Archive for March 27th, 2009:

As Thomas Riggs & Company prepares to launch its own publishing imprint, we on the ground floor take heart and inspiration from the remarkable success of Europa Editions. Recently profiled in The New York Times, Europa Editions was founded in 2005 as the English-language imprint of Rome-based edizioni e/o, one of the most prestigious independent publishers in Europe.

Edizioni e/o began in 1980, when husband and wife founders Sandro Ferri and Sandra Ozzola Ferri wagered that there was a market in Italy for literary works in translation from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and other parts of Eastern Europe. Met with a barrage of skepticism, Ferri and Ferri nonetheless insisted that what was lacking in Italy then “was not so much a keen readership, but publishers who were willing to commit to a focused, long-range editorial vision.”

The couple forged ahead with their project and found that Italian readers were receptive to literature that offered a window into Eastern European experiences and perspectives. Over the years edizioni e/o expanded steadily, building an impressive international catalog of fiction titles and a reputation for their discerning literary taste.

Ferri and Ferri took another big gamble in 2005, betting that with Europa Editions they could cultivate American enthusiasm for works in translation from across the Atlantic. From the publication that year of their first translated title, Days of Abandonment, by the acclaimed Italian author Elena Ferrante, Europa has continued to build its literary status and its readership. The company reached profitability in 2008, scoring its first bestseller with The Elegance of the Hedgehog, a French novel by Muriel Barbery.

So what is the key to Europa’s success?  Is there really a growing U.S. market for literature in translation?  I’ll have to do some more reading…

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