I am Mauro Spagnol, an Italian working in London and the founder of Books-Everywhere. After 18 years in publishing with Quarto, Michael O’Mara Books, Sassi Editore, and other companies, I decided to found my own literary agency. I was never planning on founding a company but, over several years, many people encouraged me to do it and I decided to take the plunge. So, in 2019, I started preparing for the set up of the agency, with the hope to start work at the beginning of 2020. Of course, no one knew what lay in store during that year…

One day before the Covid-19 pandemic, I was having lunch with friends in Venice, when we started discussing which name would be best for the agency. All sorts of random suggestions were proposed, amongst which was Books-Everywhere. The more I considered it, the more I liked it. Especially because I did not want the agency to draw focus on me, only the books it would represent.

The aim of the agency has always been (and always will be) to promote European publishers in the international market, rather than focusing on the dominating English language. Despite being a resident in the U.K., post-Brexit, I became a foreigner in my own country overnight. Still, I continue to support Europe and my wonderful publishers. The European flag is always flying at our stand and travels with us wherever we go.

Promoting European publishers

Books-Everywhere focuses on representing children’s books, and over the three years of the agency’s existence, we have acquired the rights to represent titles from two Italian publishers, Nomos Edizioni and Il Castello; two Portuguese publishers, Edicare Editora and Zero A Oito; two Romanian publishers, Univers and Curtea Veche; a Spanish publisher, Mosquito Books; and a Dutch publisher, Lantaarn Publishers. We are also happy to announce that we have recently welcomed a Croatian publisher, Mala Zvona, to our European family. Mala Zvona is a family-run, boutique picture book publisher, offering titles with stunning illustrations. Our hard work is paying off. In 2022, our agency won the inaugural Sharjah Rights Connection Award, and recently auctioned a series of 15 titles to a publisher in China.

Despite founding the agency at the worst possible time–the chaos of the past few years that has included a global pandemic, inflation, and war–it has remarkably brought the European countries and their publishing industries closer together. Just look at the way Publishers Without Borders (launched on Facebook in March 2020) has brought people together.

Inextinguishable enthusiasm

After more than 20 years in publishing, I still get passionate and excited when I see a new book, illustration, or concept, almost like it was still day one in the industry. This inextinguishable enthusiasm makes me do crazy things like today, driving five hours to and from Zagreb, just to meet the new Croatian publisher we are working with (I only met them for the first time in Bologna this year!). Truly, I consider myself very lucky. I have had the opportunity to work in the book industry for publishers, and now I continue as an agent, connecting with different people through both roles.

One of my mottoes is a paraphrase from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter: “Help will always be given at Books-Everywhere for people that ask for it.” When people ask for help? Anything. I find it very difficult to dismiss people with a no. For the people that have yet to discover or know us, I would ask them to give us a chance and see what we can propose.

So far 2023 has been the busiest year ever for us. I noticed that one of the things our customers prize most is the energy and dedication that we give to the people and books we work with. Next up we plan to attend the following fairs: Thessaloniki, Warsaw, Frankfurt, Sharjah, and Guadalajara. You are more than welcome to reach out to us and connect, helping Books-Everywhere spread books around the world!