The Children's Book Fair in Bologna is, after the Frankfurt fair, the most important opportunity to meet with publishers around the world. Yes, it is limited to publishers that publish books for children but it is a sector which occupies an important place in the editorial universe. More and more importantly, I would say, the impression of vitality, commitment, creative effort that this year's edition left me.
The last two years have been a difficult time for book publishing, for a number of factors. The global crisis that has squeezed the consumption in general, has inevitably affected the book market: families, having to deal to get to the end of the month, often considered an entry reduced in the "superfluous" if "pleasure". To this is added that if the crisis of distribution network based on independent bookstores, overwhelmed by the aggressive policies of the major bookstore chains. Finally, the book has had to deal with the pervasiveness of electronics, just think of all those, who once dedicated a couple of hours a day to reading, now use that time to surf the Internet, social networking, etc. .
The practical effect for publishers has been a sharp fall in orders, which was reflected in a drastic reduction of run times and number of titles released every year. All this while the market is responsible for the arrival of a new competitor to the print media, the e-book. If this is the picture of the situation (not only in Italy), it must be said that the publishing aimed at younger readers suffer less. This not only for structural aspects: the families, while limiting the cost of the books, they know how important it is in the hands of some children engaging text, which encourages them to read and distracts them for a while from the computer screen or from that of television. There is however another factor which must be taken into account and that was apparent at the fair in Bologna. Publishers, especially small ones, were able to better respond to the crisis with a policy based on a reduction of titles and print runs and quality choices and imagination.
Once again it is proved that the true size of the publishing is to craft: small businesses often run by family members, but able to network (and not in competition with each other), able to choose the best authors and illustrators best for giving young readers some little treasure that is able to stimulate the imagination.
It is no coincidence that the Bologna Ragazzi Award, in the "New Horizons" - addressed to the publishers of Asia, Africa and Latin America, went to a book published by the Mexican Petra (www.petraediciones.com), but by one of the most talented Italian illustrators, Chiara Carrer. And, in the two previous years the prizes were awarded to two books, screen printed by hand with a small co-publisher of Chennai, Tara Books (www.tarabooks.com), now known worldwide for its valuable album. But even in Italy we move in this direction. Cooperate, exchange tips and authors, publishers unite in common battles like the Roman Orecchio acerbo (www.orecchioacerbo.com) or the young Tuscan publishing house Prìncipi e Princípi (www.principieprincipi.com) to "even up their work image selection, the Sinnos cooperative (www.sinnoseditrice.com) working on multiculturalism and social issues, issues Lapis, with necklaces of original fiction, the Milanese Il Castoro (www.castoro-on-line.it), which in addition to the traditional series of cinema has developed a comprehensive catalog for kids. And the list goes on. The last common mobilization has seen publishers for Italian boys joined in a manifesto expressing the need for a commitment to the promotion of reading among the younger generation.
So while the big publishing groups trial pack the shelves of the bookstore with umpteenth vampire and Wizards stories, desperately seeking new bestseller, the commitment of the mentioned publishers is increasingly turned to the promotion of reading through libraries, as certify the initiative ever launched at Bologna, "The books carry them to school. "
Guido Lagomarsino
From the manifest of children's publishers:
- We believe that in Italy there is a need to promote reading. That reading exists, but must be promoted, encouraged, supported, diffused. Where there is no flow going and go where there is made visible.
- We believe that the promotion of reading should start by the boys and girls, by children, because a reader is built from the beginning of its history. We think that unfortunately this still happens only very timidly, as they say, patchy. We want more continuity for existing initiatives, both from year to year that one city, one country, one district to another. There are also public investment on literacy and promoting reading, which is a national wealth.
- We believe that children's books that we enjoy a little areas, compared to other European countries. What the papers, newspapers, radio, magazines, weeklies should give more space to reviews of books for children. And we see instead that these spaces are shrinking every year.
- We believe that public television in particular should give greater visibility to the books in Italy. We have no program devoted to reading tout court, as happens in all Western countries. And the same television for children is increasingly at risk, and is changing into one-way offer of cartoons: beautiful or less beautiful, ignoring the many dimensions of the existing culture, entertainment and art for kids.
- We believe that the promotion of reading should acquire higher visibility in the school, and instead we see that the ministerial programs tend to place it more and more by the way, that the general decline of resources in public schools undermines established or wild initiatives, that school libraries (and their librarians) are not yet legally recognized in their importance, that literature has less and less youth in the training of future teachers.
- We believe that public libraries should be reinforced: that is financed without hesitation, and also support from the legal point of view, when they see that their independence is at risk, is exposed to the initiative as unnecessary censorship of authors, or a request (luckily returned) to limit the loans in accordance with European law.
- We believe that the libraries for children, the booksellers to offer students a wealth of invaluable expertise, professionalism and humanity, and that the book market can not only be based on the logic of discount.
- We believe that the new frontier of electronic publishing is an important opportunity for everyone, but we also see that a genuine policy for literacy and technological improvement is still far away. And we think the tax to 20% of e-book is an unnecessary mistake that alienates the occasion.
- We believe that the promotion of reading should also start from the bottom, and should happen every day in many places.
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From the call
"The books carry them to school":
More than 60 independent bookstores across the country are twinned with schools to support and strengthen school libraries More than 600 books on many different publishers have already been purchased and shipped to schools
• believe that the school is one of the best places for books and reading;
• believe that books and reading are fundamental to personal growth, for the construction of trained, aware and responsible individuals;
• aware of the serious lack of school libraries and adequate opportunities to promote books and reading in Italian schools;
We ask you to participate actively in coming to the streets on May 4 to purchase a book for one of the selected schools
– joining the initiative by writing to libri@sinnoseditrice.org or to ilibrispediamoliascuola@gmail.com
– promoting through your site and all your marketing channels.
– by going to the bookstore, which has joined the campaign and buy a book from the lists.
Passarelli of the Sinnos Publishing, together with Paolo Masini, Director of Roma Capitale, Francesca Archinto Babalilbri, Anna Parola, Libreria dei Ragazzi di Torino. Loredana Perego, head of school library network Vicenza, Carla Ida Salviati, editor of Riviste Giunti Scuola, Silvana Sola, Giannino Stoppani Cooperativa Culturale – Bologna, Giovanni Solimine, Università di Roma La Sapienza – Coordinatore Forum del Libro, Deborah Soria, libreria itinerante Ottimomassimo.
Among others have joined the campaign books? Carry them to school! 62 independent bookstores around the country. |
translation Enrico Massetti: enricomassetti@msn.com
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