Italy brought style to this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair as the Guest of Honor. Veteran literary agent, Milly Ruggiero, currently foreign rights manager at the Rights Factory, talked with PW about her decision to open a new literary agency, Booklé. The name plays on the words ‘book’ and ‘Napoli’—or Naples—where the agency will be based. With her extensive work in international rights, Ruggiero aims to bring a fresh perspective to the Italian literary scene from her base in Southern Italy.
What inspired you to start your own agency?
I have worked in publishing for 15 years, and I think it’s time to develop something for myself and start something new in Italy, and with Italy being the Guest of Honour at Frankfurt this year, I think it’s the right time to make this move.
Why did you choose to base your agency in Naples rather than traditional publishing centers like Milan?
I want to do something that is new, and the location needs to be new as well. The south of Italy, especially Naples, is seeing a lot of growth in film production—think about the recent Netflix adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley and the HBO series My Brilliant Friend, based on the Elena Ferrante novels. I want my agency to help the international publishing community develop new connections to this industry in the south of Italy. I know many publishers are in the north, but I want to be in the south where there’s less competition and more opportunity for innovation.
What will be your main focus as an agency?
Initially, I’ll be focusing more on representing publishers’ catalogs rather than individual authors. It’s more important for me to establish confidence with catalogs first. This is a bit different from the traditional literary agencies we have in the north of Italy. There aren’t many agencies like this in Italy, so I think it’s important to start bringing in new things from abroad. In addition, I will continue to work with The Rights Factory to help them in the international markets as well. Sam [Hiyate, president and CEO of The Rights Factory] has given it his blessing and been very supportive.
How do you see your agency connecting the rich cultural scene in Naples with the publishing world?
There’s a lot happening here. For example, we recently had about 150 film production companies working in the Campania region. I want to develop more connections between this cultural energy and the publishing world. We can connect storytellers in the region who are familiar with the distinct local culture to broader opportunities.
Are there any particular trends you’re seeing in Italian publishing right now?
There’s a push for romantasy, of course. We’re also seeing more horror and sci-fi, following trends from the U.S. and U.K. However, LGBTQ+ books are still relatively new and not as common in Italy compared to other markets. In Italy we have so many wonderful writers and I hope to help many of them find homes for their books abroad.
What challenges do Italian books face in reaching international markets, particularly in the U.S. and U.K.?
It’s very difficult to sell to the U.S., U.K., and Canada, partly because Italian isn’t as widely spoken. Often, U.S. and U.K. publishers prefer to buy books that have already had success in other countries. We always need to prepare English-language materials for each Italian book, which can be challenging.
A version of this story previously ran in the 2024 PW Frankfurt Show Daily.
