Mondadori

Mondadori announces the publication of “Hope”, the autobiography of Pope Francis

From January, in more than 80 countries and simultaneously in principal languages

the first autobiography in history to be written by a pope

Its title is “HOPE”, the autobiography of Pope Francis, the first in history to be written by a pope, and it will appear simultaneously worldwide in principal languages and in over 80 countries next January. The announcement of the event took place today at the Frankfurt Book Fair by Mondadori, which manages world rights.

“The book of my life is the story of a journey of hope, a journey that I cannot separate from the journey of my family, of my people, of all God’s people. In every page, in every passage, it is also the book of those who have traveled with me, of those who came before, of those who will follow,” comments Pope Francis in the note that announces the publication of the book. “An autobiography is not our own private story, but rather the baggage we carry with us. And memory is not just what we recall, but what surrounds us. It doesn’t speak only about what has been, but about what will be. It seems like yesterday, and yet it’s tomorrow. All is born to blossom in an eternal springtime. In the end, we will say only: I don’t recall anything in which You are not there.”

With a wealth of revelations and unpublished stories, moving and very human, poignant and dramatic, but also capable of real humor, Francis’s memoir starts off in the early years of the twentieth century with the story of his Italian roots and his ancestors’ adventure of emigration to Latin America, moving on to his childhood, adolescence, choice of vocation, adult life, covering the whole of his papacy up to the present day. A text of great narrative force in which the Pope through his autobiographical account addresses candidly, courageously and prophetically some of the most important and controversial questions of our current times, as well as the crucial moments of his service as universal pastor of the Church.

Written with Carlo Musso, former non-fiction editorial director of Piemme and Sperling & Kupfer, and then founder of the independent publisher Libreria Pienogiorno, in accordance with the wishes of Pope Francis this exceptional document was originally intended to be published after his death, but the new Jubilee of Hope announced for 2025, and the needs of our times, have moved him to make this precious legacy available now. “It has been a long, intense adventure that has taken up the past six years: work on writing it began in March 2019 and will be completed in the forthcoming weeks,” Musso comments.

The book, destined to fascinate readers throughout the world and to represent a legacy of hope for future generations, is enhanced by some remarkable photographs, including private and unpublished material made personally available by the Pope himself.

These are the publishers now involved in the publication: Italy Mondadori, USA Random House, UK Viking, Canada Penguin Random House, France Albin Michel, Germany Penguin Random House / Kösel-Verlag, Spain Penguin Random House, Portugal Penguin Random House, Brazil Companhia das letras, Croatia Znanje, Slovakia Ikar, Hungary Kossuth Kiado, Romania Polirom, Greece Gutenberg Dardanos, Korea Catholic Publishing House, Catalonia Penguin Random House / Rosa del vents, Poland Swiat Ksiazki, Lithuania Lithuanian Writers Union, Czechia Euromedia.

 

Knopf announces the publication of Alexei Navalny’s memoir “Patriot”

The book will be released worldwide on 22 October 2024. It will be published in Italy by Mondadori

Knopf publishing house has announced the publication of Alexei Navalny’s memoir, Patriot. The book will be released on 22 October and published in Italy by Mondadori.

Navalny started writing Patriot in 2020, shortly after he was poisoned. The book tells the whole story of his life: his youth, the time he felt the need to devote himself to activism, his marriage and family, his commitment to democracy, and freedom in Russia, which saw him stand up to a world superpower determined to silence him. Navalny was convinced that change could not be resisted, that change will come eventually, and these pages clearly express his message.

With a wealth of gripping details, including unpublished letters from prison, Navalny recounts his political career, the various attempts on his life and the lives of those closest to him, as well as the relentless campaign he and his team waged against an increasingly dictatorial regime.

Navalny’s widow, Julija Navalnaya, comments, «This book is a testimony not only to Alexei’s life, but also to his unwavering commitment to the fight against dictatorship, a fight for which he sacrificed everything, including his life. In these pages, readers will come to know the man I loved deeply, a man of absolute integrity and courage. Telling his life story is a way of honouring his memory and inspiring others to fight for what is right and to never lose sight of the values that really matter».

Written with the passion, acumen, candour and courage for which Navalny was rightly acclaimed, Patriot is his last letter to the world, a touching account of the last years he spent in the world’s most brutal prison, a reminder of why the principles of individual freedom are inalienable, a pressing exhortation to continue the work for which he gave his life.

The book is being published worldwide and will be released in hardback, e-book and audio book editions. The global release date is 22 October 2024. In the US, the first print run is 500,000 copies.

Marilena Rossi new head of Italian fiction at Mondadori

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

Mondadori releases the Italian version of Salman Rushdie’s latest novel

After the violent attack suffered in New York last August, Salman Rushdie makes a come back with a powerful story structured like the translation of an ancient epic, following the great Indian narrative poems, such as the Ramayana.

Salman Rushdie, one of the most important advocates of contemporary international culture, returns to bookstores with a new novel published by Mondadori: Victory City. The story speaks of the creation and development of Bisnaga (literally “Victory City” in 14th century India) by the will of the Goddess Pampa Kampana, who revealed herself to a young orphan bearing her name; but, above all, the story emphasises the most important goal: that of ensuring equal power to women in a patriarchal world.

Synopsis

In 14th century India, following a bloody battle between two long-forgotten kingdoms, a nine-year-old girl makes a divine encounter bound to change the course of history.

The very young Pampa Kampana, overwhelmed with pain since her mother’s death, becomes a medium for her homonymous Goddess, who not only begins speaking through her, but who also grants her huge powers, thus revealing her role will be determinant for the birth of a great city called Bisnaga (literally “Victory City”).

Over the following 250 years, Pampa Kampana’s life is deeply intertwined with that of Bisnaga: from its creation, which was made possible thanks to a bag of magical seeds, to its tragic destruction, which was caused by the arrogance of the powerful. The story, whispered through the words our heroine, gradually gives life to Bisnaga and its citizens in the attempt to fulfil the task entrusted to her by the Goddess: ensuring equal power to women in a patriarchal world. However, all stories have a way of becoming independent from their creator, and Bisnaga is no exception. Over the years, following a succession of rulers, battles won and others lost, the fabric of Bisnaga continues to assume an increasingly more complex pattern, at the centre of which our heroine endures. Brilliantly structured like the translation of an ancient epic, Victory City is a saga of love, adventure, myth and a confirmation of the power of storytelling.

The author

Salman Rushdie, born in Mumbai, in 1945, moved to London at the age of fourteen and studied at King’s College, in Cambridge. Not only has he written novels such as Shame, Midnight’s Children, The Moor’s Last Sigh, Shalimar The Clown, The Enchantress of Florence, Quichotte, but also news stories and many essays. Following the 1988 publication of his novel, The Satanic Verses, he became subject of various serious threats and was forced to lead a semi-clandestine life under police protection. On August 12th 2022, he was severely stabbed at a literary event near New York. He is unanimously considered one of the most important advocates of contemporary international culture.

Mondadori has published the Italian version of “Spare,” Prince Harry’s autobiography

It is being released today, January 10, for Penguin Random House and Mondadori, in Italy. Simultaneous worldwide publication in 16 languages.

Spare, the autobiography of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, published by Penguin Random House and for Mondadori, in Italy, is being released worldwide today, January 10, 2023.

 From the very first pages, Spare takes readers back to one of the most poignant images of the twentieth century: two little boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin under the entire world’s pained and horrified eyes. As the funeral of Diana was being celebrated, billions of people wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry were thinking or feeling, but also how their lives would move forward from there.

Now, at last, Harry tells his story.

“The Heir and Backup: such definition was neither a judgement nor ambiguous. I was the shadow, the second in line, the plan B… I was summoned as a backup, a distraction, a diversion and, whenever necessary, a spare part. … All of this had been made clear to me since I can remember and reaffirmed periodically ever since.”

Before losing his mother, the then 12-year old Prince Harry was regarded as the cheerful and carefree Backup of the more serious Heir to the throne. However, that time of mourning changed everything. Harry began having issues at school and found himself struggling against his own anger and solitude. Moreover, since he blamed the press for his mother’s death, he had a hard time accepting life under the spotlight.

At twenty, he joined the British Army. Discipline gave him stability, and two missions turned him into a hero at home. However, he soon found himself more lost than ever, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and crippling panic attacks. But most of all, he was unable to find true love.

Then, he met Meghan. The world was captivated by that novel-like story and rejoiced in their fairy tale wedding. Yet, Harry and Meghan were pursued by the press since the very beginning, struck with numerous insults, racist comments and lies. Seeing his wife suffer, and fearing for their safety and sanity, Harry found himself forced to flee the country in an attempt to prevent history from tragically repeating itself. Few have dared to leave the royal family over the centuries. His mother had been the last to do so…

For the first time, Prince Harry tells his story, an account of his journey reported with unquestionable truth. Spare is an exceptional book full of particulars, revelations and intimate details emphasised by the awareness – conquered at a great price – that love always prevails over pain.

Prince Harry intends to support a certain number of British charities with the profits of Spare. The Duke of Sussex has donated 1,500,000 dollars to Sentebale, an organisation he set up with Prince Seeiso in memory of their mothers and which supports the vulnerable children and youngsters suffering from HIV/AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana. The prince will also donate 300,000 pounds to WellChild, a no-profit organisation he has supported for fifteen years as a royal and which provides home care to children and youngsters with complex health needs whenever possible.

The English versions of Spare will be published in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa by Random House, a division of Penguin Random House UK, and by Random House Canada in Canada. The book will also be translated and published in 15 other languages: Spanish, Plaza & Janés/Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial; German, Penguin Verlag/Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe GmbH; Brazilian Portuguese, Objetiva/Grupo Companhia das Letras; European Portuguese, Objectiva/Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial; simplified Chinese, Penguin Random House China; Danish, Politikens Forlag; Dutch, Hollands Diep, a division of Overamstel; Finnish, Otava Publishing Company Ltd.; French, Éditions Fayard; Greek, Pedio Books; Hungarian, Corvina Books; Italian, Mondadori; Polish, Wydawnictwo Marginesy; Romanian, Nemira Publishing House; Swedish, Albert Bonniers Förlag.

 # # #

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is a husband, father, human rights activist, military veteran, mental health advocate and environmentalist. He lives in Santa Barbara, California, with his family and three dogs.

Prince Harry

Spare

Mondadori.

January 10, 2023

Hardcover, 540 pages, € 25,00

You can find it here.

Cover credits

Cover design: Christopher Brand

Cover photo: Ramona Rosales

Spare, Prince Harry’s eagerly awaited memoir, will be published in Italy by Mondadori

Simultaneous publication date in 16 languages 10 January 2023

Spare, the memoir of Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, is to be published simultaneously around the world on 10 January 2023. The book, whose cover photo has already been revealed, will be published in Italy by Mondadori, in paper and digital formats. It will be released in a total of 16 languages around the world.

From the opening pages, Spare takes the reader back to one of the most poignant images of the twentieth century: two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow and horror. As the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, took place, billions of people wondered what the princes must be thinking and feeling, and how their lives would move forward from there.

Now at last Harry tells his story.

With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication. Full of insights and revelations, the book is the result of profound self-examination and the awareness – achieved at great personal cost – that love always triumphs over grief.

Prince Harry wishes to support a number of British charities with donations from the proceeds of Spare. The Duke of Sussex has already donated 1,500,000 dollars to Sentebale, an organisation he set up with Prince Seeiso in memory of their mothers, which supports vulnerable children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana affected by HIV/Aids. The prince will also donate 300,000 pounds to WellChild, a no-profit organisation of which he has been patron for fifteen years, which makes it possible for children and young people with complex health needs to be cared for at home, wherever possible.

Readers can find information about the book on the Mondadori website: https://www.mondadori.it/libri/spare-il-minore-prince-harry/
The English-language editions of Spare will be published in North America by Random House U.S. and Random House Canada; in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa by Transworld, a division of Penguin Random House UK; in Canada by Random House Canada. The book will also be translated and published in 14 other languages: SPANISH Plaza & Janés/Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, GERMAN Penguin Verlag/Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe GmbH, BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE Objetiva/Grupo Companhia das Letras, EUROPEAN PORTUGUESE Objectiva/Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, SIMPLIFIED CHINESE Penguin Random House China, DANISH Politikens Forlag, DUTCH Hollands Diep, a division of Overamstel, FINNISH Otava Publishing Company Ltd., FRENCH Éditions Fayard, GREEK Pedio Books, HUNGARIAN Corvina Books, POLISH Wydawnictwo Marginesy, ROMANIAN Nemira Publishing House, SWEDISH Albert Bonniers Förlag.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is a husband, father, human rights activist, military veteran, a mental health campaigner and an environmentalist. He lives in Santa Barbara, California, with his family and three dogs.

 

Prince Harry
Spare
Mondadori
10 January 2023
Hardcover, euro 25,00

Everything you ever wanted to know about the job of a translator

Nota del traduttore, the new YouTube mini-series on Mondadori for professional translators is online

Our Mondadori publishing house has launched Nota del traduttore, a five-part mini-series on YouTube about the job of the translator, in the words of some of Italy’s top professionals.

Translation is a fascinating and extremely important editorial profession because it offers readers access in their own language to the works of foreign writers, helping them acquire a natural understanding and appreciation of the spirit of the text. Who better than the translator, who has “gone inside” the book and investigated its hidden depths, can guide readers through the universe that lies within the pages of a novel?

The format was created for the specific purpose of answering the questions to which even people who work in the world of books are unable to respond satisfactorily: do you read the text first and then start translating or translate it a bit at a time? What do you do when the author uses slang? How has translation changed over the years?

Nota del traduttore is a three-part journey in three different settings. The first is a desk, where the translators talk about the way they work and the objects they have at hand. The second setting is a red armchair where they reply to questions with a series of optometric charts representing the transition from a symbol to a meaning, from one cultural universe to another. In the third and final setting, the translators address an imaginary audience made up of photos of writers and book covers, reading a personal “note”, a few words describing the ultimate meaning of the work they do.

The five episodes, filmed at the Panatronics Studio in Milan, feature translators Marco Rossari, Monica Pavani, Edoardo Rialti, Gianni Pannofino, Luca Fusari and Sara Prencipe. The project was developed from an idea by Edoardo Brugnatelli, with the collaboration of Jacopo Milesi, Chiara Ottolini, Nadia Focile and Francesca Gariazzo, together with Claudio Sforza, Alessandro Freno, Ivan Tonucci, Cristina Sinelli, Federico Terenzio and Mauro Forester.

Our publishing houses are supply systems incorporating highly specific professional skills that transform the most impalpable things – what Shakespeare would call “such stuff as dreams are made on” – into consumer goods. Giving translators a voice and visibility is a way to highlight the craftsmanship, the competences, people and passion that is editorial work.

From here we want to expand this type of communication, to bring readers closer to our books, answer their queries about jobs in publishing and give the human and professional skills operating in our Group the credit they deserve.

50th anniversary of the death of Arnoldo Mondadori

Fondazione Mondadori presents the digital exhibition Il cam(m)ino dell’editore. Storie di Arnoldo Mondadori a Meina, together with a host of other initiatives in memory of the founder of our publishing house.

Arnoldo Mondadori nella sua villa a Meina

Arnoldo Mondadori often entertained writers and publishers in his family home in Meina, and would ask them to write a mot juste or sign their name on the wall above the fireplace.

Fondazione Mondadori is marking the fiftieth anniversary of his death with a digital exhibition that takes those signatures as a starting point to look back at Arnoldo’s relations with some of the leading figures from the 20th-century world of literature and publishing, from Eugenio Montale to Alba de Céspedes, Mario Soldati to Lavinia Mazzucchetti as well as Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Mann and Walt Disney. Interviews, archive documents and videoclips portray a home that was a place to work, to welcome friends and family, as well as a setting for encounters that hold a place in the history of Italian culture and publishing in the 20th century.

The exhibition is organised in three sections. The first, Villa Mondadori in Meina, looks at the history of the lakeside house, from its purchase in the 1920s as a summer residence open to friends and guests, to its use as a refuge and branch of the publishing house during the Second World War.

The second and third sections of the exhibition, Authors and The Publishing World, examine Arnoldo Mondadori’s relationships with some of the authors of the signatures above the fireplace: Enzo Biagi, Valentino Bompiani, Dino Buzzati, Piero Chiara, Alba de Céspedes, Lavinia Mazzucchetti, Domenico Porzio, Vasco Pratolini, Colette Rosselli, Renzo Segala, Mario Soldati.

The exhibition is online on the Fondazione Mondadori website from Friday 4 June.

50 years since the death of Arnoldo Mondadori: program

Il cam(m)ino dell’editore. Storie di Arnoldo Mondadori a Meina opens a program of initiatives dedicated to the publisher on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of his death, on 8 June 2021, organised in collaboration with other entities

They include:

  1. A commemorative postage stamp printed by Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato and issued by the Italian Post Office on Tuesday 8 June.
  2. Two books examining the figure of Arnoldo Mondadori, published by Fondazione Mondadori for the «Biblioteca» series. The first is entitled Lettere all’editore. Aleramo, de Céspedes e Manzini autrici Mondadori, edited by Sabina Ciminari. The second, Dear Mr. Mondadori. I romanzi americani nel catalogo Mondadori 1930-1960, is edited by Cinzia Scarpino and traces the history of the American novels in the Mondadori catalogue between the 1930s and the end of the 1960s.
  3. A reprint of the biography Arnoldo Mondadori by Enrico Decleva for the Mondadori series «Oscar Storia»: in his examination of the life of the distinguished publisher and entrepreneur, for which he was awarded the Acqui-Storia prize, Decleva describes a fundamental period in arts and culture, the creation of a mass market for books and journals in a century of important social change. The book will be available from 8 June.
  4. A celebratory book, produced as a collaboration between the Mondadori publishing house and Fondazione Mondadori. The book will use a collection of dedications by the authors to Arnoldo Mondadori as the springboard to recount key moments and personalities in the history of the publishing house. The selection will be made by Alberto Cadioli, who will edit the book and write the introduction. The publication date will coincide with the conference to be held in the autumn.
  5. A conference on themes and trends in contemporary publishing, starting from the figure and entrepreneurial story of Arnoldo Mondadori. The conference, organised in collaboration with Mondadori, will be held on 7 October, the moderator will be Mario Calabresi.
  6. A docu-drama produced by Anele di Gloria Giorgianni and directed by Francesco Micciché, alternating archive material and personal accounts on the life of Arnoldo Mondadori.
  7. The creation by the Mondadori publishing house of a scholarship for the next edition of the Master in publishing at Milan University, in collaboration with AIE and Fondazione Arnoldo e Alberto Mondadori. The scholarship will be dedicated to the memory of publisher Stefano Magagnoli, who died recently and was for many years one of the leading names in Italian book publishing.
Arnoldo Mondadori con alcuni autori a Verona

Mondadori foreign fiction: Chiara Scaglioni returns to Mondadori. Also Edoardo Brugnatelli joins the new team, headed up by Donatella Minuto

The Mondadori publishing house is reinforcing the editorial team for foreign fiction led by editorial director Donatella Minuto with the addition of Chiara Scaglioni and Edoardo Brugnatelli.

Chiara Scaglioni, born in Milan in 1972, graduated in Modern Literature from the Catholic University of Milan. She joined the Mondadori publishing house in 2000, where she worked firstly in communications before moving to publishing (miscellaneous books), going on to become Senior Editor of Foreign Fiction. She returns to Mondadori after 5 years at HarperCollins, where she was in charge of foreign fiction and non-fiction.

Edoardo Brugnatelli, born in Milan in 1956, graduated in the History of Philosophy from the University of Pavia and joined Mondadori in 1990. After working on the Comunità editions and foreign non-fiction, in 1998 he created and ran the Strade Blu series, where he published, among others, Michael Moore, Neil Gaiman, Chuck Palaniuk and David Sedaris. Over the last five years Brugnatelli has worked on the social reading platform Anobii.

The foreign fiction department, like Italian fiction, non-fiction, miscellaneous and young adult books, paperbacks and the classics, reports to Francesco Anzelmo, editorial director of the Mondadori publishing house.

Mondadori: Donatella Minuto appointed as new head of foreign fiction. Alberto Gelsumini to head up young adult fiction

Donatella Minuto is the new head of foreign fiction at Mondadori.

At the same time, Alberto Gelsumini, already editorial director of miscellaneous books, will also head up Young  Adult fiction; both reporting to Francesco Anzelmo, the editorial director of the publishing house.

Donatella Minuto was born in Milan in 1971 and has a degree in modern literature from the University of Milan. Her publishing experience began at  Fazi, Bur and Il Saggiatore, and from 2010 to 2017 she worked at Giunti Editore, where she became head of Italian and foreign fiction. She joined Mondadori at the end of 2017 as senior editor of foreign fiction.

Alberto Gelsumini was born in Prato in 1978 and has a degree in the science of communication from the University of Bologna. Having begun his career in journalism and television, he joined Mondadori in 2003 as an editor. Since 2015 he has been the editorial director of miscellaneous books.