Kent Carroll, cofounder of Carroll & Graf, is back in the publishing game (after a three-year absence) as publisher of Europa Editions. Europa is the U.S. imprint of edizione e/o, an Italian independent publisher best known for its translated works and Mediterranean Noir mysteries. The U.S. imprint will be modeled along the lines of its parent company with about half its list translations and half featuring English-language originals. In addition to its focus on fiction and crime and mystery, Europa will publish some children's books and selected nonfiction, Carroll said.
The first list, set for release this fall, will consist of nine titles including English translations of two of edizione's top authors, Elena Ferrante (The Days of Abandonment) and Massimo Carlotto (The Goodbye Kiss). Other titles include Cooking with Fernet Branca by James Hamilton-Paterson, nominated for the 2004 Man Booker Prize, and the children's book The Big Question.
Europa's U.S. office has three full-time employees who will focus on editorial and publicity, while all production and manufacturing will be done in Italy. The division of labor is part of edizione's philosophy of keeping overhead down and is a key reason why Carroll is optimistic Europa can find a niche in the difficult translation market.
Europa's business plan calls for 25 new titles to be released in 2006 with the list eventually growing to 40 per year. The newest addition to next spring's list is Old Filth, a new novel by Jane Gardam, which was shortlisted for the 2005 Orange Prize. Gardam had been published by Carroll at C&G, and Carroll said he has had talks with some other of his former authors about joining Europa.
Print runs for the debut list will range from 5,000 to 10,000, and distribution will be through Consortium.
