To celebrate its publication of two new books by bestselling Italian author Elena Ferrante, Europa Editions is launching a scholarship program that will send indie booksellers based in the U.S. to the Frankfurt Book Fair (October 19-23).
The inaugural Europa scholarship is tied to Europa's November 1 publication of two books by Ferrante: Frantumaglia, a nonfiction collection of her writings and interviews, and The Beach at Night, a story from The Lost Novel told from the point of view of the lost, or stolen, doll.
“Europa has always been about building bridges,” the publisher's editor-in-chief, Michael Reynolds, said, speaking to the scholarship. “And booksellers have always been, and will continue to be, an essential part of that bridge-building. We want to give American booksellers more opportunities to cultivate deeper connections with the international publishing and bookselling community.”
Indie booksellers must agree to host a #FerranteNightFever event the week of October 31 to be eligible for the the scholarship. The winning bookstore will be announced on August 15.; the store chooses which bookseller will attend. “Winning the scholarship is not dependent on the quality or nature of the event—different stores have different resources, so it wouldn’t really be fair,” Reynolds said.
Europa plans to expand the program to offer scholarships to other overseas book fairs, including London and Turin.
