One of the world’s most auspiciously placed rights trading center, Rome’s ‘Più libri più liberi’ rights hub was again in 2024 high up in La Nuvola, ‘the Cloud’ convention center in the Italian capital. Image: AIE
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
See also:
Italy: The 23rd ‘Più libri più liberi’ Draws 110,000 Attendees
Rome’s Più libri più liberi Prepares a Professional Program
Italy Sets Its 23rd ‘ ‘Più libri più liberi’ for Rome
835 One-on-One Rights Center Meetings
As you’ll remember, Rome’s Più libri più liberi—the “More Books, More Freedom” book fair—features small- and medium-sized publishers. Annually held in the run-up to the holidays, this year’s 23rd edition of the show, was again produced by the Association of Italian Publishers (Associazione Italiana Editori, AIE), and closed its 2024 run on Sunday (December 8).
By the end of the run, the show’s rights center had hosted a total 835 meetings between the Italian publishing houses and those from 28 international markets that were in attendance this year. A special fellowship made it possible this year for Polish publishers to make the trip to the show, as well, and meet with their counterparts in Italy. The polish group visited the Italian publishers 66th and 2nd; Bibliotheka; Castelvecchi and Elliot Edizioni; Gallucci Editore; Orecchio Acerbo; and Round Robin, that last one specializing in investigative reporting, graphic journalism and novels, and fiction.
Sonia Draga
Polish publisher Sonia Draga, who is president of the Federation of European Publishers, says, “This Fair is a great opportunity to learn more about the Italian market, to explore the similarities and differences with respect to the Polish one.
“The fact that we were able to visit, through the fellowship program, the offices of some publishing houses helps us further to strengthen relationships with small- and medium-sized publishing. And the exchange of rights between our two countries is growing a lot, with public support for translations being essential.”
In the rights center itself—set high above the book fair’s public-facing exhibition floor in La Nuvola, “the Cloud” convention center in Rome’s EUR district—58 rights professionals were engaged in one-on-one meetings and professional program events, while some 90 Italian exhibitors worked the floor.
And from the publishers association’s very strong research offices, we have some new rights data on this particular subset of Europe’s fourth book market.
Italian publishers who have sold rights to international publishers by company size, in euros, below 500,000, between 500,000 and five million; and those making above five million. Image: AIE
- Eighteen percent of foreign translation rights sales in 2023 were made by publishers under €5 million in sales in trade channels (US$5.2 million).
- The average number of contracts signed for these publishers is three titles—five for publishers between €500,000 and €5 million in sales, and two contracts for publishers under handling less than €500,000.
- There’s a drastic gap between the biggest of these classifications and the majors in Italy such as GeMS and Mondadori. For those publishers with business above €5 million, as many as 34 contracts may be forthcoming in a year’s time.
- Above that €5 million line, 92 percent of publishers engage in rights sales, while of those in the next category of €500,000 up to €5 million, some 58 percent are active in translation sales. Below the €500,000 line, just 27 percent of publishers in Italy area active in rights trading.
- That said, publishers working below the €5 million level show strength in certain sectors. For example, they sign 72 percent of international titles in the religious books sector; 32 percent in children’s and YA; and 19 percent in art and illustrated books.
- These smaller and medium-sized houses work the international markets especially well in the Pacific (60 percent of Italy’s contracts in the region); in South America (26 percent of contracts); and in Asia (26 percent of contracts in that region).
- Smaller Italian houses sell especially well into China, France, and Poland—which may have something to do with the special program for several Polish publishers this year.
The AIE’s “Rights Observatory” data project has been analyzing the small and medium houses since 2001.
Public Policy and Rights Sales
Crowds wait for entry to Rome’s La Nuvola during the 2024 ‘Più libri più liberi’ (‘More Books, More Freedom’). Image: AIE
Keep in mind that in 2023, Italy’s market sold some 7,838 international rights contracts to its own books and bought 9,328 contracts for titles from. That gap in imports over exports, is not something the publishers love and they’ve redoubled their efforts to get closer to a balance this year.
Lorenzo Armando
In a session at last week’s fair called What Public Policies Are Needed for the Sale of Rights after Buchmesse?—referring to this year’s Guest of Honor Italy program at Frankfurt—Lorenzo Armando, the president of AIE’s small publishers division, said, “The fact that more than half the publishers under €5 million in sales, or 61 percent, do not have rights sales activities is a figure that indicates an important potential for growth.
“There are issues of economies of scale that make it more difficult for small publishers to act on internationalization, which is why all initiatives, such as collectives stands abroad, or calls for translations, that allow obstacles to be overcome are important.
“AIE works alongside institutions to ensure that these tools are increasingly used and effective, particularly by proposing accompanying initiatives that remove obstacles such as bureaucracy, travel costs, and lack of personnel.”
Public Funds for Translation
As we know, translation funding can help make the difference in any market’s success in international transactions. For the first time, data in this regard was presented in AIE’s professional programming.
Fabio Del Giudice
It showed that in 2023, thanks to the ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation’s call (with the Centro per il libro e la lettura) for proposals worth about €1 million per year (US$1.4 million), 546 rights sales of Italian titles abroad were funded, compared with 442 in 2022 and 392 in 2021.
Of the translations funded in 2023:
- 61 percent were novels
- 21 percent nonfiction
- 16 percent children’s and young adult books
- 2 percent comics
There are 103 publishers who have accessed funding, Publishing Perspectives understands. More than half of the cases, or 52 percent are publishers with up to €1 million in sales in trade channels. In 13 percent of cases, they’re publishers with sales between €1 million and €5 million.
AIE director Fabio Del Giudice, in regards to this part of the report, said, “The data show that the public system of support for translations—which can and should still be improved, as our association has often called for—is nevertheless achieving good results.
“This is thanks to systemic work in support of internationalization that involves businesses, institutions, and us as a trade association.
“After Italy Guest of Honor 2024 at Frankfurter Buchmesse—which gave renewed visibility to our publishing industry—it’s important to make the most of all the tools that allow our country to grow further in international markets.”
Asia, South America and the Pacific are the areas in which Italy’s small- and medium-sized publishing houses sell the most translation rights, compared with Europe on average. Image: AIE
More from us on the Italian market is here, more on international rights is here, more on Rome’s Piu libri piu liberi is here, more on the work of the Italian Publishers Association is here, more on Italy as this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse guest of honor is here, and more on book fairs and trade shows is here.