A guide presenting most of the addresses and reference details of professionals in the publishing sector, for both Italian and foreign operators concerned with the import/export of books and publishing rights business. An accessible, useful tool for anyone looking for connections with the Italian publishing sector
In recognition of the growing importance of internationalisation, and to encourage knowledge and exchange of publishing and literary products abroad, this year the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) and its trade magazine Giornale della libreria have again updated and expanded the previous edition of Italian Books Abroad (as they have done since 2008). Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the internationalization of the publishing sector has become much more difficult in these days and it’s still hard to say how the situation will evolve in the future. Several book fairs had to cancel or reschedule their 2020 edition; some of them have already announced new dates, while others will do so in the future. At the same time, new solutions to overcome mobility restrictions are being tested, such as transferring online initiatives for the general and professional audience or opening digital spaces to facilitate the import/export of publishing rights. For these reasons, we believe that updating the Italian Books Abroad is even more important this year. Although basic, this tool is a useful support for promoting publishing relations between Italy and the rest of the world, since it contains addresses and reference details for both Italian and foreign operators concerned with the import/export of books and publishing rights. Finding out the identity of professionals in the sector is a good starting point for an understanding of the market and its potential, and also for knowledge of who to turn to in order to obtain Italian language books to distribute in one’s own country. The need for a tool like this is even greater now that Italian titles see a strong increase in popularity, reaching a public that’s getting continuously wider and receiving critical attention from various media. The criteria used for the selection of names are the same as in previous years. For Italy the list does not include publishers who sell their own books directly abroad. For foreign countries, alongside importers and distributors, we have also considered bookshops and bookshop chains which claim to have a wide assortment of Italian books and some of the Italian.
read the guide
Italian Books Abroad (and foreign books in Italy) 2020 is available for download on Giornale della libreria and AIE websites
