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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Daisy Jones & The Six is back in the bookstores on the occasion of the March 3rd arrival, on Prime Video, of the long-awaited TV series based on the novel: 13 episodes produced by Amazon Studios and Reese Witherspoon, starring Riley Keough and Sam Claflin. 

The book, published in Italy by Sperling & Kupfer, has been a global success: a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, independent American booksellers’ book of the month and book of the year according to major international publications.

“The rock novel of the year” tells the story of the dizzying rise to success of an iconic ’70s rock group, revealing the mystery behind their notorious break-up.

“Reading this story, told in first person by the people who appear in it, is like watching an amazing series of documentaries about an icon of rock music. A novel overflowing with style and energy.”

– The New York Times

The author

Taylor Jenkins Reid wrote Carrie Soto Is Back, Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six and The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo, all New York Times bestsellers. She started out with the novels: One True Loves, Maybe in Another Life, After I Do, and Forever, Interrupted. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter. taylorjenkinsreid.com

The plot

Daisy Jones & The Six: a rock group becomes a legend. Their concerts have packed stadiums all over the world, and their songs have inflamed a whole generation. Their legend is the fairy-tale of the dizzying rise from their first performances in underground clubs to world-wide stardom. It’s the incarnation of a time when sex, drugs and rock’n’roll went hand in hand. The story is one of a perfect alchemy: the unique magnetism between Billy Dunne – the band’s charismatic, tormented frontman – and Daisy Jones, the splendid cover girl and singer with a natural talent and a free, elusive spirit. Yet on 12 July 1979, at the end of a memorable concert, the group split up forever. Nobody has ever known why… Until now.
The former band musicians and managers, reporters and family members were all witnesses to the event, and now, forty years later, they are finally ready to tell the truth. But each of them has his or her own version of the events. What is brought back in their words is a story of a bunch of twenty-year-old friends and lovers, brothers and rivals; idols on the stage, fragile souls when the lights go down. A story of crazy nights and lost dawns, of dreams too big to be seized and demons too strong to be defeated, passions that ignited the blood in their veins. Because a song is never just a song. There’s life, in music. And it’s impossible to say where one ends and the other begins.

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.

Sperling & Kupfer today launches the podcast Senza perdere il filo. Narratori di mondi possibili on the main audio platforms. This is the first podcast produced by a publishing house with original content created ad hoc by authors with the Mondadori Group’s publishing houses.

The theme of the podcast is sustainability. Developed from an idea by Linda Poncetta, a fiction editor at Sperling & Kupfer, and Grazia Rusticali, chief fiction editor at Sperling & Kupfer and Piemme, the project is part of the eleventh edition of the international Nudge Global Impact Challenge.

People who tell stories create new worlds, or show us the world in which we live in a different light, suggesting ways it could be improved. With their stories, the protagonists of this podcast stimulate reflection on a new beginning, an opportunity to imagine a different future after Covid. Because there is an answer to the change we are looking for: a more sustainable world, a future where we respect ourselves, other people and the environment around us.

From high-quality teaching to gender equality, from the fight against climate change to the value of diversity:  Senza perdere il filo is a podcast that examines the past, recounts the present and imagines the future, through contributions from 7 authors, who talk about every aspect of sustainability.

Each episode is inspired by one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The authors who took part are Sara Rattaro (Le parole cambiano il mondo; storytelling and creative writing), Claudio Pelizzeni (Consigli per viaggiare sostenibile), Federica Gasbarro (Le parole insegnano, gli esempi trascinano; climate change), Guido Marangoni (Uguali e diversi; diversity and inclusion), Francesca Vecchioni (È l’uomo misura di tutte le cose?; gender equality), Andrea Maggi (Lezioni per un futuro sostenibile; high-quality teaching) and Annalisa Monfreda (Quell’intreccio prezioso di vita e lavoro; smart working and the future of work).
The podcast is available free on: Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Amazon Music. The first three episodes are currently available; the next two will be published on 17 May and the last two on 24 May. The Senza perdere il filo series is produced by Sperling & Kupfer with the editorial supervision of Linda Poncetta. Sound design and realisation is by Luca Carano.
https://www.spreaker.com/show/senza-perdere-il-filo
The project stems from the Mondadori Group’s participation in the Nudge Global Impact Challenge, an eight-month personal development program concentrating on leadership and sustainability, for young professionals from all over the world. During the program the ninety participants have the chance to develop an idea with a positive impact for a more sustainable world.

For more than 110 years, the mission of the Mondadori Group has been to foster the circulation of culture and ideas, through a high-profile leisure offer for the widest possible public. A leading player on the book market and Italy’s primary multimedia publisher, Mondadori has embraced a social responsibility path that, through all its channels, promotes quality content highlighting sustainability, plurality of thought, inclusion and diversity, with an approach geared to innovation.

Mondadori’s commitment takes the form of activities to support the communities where the group operates: promotion of reading, education, training and social and healthcare assistance. The group has also implemented a range of initiatives to reduce the environmental footprint of its offices and bookstores, which have led to a significant reduction in carbon emissions and increased use of certified paper for the production of books and magazines.

The publishing houses of the Mondadori Group are launching the Millennial Editor project for talented under 30s who dream of becoming  book editors.
An innovative and unprecedented programme, aimed at graduates in the humanities and economics, through which the Mondadori Group offers millennials with a consuming passion for books and reading a unique opportunity to enter the publishing world.

Einaudi, Electa, Mondadori, Piemme, Rizzoli, Sperling & Kupfer, Mondadori Education and Rizzoli Education, through a selection process in various stages, will identify eight young talents who will be guaranteed a period of two years of work and training as an editor with an apprenticeship contract.

The candidates selected will pursue a path during which they will be required to measure themselves against the activities of the various publishing areas and participate in training sessions with highly experienced professionals of the Group’s various publishing houses.
An all-round opportunity to learn the profession of editor, not only the specific aspects of publishing, but also the institutional, technical and managerial sides, interacting and collaborating with all of the protagonists involved in the book chain, starting from authors and senior editors. Each participant will develop the key skills necessary to face the challenges of a continuously evolving market.

The Millennial Editor project is developed in collaboration with Monster Italia, a highly specialised company in personnel research, and the technical partner in the recruitment phase.
You can submit your application from today, to this link.
After an initial selection based on qualifications and experience, in the second half of March suitable candidates will take part in an Edithon, a one-day event at Palazzo Mondadori during which they will meet the leading figures involved in the  project and, after being divided into work groups, will have the opportunity to put themselves to the test.
By the end of April, the eight young talents selected will be allocated, according to their characteristics and inclinations, to one of the areas, i.e. non-fiction, miscellaneous, fiction or educational of the publishing houses involved: Einaudi, Electa, Mondadori, Piemme, Rizzoli, Sperling & Kupfer, Mondadori Education and Rizzoli Education.

Sale&Pepe, the Mondadori Group brand that for thirty years has brought pleasure to the table thanks to gastronomically exclusive and refined ideas, for the first time presents its recipes in two new books: The bible of vegan recipes (Sperling & Kupfer) and Flavours of Italy. From north south, the best of our cuisine according to Sale&Pepe (Mondadori Electa).

These initiatives are a further demonstration of the  strength of the brand that, thanks to the richness of content, the authoritativeness of its experts, the respect it pays to the culture of food, the territory and Italian lifestyle, has been able to spread its offer across a range of channels – the magazine, with themed specials, the web site, social networks, events and courses at the Cooking School – becoming a system that is a point of reference in the world of food with an overall audience of 1.6 million contacts per month (Source: Audiweb tda 2017/II + Audipress 2017/II).

“Over the years Sale&Pepe has tread carefully across the evolution in Italian cooking and followed the changes in the use of ingredients, quantities and preparation and interpreted innovations and trends with recipes with the reach of everyone that are never complicated or banal and with photographs that make them surprising,” said Laura Maragliano, editor of Sale&Pepe. “This long experience is today translated into two books of which I am particularly proud and through which e invite readers to taste different dishes, discover the incredible variety of products that we have and the generosity of our land.”

The bible of vegan recipes offers over 450 recipes to discover the joys of vegan cooking, from appetisers to desserts, with unique dishes and preparations for those with little time; special treats for parties, complete and seasonal recipes, preserves, drinks and smoothies, as well as a glossary of ingredients.

Flavours of Italy. From north south, the best of our cuisine according to Sale&Pepe is a tour of the extraordinary variety of Italian cooking. The ancient wisdom of the culinary arts that, in so many different iterations, criss-crosses the mountains and the plains, the east  and west coasts and, of course, the islands, with a selection of 150 dishes.

In addition to Sale&Pepe also Cucina Moderna is in bookshops this month with Chef in 24 hours. A cookery course to learn all of the techniques, basics and tricks for preparing  successful recipes (Sperling & Kupfer). The manual offers an easy method to work successfully in the kitchen, in the classic style of Cucina Moderna, the brand leader in the sector that reaches over 1 million readers (Source: Audipress 2017/II) thanks to its accessible, step-by-step recipes.

Our publishing houses are at the 69th Frankfurt Book Fair , scheduled from 11 to 15 October.

This is the most important European event and among the most prestigious in the world.

Mondadori, Rizzoli, Einaudi, Sperling & Kupfer and Piemme are in Hall 5.0, Stand C56.