Mondadori – libri per ragazzi is launching the new series “Io dico no” [I say no]: a series of books, each one dedicated to a current issue explained through ten key words by highly qualified authors.

Each chapter presents practical examples, anecdotes, ideas to develop critical thinking. Paths to build awareness, to think about issues together at school and at home, to say no to injustice.

The series opens with two books:

Viviana Mazza – Kibra Sebhat, I say no to racism. 10 words to understand the world

What does it mean to have a privilege, a white skin, when you are not even aware of it? What does it mean for someone when they leave everything behind to try and make a better life elsewhere? What does a young foreigner wanting to acquire Italian citizenship have to deal with?
The authors look for an answer to these and other questions, showing us how the prejudices at the root of racism are much more widespread than we think; but they also take us down a different path, where diversity is seen as an enrichment, co-existence as a necessary objective, anti-racism as the only possible response.

Viviana Mazza is a journalist on the foreign desk of “Il Corriere della Sera”. Her books, published by Mondadori, include Greta. La ragazza che sta cambiando il mondo and Storia di Malala, the first book in Italy to tell young people about Malala Yousafzai.
Kibra Sebhat, born in Rovigo in an Eritrean family, is an Afro-Italian native of Milan. She works in corporate communication, journalism and video productions. She was a member of Rete G2 – Seconde Generazioni, a non-partisan organisation that promotes the rights of the children of immigrants without Italian citizenship. Since 2012, she has been a contributor to “Il Corriere della Sera”.

Alberto Pellai – Barbara Tamborini, Io dico no al bullismo. 10 words to understand the world

There are victims of bullying, bullies, and the many people who witness these acts every day at school, on the sports field, online. How does it feel to be marginalised or mocked because of one’s appearance or diversity? What thoughts and emotions are triggered inside a bully and the person they target? What strategies can be used to protect oneself or others from the threat of bullying?

With strongly empathetic writing that examines even the most difficult emotions, the authors teach us that the first and most important thing to do is ask for help, and that a decisive response to bullying is possible when a group becomes a team.

Alberto Pellai is a physician, developmental psychotherapist and researcher at Milan University. In 2004 the Italian Ministry of Health awarded him a silver medal for merit in public health. Together with Barbara Tamborini, he is the co-author of many parenting and psychology best-sellers.
Barbara Tamborini is a psychopedagogist and writer. She holds educational workshops in schools and training courses for teachers and parents. Together with Alberto Pellai, she is the co-author of a number of parenting and psychology best-sellers.

Triennale Milano & Electa are devoting a long-awaited exhibition to Saul Steinberg (1914-1999), curated by Italo Lupi and Marco Belpoliti in collaboration with Francesca Pellicciari. The exhibition is a tribute that Milan owes to this great artist, who dedicated so many of his sharply intelligent works to the city in which he resided during his formative years.

Grocer’s boy, subtitle reader in the time of silent films, publisher: Arnoldo Mondadori was all of these and much more.

Fifty years after his death, the Fondazione Mondadori, in collaboration with the Mondadori publishing house, has organised a conference which, starting with the figure of the publisher himself, will reflect on the contemporary publishing sector by analysing its structure and characteristics, as well as the changes and challenges it faces today and in the future.

The meeting, which takes place today, Thursday 7 October, will be presented by Luca Formenton, Chairman of the Fondazione Mondadori and publisher of il Saggiatore, who will start bt talking about the main characteristics of Arnoldo Mondadori’s business life, his extraordinary intuition and uncommon ability to always look ahead.

“Semper et ulterius progredi: this is the Latin phrase engraved on the historic Mondadori brand, commissioned by my grandfather Arnoldo. Innovation and an eye on the future were constant features of his approach to the publishing business and it is this spirit that we want to remember today,” declared Luca Formenton, Chairman of Fondazione Mondadori and publisher of il Saggiatore.

In a historical moment in which the world is moving on from what has been the most serious economic and health crisis since the Second World War, the conference offers an opportunity to draw an overview of the various aspects of the publishing market, reflecting on the extraordinary ability of the book industry to evolve to survive, a demonstration of its capacity to “always progress”, thanks to the abilities of publishers and the intrinsic strength of the product.

“Publishing is based on the book as a textual form: beyond constantly changing mdeia and languages, the principal role of the publisher will always be to read, select and publish, no matter in what form,” said Enrico Selva Coddè, Deputy Chairman and CEO Trade of Mondadori Libri.

Following greeting from Antonio Porro, Chief Executive of the Mondadori Group, the conference will proceed with a dialogue with some of the leading figures from Italian and international publishing, presented and moderated by Mario Calabresi.

In presence or through video links, we will hear from Italian and international publishers, managers, writers and protagonists of the main elements of the publishing chain who will reflect on the changes affecting the profession of the publisher, the future for books in a an increasingly digitised world, the new challenges for physical bookshops and e-commerce, the role of social media and the big streaming platforms.

Taking part in the first session of the conference will be: Enrico Selva Coddè, Deputy Chairman and CEO Trade of Mondadori Libri; Núria Cabutí, CEO Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial; Antonio Sellerio, Publisher of Sellerio Morgan Entrekin, President and Publisher of Grove Atlantic Inc. and Eleonora Andreatta, Vice President Italian Language Originals Netflix, sharing a broad spectrum of views and experience.

The afternoon session will feature: Achille Mauri, Chairman of Messaggerie Italiane and Scuola per Librai Umberto e Elisabetta Mauri; Carlo Feltrinelli, CEO of Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore and Chairman of Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli and Librerie Feltrinelli; James Daunt, CEO Barnes&Noble; Stefano Mauri, Chairman and CEO of GeMS; Helena Gustafsson, Chief Content Strategy Officer Storytel; Andrea Gentile, Associate Publisher il Saggiatore and the writer David Grossman.

In su la cima – A documentary
During the day there will also be the first presentation of a documentary film “In su la cima” by the director Chiara Brambilla which tells the story of Arnoldo Mondadori with first-hand accounts on video and images from the archives of his life as a publisher.

To my publisher. Dedications made to Arnoldo Mondadori – Volume II
To coincide with the conference, the volume Al mio editore. Dediche ad Arnoldo Mondadori will be published which is a series of dedications made to Arnoldo Mondadori, and in which the “heroic” biography becomes an opportunity to discuss some of the key moments and figures in the history of the publishing house and its catalogue. The key to this dual story is the dedications and cards by authors, addressed to Arnoldo Mondadori, collected starting on two distinct occasions: the dedications commissioned on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the publishing house, in 1957, bound in an album now preserved in the archive of Mimma Mondadori in the Fondazione Mondadori, and the dedications in the books of Arnoldo’s personal library, now preserved in Ostiglia. The book consists of a selection of these dedications – reproduced and transcribed – accompanied by an introduction that explains the selection criteria and shows the complexities of the relationship between author and publisher. The book was curated by Alberto Cadioli and is the result of close collaboration between the Mondadori publishing house and the Fondazione Mondadori and will be on sale from Monday 11 October.

The conference will be streamed live on the Facebook profile and YouTube channel of the Fondazione Mondadori, and on the LinkedIn page of the Mondadori Group starting at 10.30 today and will be available also on the Facebook page of the Mondadori publishing house.

Rizzoli Education, the Mondadori Group educational publishing house, long engaged in providing educational content and innovative products for learning, is adopting an awareness programme that aims to give schools increasingly inclusive models.

Conscious of the responsibility involved in the production of teaching materials, Rizzoli Education is also promoting a series of concrete actions that place increasing attention on issues such as gender equality, which is also at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Starting from these inspiring principles, the project aims to bring the educational community, both female and male students, their families and teachers closer to the values of gender equality, multiculturalism and inclusion, precisely because plurality of thought is able to offer new opportunities.

Based on these keywords, Rizzoli Education has developed a manifesto, a declaration of values and intentions that was outlined today by Alessandra Porcelli, the editorial director of Rizzoli Education.

“We present a manifesto that is an expression of the values we believe in and the inspiring principles that guide our entire business and that we have matured thanks to our many years of collaboration with Irene Biemmi, a specialist in gender pedagogy at the University of Florence.

As publishers, we constantly deal with such issues, which are of increasing interest, not only in the media and in everyday life, but, in particular, in the world of education and textbooks. Issues on which there is still a long way to go and to which we want to contribute. We do it and we will continue to do so, thanks to the opportunities that we have every day to work alongside with teachers in the development path of new generations. Citizens that we hope will learn to be aware, free from prejudices, and stereotypes of any kind and able to respect and enhance difference,” said Alessandra Porcelli, editorial director of Rizzoli Education.

The manifesto will be presented during a live streaming event organised by Rizzoli Education featuring the participation and testimonies of a range of voices from the worlds of journalism, research, publishing, business, the arts and sport.

They include, the sociolinguist Vera Gheno, the journalist Francesca Mannocchi, the swimmer Federico Morlacchi, the professor of pedagogy Dario Ianes and Francesca Rigolio, Chief Diversity Officer and Head of Human Resources for the Book Division of the Mondadori Group, who underlined:

“Education has always been a fundamental lever for the redistribution of skills and for the best allocation of talent in the labour market and the Rizzoli Education project fully perceive this spirit and interprets its role in a proactive and innovative way,” said Francesca Rigolio, Chief Diversity Officer and Head of Human Resources for the Book Division of the Mondadori Group. “The organisation that a community, and so a company, gives itself has significant consequences on the structure of the opportunities, not only material, that are available to the people who are part of it. By creating a specific Diversity&Inclusion function, the Mondadori Group aims to improve the balance of opportunities offered to its staff, while promoting an inclusive culture against discrimination”, concluded Rigolio.

The event organized by Rizzoli Education will be an opportunity for a reflection and an exchange of the inspiring principles of the publishing house’s project:

Saying no to stereotypes and prejudices.
Valuing people and not their gender. There are no predetermined roles, only female or only male. Women and men are equals in society and in any other context in which they can express their skills and personality.

Looking at plurality and inclusiveness.
Conscious of the changes taking place in society, Rizzoli Education aims to stimulate an inclusive and respectful vision of differences, in line with the principles of fairness and equality, equal opportunities and non-discrimination, adopting an attitude that values differences and reflects a plural and multifaced world.

Language affects reality.
Language and the way we express ourselves are the tools that affect the perception of oneself and others. This is why Rizzoli Education has undertaken to use both verbal and visual language in textbooks that contributes to deconstructing the stereotypes conveyed by language through the research of inclusive and neutral solutions and that do not express prejudice.

Helping to reconfigure the imagination of younger generations.
This commitment is aimed at proposing non-sexist female and male representations and avoiding other forms of prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination, providing more open, aware and free models for both female and male students. The hope of Rizzoli Education is that younger generations, to whose education the company’s books contribute, will be able to expand the possibilities of building their own identity and planning their future, in both educational and professional contexts, as well as in their life choices.

These are the inspiring principles that Rizzoli Education carries out in its daily activity as a publisher of books for schools, making use of the scientific advice of experts on issues of gender and plurality.

Through its collaboration with Erickson, Rizzoli Education has also implemented a series of guidelines focused in particular on issues of gender equality developed by Irene Biemmi.

These indications have resulted in a handbook that has been shared with all the people involved in the creation of textbooks: authors, illustrators, picture researchers, and editors. The overall focus is on a balanced representation of genders, i.e. the protagonists and authors, with a specific focus on textual and visual language through inclusive solutions which leave no space for stereotyped or conventional visions in textbooks.

This project is the result of Rizzoli Education’s many years of experience, both in the development of guidelines on gender equality issues and on content supervision aimed at ensuring compliance with the publishing house’s inspiring principles.

In fact, in 2018 Rizzoli Education, again in collaboration with Erickson and Irene Biemmi, launched the Obiettivo Parità (Objective: parity) project for primary schools: a programme specifically monitored and overseen by Irene Biemmi for the selection of anthological content, language, illustrations and of gender balance in entire works in general.

Five years after the launch of Obiettivo Parità, Rizzoli Education has decided to extend its attention to the principles of gender equality to all of its production, broadening the spectrum of values with a more general reference also to plurality, as featured in the manifesto.

The full presentation of the Rizzoli Education manifesto will be available in live streaming today on the Rizzoli Education YouTube channel https://rizzoli.page.link/41021 today from 4:30 pm.

The Rizzoli Education illustrated manifesto for gender equality and plurality has been realized by Nicolò Canova.

Fifty years after the death of Arnoldo Mondadori, the Fondazione Arnoldo e Alberto Mondadori, in collaboration with our publishing house, is organising a conference on the present and future of publishing, taking the figure of the publisher as its starting point. A day to reflect on today’s publishing business, with an analysis of structure and characteristics, and on the changes and challenges to be met in the coming years.

Participants at the event, coordinated by journalist Mario Calabresi, will include some of the leading names in Italian and international publishing, who will attend in person or through video contributions.
During the morning, the conference will be addressed by Luca Formenton, Enrico Selva Coddè, Nùria Cabutí, Antonio Sellerio, Morgan Entrekin and Eleonora Andreatta. The speakers at the afternoon session will be Achille Mauri, Carlo Feltrinelli, James Daunt, Stefano Mauri, Helena Gustafsson, Andrea Gentile and David Grossman.

The conference will be held on Thursday 7 October starting at 10:30 am and will be visible to everyone in live streaming on the YouTube channel and the Facebook page of Fondazione Mondadori, as well as on the LinkedIn page of the Mondadori Group (divided into the first half and the second half, at 2:30 pm).

Sperling & Kupfer  has conceived this new fiction series that explores a territory where the macabre and eerie, horror and gothic and supernatural and fantastic suspense converge. Authored by Italian and foreign writers.

As Stephen King – the absolute master of terror for over forty years – says in Danse Macabre: «Stranger makes us nervous… but we love to try on his face in secret»;. What is alien and dark scares us, but we are inevitably drawn to it. Because it speaks to the least acceptable part of our being that we don’t want to admit exists. Because it embodies our personal and collective fears. Because looking him in the face – or reading about him – is the only way to exorcise him. And here lies the allure of the terror narrative: the power to create demons and then destroy them.

There will be contemporary, still unpublished stories, but also modern classics to be rediscovered, introduced by well-known Italian writers or critics. To enrich the book offering, covers will be designed by highly influential illustrators and cartoonists whose task will be to give visual form to
what’s eerie and scary.

And, as a tribute to the Master, we could only call it Macabre.

Nel buio della casa by Fiore Manni and Michele Monteleone: release date 12 October

A new Italian horror novel, an under-represented genre in Italy, co-authored. Set over two time planes, the novel is a horror story, underpinned by a strong love and family narrative.

Fiore Manni is the author of several novels for children (Rizzoli). Michele Monteleone is a well-known comic book writer. Both authors are passionate about horror stories

The last house on needless street (original title) by Catriona Ward.

Listed by the Guardian (and not only) among the most anticipated books of 2021. It debuted (in March) in fourth place on the Times ranking, and first in ebooks. Sold, for now, in 20 countries.

Chasing the boogeyman (original title) by Richard Chizmar.

It will be released in a month’s time in the US. Chizmar (publisher of the Cemetery Dance and editor of the magazine of the same name, specialising in particular in the horror genre) has penned a solo novel, not co-written with his friend, Stephen King, as his previous fiction.

In October 2021 an initiative for young people will get under way in Mantua: a School of writing and publishing entitled Il libro dalla A alla Z (“The Book from A to Z”), promoted by the City of Mantua (Office for Culture and Tourism and Councillorship for Education, in partnership with Teresiana Library), conceived and implemented by publisher Electa in partnership with Fondazione Arnoldo e Alberto Mondadori, to mark the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Arnoldo Mondadori’s death.

With the goal of fuelling the love of reading and writing among the young people of generation Z, as part of the schools’ Life Skills and Orientation programme (PCTO or Percorsi per le Competenze Trasversali e per l’Orientamento), the project involves one year of training with lessons guiding and directing students toward various careers in publishing. Twenty lessons for 110 students in Mantua’s secondary schools will be held over 9 months (October 2021 through June 2022) at the Teresiana Library, presented by well-known professionals in the field such as Edoardo Brugnatelli, Lucia Tilde Ingrosso and Michela Tilli.

Before the school programme begins, two special lessons will be held, open to the general public, in Atrio degli Arcieri at the Palazzo Ducale on September 8 and 9, during Festivaletteratura: philosopher Ilaria Gaspari and sociolinguist Vera Gheno will invite the kids and everyone in the audience to “catch their wishes by the tail”, to paraphrase Picasso. A call for free exploration and expression of oneself and one’s thoughts, through the power of language.

In June 2022 the kids’ studies throughout the school year, from the city’s deepest historical and artistic roots to major issues of our times, will come together in the creation of a new Sentimental Guide to Mantua, featuring text, photographs and cover art by participants in the programme.

Mantua, a city with a great literary tradition, is also the place of origin of Arnoldo Mondadori (1889 – 1971), who passed away fifty years ago this year. The initiative also offers an opportunity to discuss and celebrate Mondadori’s publishing career: from his success in school textbooks to his experimentation with new editorial genres and formats. The heritage he left behind for the city will also be celebrated, such as the modern art collection featuring the paintings of Federico Zandomeneghi and Armando Spadini donated by the Mondadori family in the ‘70s and permanently displayed at the top floor of Palazzo Te since 1983.

Information on the events

An atlas of desires with Ilaria Gaspari

Wednesday, September 8, at 11:30 Mantua,
Mantua, Palazzo Ducale, Atrio degli Arcieri

Living comfortably in language: considerations about a universal right with Vera Gheno
Thursday, September 9, at 11:30
Mantua, Palazzo Ducale, Atrio degli Arcieri

Free admission, reservations required

Starting on October 12, a new book will be available in Italy, and all over the world, entitled The Beatles: Get Back, published by Italian publisher Mondadori. 240 pages telling the story behind the recording of the album Let it be, with hundreds of previously unpublished images and transcriptions of almost 120 hours of the band’s studio recording sessions.

The Beatles: Get Back is a special addition to the documentary of the same name, in three parts, directed and produced by Peter Jackson, who also wrote the introduction to the book. The series will air exclusively on Disney+ on November 25, 26 and 27, 2021.

The book takes readers back in time to January 1969, the band’s last year together. Readers of the new volume enjoy the privilege of participating in the Beatles’ first practices, their mistakes, their boredom and excitement, and in the improvisations that led to the creation of the album Let It Be.

The Beatles: Get Back is the definitive book about the band, documenting these historic sessions. It reports their conversations, transcribed by John Harris, accompanied by never- before published photographs taken by two people who had privileged access to their get-togethers: Ethan A. Russell and Linda Eastman, the future wife of Paul McCartney.

In the same way, Peter Jackson’s documentary tells the story of the recording sessions with 55 hours of original video recordings and 120 hours of audio recordings, most of which have never been heard before. A number of frames in high resolution, stills from the same restored film clips, are featured in the book.

On October 15 Universal Music will be releasing new special editions of “Let It Be”, the Beatles album that came out on May 8 1970, in digital form and in five physical formats on CD and vinyl, including a Super Deluxe version with a 105-page book.

The Beatles: Get Back, in bookstores starting on October 12 (Mondadori, 39 euro, 240 pages), may be pre-ordered at the link below:
https://www.librimondadori.it/libri/the-beatles-get-back-the-beatles/

In 1991, Italy put the spotlight on the need to respect and look after children when it signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Thirty years later, from 18 May, the volume Dalla parte dei bambini – Il libro sui diritti dell’infanzia e dell’adolescenza, published by Edizioni Piemme-Il Battello a Vapore, in collaboration with UNICEF Italia and the ICWA (the Italian association of children’s writers), is in the bookstores: an illustrated book of twenty stories by well-known Italian children’s writers, inspired by the articles of the Convention.

“For us, the best way to make people aware of the rights laid out in the UN Convention is to write stories, in contemporary settings or a more evocative dimension, about children who are still denied these rights, even in developed western countries like Italy,” observes writer and ICWA President Fulvia Degl’Innocenti in the introduction to the book. “In every story there is hope, because growing numbers of organisations and bodies are fighting to ensure these rights are fully enforced.

UNICEF is the symbol of this, and its collaboration with the ICWA at various levels including this book is a powerful reflection of synergy and shared attention to childhood.” “Il Battello a Vapore has always devoted special attention to issues of fundamental importance for children’s development and education, and taken great care in how they are narrated,” explains Lorenzo Garavaldi, General Manager of the Mondadori Libri Children’s Business Unit.“Dalla parte dei bambini is a special project for us, not only because we have the honour of working together with the ICWA and UNICEF, but also because it gives us the opportunity to tell children about self-respect and respect for others. We are never too young (or too old) to learn to live in a better world and we could not have thought of a better way of celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the Convention than by portraying it through words and pictures.”
“On 27 May we shall be celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Italy’s ratification of the Convention, which sets out the rights of every human being from their birth and recognises children not just as minors under the protection of adults, but as people with civil, social, cultural, political and economic rights,” says Carmela Pace, President of UNICEF Italia. “We want to thank the Piemme publishing house, the Italian association of children’s writers and, above all, the authors, who have contributed to this collection of stories, generously giving their time, creativity and skills to ensure that every child who reads this book will be able to identify with it, to find out something about themselves, to look at the world with new eyes and to develop an awareness of their rights.”
Dalla parte dei bambini (pages: 256; price: € 13.00) is a vital tool to learn about people’s rights, foster discussion and develop the awareness that every child should be listened to. The right to a name, to be listened to, to a family, to freedom of expression, thought and religion: every child is born with rights that adults must know, respect and promote. The stories of Omar who is adopted by the family of young Francesco; of Lisa, deaf from birth, who nevertheless manages to communicate with Tommaso; of Min Min, who receives a tin containing all the words she doesn’t know; of Marta who decides to stand up to the bullies to protect her classmate Milan, and many others help us to listen, to understand and to be aware of our rights.

The authors who took part in the project are all members of the ICWA. They are: Fabrizio Altieri, Cristina Bartoli, Stefano Bordiglioni, Patrizia Ceccarelli, Carolina D’Angelo, Emanuela Da Ros, Vichi De Marchi, Fulvia Degl’Innocenti, Giuliana Facchini, Chiara Lossani, Alberto Melis, Roberto Morgese, Daniela Palumbo, Angelo Petrosino, Livia Rocchi, Isabella Salmoirago, Manuela Salvi, Anna Sarfatti, Chiara Valentina Segré, Valentina Torchia. The illustrations are by Silvia Crocicchi.

Podcast d’altro genere is an audio project developed by our Rizzoli publishing house to encourage people to think about the roles of characters in well-known fairy tales.

The podcast is based on the book Gender Swapped Fairy Tales by Karrie Fransman and Jonathan Plackett, where the characters in traditional stories swap gender. This is a world where evil stepfathers cast spells on newborn princes, the bad wolf is a she-wolf and princesses overcome one challenge after another to go and rescue sleeping princes.

These may appear to be minor, inconsequential changes, but in fact they are significant, and provided the idea for Podcast d’altro genere.

In a four-part series examining oral tradition, re-workings and famous adaptations, Matteo Bordone and Carlo G. Gabardini – with contributions from Giulia Blasi, Gabriella Crafa, Vera Gheno, Elena Giorgi, Eva Massari and Lisa Dalla Via – examine the significance of gender roles in fairy tales and their importance in children’s development as future citizens. How does a story change and what changes in us when a gender-swapping mechanism of the sort used by Fransman and Plackett is applied?

Podcast d’altro genere is a literary exercise giving everyone the opportunity to talk about gender stereotypes and related issues. A central question in people’s lives today, examined from an unusual point of view.

The podcast can be downloaded free from all music streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple podcast, Spreaker, Deezer and Amazon Music.

5 July 2021