Bompiani is one of the historical brands of Italian publishing

Many years have passed since its founder Valentino Bompiani stepped down from the family business, but the memory of his lessons is still alive in the publishing house, as confirmed in the words of Bompiani’s editors: Beatrice Masini (editorial director), Giulia Ichino (Italian fiction and nonfiction editor), Silvia Trabattoni (nonfiction editor), Andrea Tramontana (paperbacks and catalogue editor), interviewed by Laura Pugno. The survey launched by newitalianbooks on Italian literary agencies focuses this month on the Walkabout Literary Agency. Fiammetta Biancatelli talks about her experience as a literary agent, the trends she has seen emerging in the Italian publishing market in recent years, and expresses her appreciation for public subsidies to support the translation of Italian books abroad, of which she underlines some shortcomings.Martine Van Geertruijden’s long journey into the vast territory of the translations of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s works into the world’s major languages has now come to its second stage, focusing on the Portuguese-speaking world (Portugal, Brazil), Eastern Europe and Russia, and then on the Anglo-Saxon area, including Great Britain and, above all, the United States, where editions of his poetic work have been particularly numerous. Lastly, an article by Moonjung Park, who teaches Italian literature at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, takes us to the Far East. In recent years, writes Moonjung Park, there has been a growing attention to Italian books in South Korea, primarily focusing on fiction (Eco, Tabucchi, Ferrante, etc.), but also philosophical and scientific nonfiction, as shown by the recent translations of authors like Giorgio Agamben, Roberto Esposito, and Carlo Rovelli.