In a nation resolutely determined to keep up with the leaders in applied electronics, Italy's Longanesi group, a major translating publisher, has carved out a niche of its own with its Web site, InfiniteStorie.it. The site covers the wide range of titles available from the group, including market-leading children's series. Although the site doesn't sell books, it has a direct link to Internetbookshop, an Italian e-tailer run as a partnership between the U.K.'s WH Smith and Milan's Messaggerie Italiane group, chief owner of Longanesi. The site is also connected to the database of Garzanti and its encyclopedia of literature (Garzanti trade publishing is another component of the ubiquitous Messaggerie).
Trade monthly Giornale della Libreria, in its report on InfiniteStorie, describes an option on the site available to unpublished writers, who can post their stories for the edification and critique of other beginners (and eventually of curious editors).
