29 May 2 Seas Returns to the Salone Internazionale del Libro in Turin

By Marleen Seegers — Article first published in June 2023

I am currently recovering from my 7-week trip to Europe (if you’ve emailed me recently, please bear with me!).

My final work event was the Turin Book Fair, which I hadn’t attended since 2016. High time to pay a visit! Besides a three-day schedule packed with meetings with Italian editors and international editors and scouts at a busy and buzzing Rights Center, end-of-day drinks, and dinners, I was happy to meet with some of the authors 2 Seas represents on behalf of their Italian agents.

The lovely Matteo B. Bianchi was one of them; we had just concluded deals for his bestselling title The Life of Those Who Remain to the Netherlands (De Bezige Bij) and, at auction, to the US (Other Press, World English) on behalf of the MalaTesta Literary Agency. Enough reasons to celebrate!

Celebrating deals with bestselling author Matteo B. Bianchi (MalaTesta Agency)

Ravi Mirchandani (Picador) addresses the audience before the three finalists present their projects

Another highlight of the fair was the announcement of the very first Aficionado Award finalists:

• Aké Arts and Book Festival
• The Passenger (Iperborea and Europa Editions)
• Meridian Czernowitz

As reported in Publishing Perspectives, “the Aficionado Award has been developed by a quartet of industry players who want to recognize and honor ‘original and inspiring publishing initiatives and collaborations.’ The award has been developed in association with Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 18 to 22), where the inaugural winner will be announced.” It will be a tough choice, all three presentations were top-notch and very inspiring!

My experience at this year’s edition confirmed that the impact of the Turin Book Fair on the international publishing scene continues to grow, and we will surely return in the next few years… A presto!