Giustacchini: daniela.giustacchini@mondadori.it / +39 328-2227726
Mondadori Store
pressoffice@mondadori.it – 02 75423159

With an unprecedented live stream on Lucca Comics & Games‘ Instagram profile today from the headquarters on Corso Garibaldi, the community event and the Star Comics publishing house jointly announced the participation of an exceptional guest: mangaka Hiro Mashima will be in Italy for the first time, in Lucca, from 1 to 4 November, to meet fans during a series of appointments and signings.

The publisher unveiled a host of new publications ahead of the Master’s visit to Italy.

Rave – The Groove Adventure, Mashima’s debut manga published by Star Comics starting in April 2004, will be available in a new edition, with the first issue also distributed in a limited-run variant-cover edition. Variant covers are also planned for the first volumes of Hiro Mashima’s most famous series, Fairy Tail, and his latest work, Edens Zero. Star Comics will also offer an Edens Zero Starter Pack containing volumes 1 through 4, perfect for newcomers to this compelling sci-fi epic. Last but not least, Star Comics will publish the self-contained volume Mashima Hero’s, a crackling crossover that unites the best loved characters from his three main series – Rave, Fairy Tail and Edens Zero – in a single adventure.

A look at the career of sensei Hiro Mashima

Born in Nagano Prefecture on 3 May 1977, in 1998 Hiro Mashima won the 60th edition of the prize for first-time authors of Weekly Shonen Magazine, the historic and prestigious magazine of the publisher Kodansha, with Magician. He then made his debut in FRESH Magazine with the self-contained short story Bad Boys Song. At age 21 he embarked on his first serialization with Rave – The Groove Adventure, published in Weekly Shonen Magazine from 1998 to 2005. The serial took Mashima into the big time: Rave became a huge success, inspiring an anime, video games and merchandise, and raising the author’s notoriety and reputation.

Mashima achieved the ultimate consecration with his second serialization, Fairy Tail, also produced for Weekly Shonen Magazine from 2006 to 2017. Fairy Tail became one of the magazine’s all-time best-sellers and one of the most iconic manga of the 2000s, surpassing total worldwide sales of 72 million. During this period the author completed his evolutionary path, establishing a highly distinctive soft pop graphic style with an immediate impact. He is currently at work on the sci-fi battle-action Edens Zero, which began in 2018 and is now in its 26th volume. Successful anime and a variety of transmedia products have been derived from all his major works.

Hiro Mashima is also active in video game design and has produced a manga miniseries based on the hugely popular Monster Hunter franchise, Monster Hunter Orage. Recently the publisher Kodansha announced that the Master would soon begin his fourth serialization, simultaneously with Edens Zero: Dead Rock, for Monthly Shonen Magazine.

Fairy Tail was named best shonen manga at the 2009 Kodansha Manga Awards. Mashima also received the International Spotlight Award at the 2017 Harvey Awards, and the Fauve Special Award at the 2018 Angoulême Festival, where an exhibition and numerous events were dedicated to him. In July 2021, he met French President Emmanuel Macron during the latter’s visit to Japan, with Macron posting news about the meeting on his social media.

As of mid-September 2023, Marilena Rossi will take on the role of Head of Italian Fiction at Mondadori, reporting directly to Francesco Anzelmo, General Manager of the publishing house.

«It is an honour to pick up the baton as head of Italian Fiction. I am grateful to those who preceded me and to Mondadori’s management, especially Francesco Anzelmo, for their trust. Together with our team of brilliant and highly experienced professionals, we will continue to provide readers with as varied an offering as possible. The privilege of working in a large publishing house with a multi-variegated catalogue is the possibility of pursuing a wide-ranging cultural project. We will cultivate the literary dimension, through the work of established writers and the constant search for new voices, and pay great attention to genre and popular fiction, in its various forms. From comedies – so successful in Italian cinema, but still full of potential in novel form – to thrillers, historical novels, family sagas and the great Mondadori tradition of crime fiction. As passionate and insightful readers, we will also try to intercept new trends and discern the as yet unexpressed desires of readers.»

Marilena Rossi was born in Milan in 1977 and has two daughters. After graduating in modern literature from the University of Milan, between 2004 and 2008 she continued her studies in the academic environment and collaborated with various literary journals.

In 2008 she joined Mondadori as a desk editor and editor-in-chief under Antonio Franchini; later she worked with Carlo Carabba and Giovanni Francesio – who preceded her in the role of head of Italian fiction – and became the point of reference for many of the publishing house’s most important and representative authors.

In 2015, Rossi became an acquiring editor and, in addition to working with authors in the Mondadori portfolio, built a successful track record in discovering and acquiring new voices, many of whom are now established authors.

She has been running a writing workshop at the Belleville School in Milan since 2019.

 

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Photo by Claudio Sforza

As of September 1, 2023 Federica Magro will assume the position of Editorial Director of Rizzoli, responding directly to Massimo Turchetta, General Manager and Publisher of the publishing house.

«I am grateful for the trust of those who appointed me to this position in the senior management of the Mondadori Group, and to Massimo Turchetta in particular. I consider myself fortunate because I know that I will be working with a team of professionals whom I hold in high esteem. Rizzoli is a great publishing house with a strong tradition of confronting the key issues of its time. We publish books in every sphere of publishing – from fiction to non-fiction, from classics to graphic novels – and have never been afraid to give space to the ideas and experiences of different worlds, faiths, and political orientations. We think we can gain new readers only if we maintain an open-minded approach to the complexities and contradictions of the present. This is my ambition: to keep Rizzoli at the centre of the debate, offering readers the tools and stories they need to interpret our times.»

Originally from Friuli, 54 years old, with two daughters, after graduating in Literature from the University of Milan and earning a doctorate from La Sapienza in Rome in Romance Philology, Federica Magro began working in the world of books, as a translator and reader for publishing houses, literary agencies, and newspapers, an activity with which she combined university research until 2001, when she joined the Mondadori Group as digital content manager for Mondadori Retail.

In 2006, she was called to work at the Oscars.

She joined the RCS Group in 2012 as editorial manager of BUR, where she combined management of a catalogue of over 4000 titles with creation of new original paperback series and scouting of non-fiction authors (including Daniele Novara and Stefania Andreoli, among others).

In 2016, she added to her frontlist responsibilities with BUR: historical novels for Fabbri and YA fiction for Rizzoli, the latter a veritable hotbed of new and established authors (such as Christopher Paolini, John Green, and Stephanie Garber, recently joined by British writer Holly Jackson, with her “Good Girls” trilogy on the charts for over a year).

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Martina Donati will join the Mondadori Group on September 1, 2023, as part of the team led by Stefano Peccatori, CEO of Sperling & Kupfer, Piemme, Frassinelli, Mondadori Electa, Rizzoli Illustrati, and President & CEO of Rizzoli International Publications New York. Donati will serve as Editorial Director of Italian and international fiction for Sperling & Kupfer, Piemme, Frassinelli and the Pickwick paperback brand.

«I am honoured and happy with this assignment because of the welcome and trust I have received from Mondadori Group management, and particularly Stefano Peccatori. The goal is undoubtedly to make the most of the formidable authors the various brands already have in their catalogue, and to seek out and acquire new talents. The new generation of readers is formed of a target audience of young and very young people, and the publisher is doing its best to intercept them. These are readers who have put books and reading back in the forefront of discussion, thanks to social media. Our task is to continue responding to their tastes and giving them more and more opportunities to explore the stimulating world of quality writing. We will devote our editorial offerings to them, in various areas of fiction, ranging from genre fiction to more literary fiction, particularly through the Frassinelli brand.»

Born in Florence in 1967, Donati holds a law degree from La Sapienza University in Rome and has worked in the world of publishing for more than twenty-five years. After serving as head of the press office and communications for a number of brands, including Fanucci, Arcana and Fazi Editore, where she handled such international successes as Melissa P and Twilight, she has now embraced the profession of editor.

She was Editorial Manager for Giunti, where she founded the YA and adult fiction department and published authors like Simona Sparaco, Sara Rattaro, and Lucinda Riley.

As Editorial Manager at Newton Compton, she has recently worked on scouting and launching Italian and foreign authors such as Angela Marsons, Robert Bryndza, and Elena Armas, and in conceiving the best-selling Medici series written by Matteo Strukul. She has also been involved in non-fiction and miscellaneous publications, taking a gamble on Mark Manson, author of the highly successful “The subtle art…”

In 2017 she introduced Felicia Kingsley, a very Italian writer who has now become one of the most successful authors on the Italian publishing scene.

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This June, our brands take part in the festivities of Pride month, a time of the year dedicated to celebrating the diversity, inclusion and rights of the LGBTQIA+ communities.

Pride month is an occasion to foster values such as respect, equality and tolerance towards each individual, regardless of their gender, identity or sexual preferences.

For pride month, we recommend a series of publications on LGBTQIA+ topics published by our publishing houses. We believe in the power of books as a tool used to convey inclusiveness through stories speaking of all shades of love.

Mondadori and Star Comics created a special Pride month page on their respective websites to demonstrate their commitment towards inclusion and diversity. In fact, the same will contain various book suggestions for its readers. And there’s something for everyone: from comics to novels or autobiographies to memoirs.

Thanks to this initiative, people can access a vast range of editorial offers depicting heartfelt and open-minded stories full of brave characters.

Our publishing houses also suggest other reading suggestions:

The Wom also created a special section on its website. The Wom in fact addresses its community through such area by sharing content developed to give space to the LGBTQIA+ communities and clarify the most controversial issues to spread awareness and inclusion.

 

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