Italy, the guest of honor at the 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair, has announced its slate of programming, curated by the Italian Publishers' Association and featuring more than 100 authors and speakers, including Anna Giurickovic Dato, Claudia Durastanti, Maddalena Fingerle, Claudio Magris, Dacia Maraini, Igiaba Scego, and Alice Urciuolo.
The program, entitled "Roots in the Future," will include an array of literary and professional events, including "Women Have the Power," a panel on women's role in Italian publishing and literature; "Italy–Germany," a panel on the relationship between the two nations' literary landscapes and publishing industries; and "The Books that Feed Tomorrow's Citizens," on children's and young adult publishing in Italy. A special edition of the annual Dall'italiano al mondo conference will also be organized for translators of Italian literature.
Additionally, "Roots in the Future" will feature an array of exhibitions, including a photo gallery entitled "Written in the Face," designed by the Italian Literary Agency and curated by Alberto Saibene, featuring images of 60 Italian authors, including Oriana Fallaci and Dario Fo; and "Young Pencils Between Illustration and Comics," curated by the Accademia Drosselmeier and organized by the Bologna Children's Book Fair. The Italian Pavilion at the fair will also include a piazza designed by architect Stefano Boeri.
Much has changed for the Italian publishing industry since Italy's last stint as the fair's guest of honor in 1988. That year, "50 million books were bought in our country annually," noted Innocenzo Cipolletta, president of the Italian Editors Association, in a statement. "Now it is 112 million, more than double, and Italian publishing has become [the] fourth largest in Europe and open to the world with thousands of translation right bought and sold abroad every year."
