With an extra pavilion, 137 thousand square meters of surface area and 15 thousand additional seats, the next edition of the Book Fair will be the largest ever. The Salone’s CEO, Piero Crocenzi, announced it this morning in the event’s press conference. From 9 to 13 May a temporary pavilion will be added next to Pavilion 3 of the Lingotto. It will host a new version of Bookstock. Salone Off turns twenty and will invade the city’s places with culture from 3 to 14 May. The live stage also returns with an extensive program of events.
Coming to the Salon will be James Ellroy, Eshkol Nevo, an Israeli writer much loved in Italy, Alicia Giménez Bartlett, and then Elizabeth Strout who will give the inaugural lecture entitled “The very slow start of my very fast career” on writing. Furthermore, the Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk, who corroborates the collaboration between Salone and Museo Egizio, Pajtin Statovci, Joel Dicker and the Japanese Murata Sayaka, for the first time in Italy, the king of American crime Don Winslow with his latest novel (later will stop publishing, he announced ) and Nicolas Barreau, a best-selling author whose name is a pseudonym and has promised to reveal his identity at the Salone. The meeting “The memory he brings, the memory he leaves” will be dedicated to Ernesto Ferrero.
The curators of the Salon present their programmes: Alessandro Piperno, among the curators of the Salon (which this year is divided into “themes”) will focus on the novel with Claudia Durastantu, who made headlines above all for his book La Straniera , and she is also an important translator, Sandro Veronesi, for her “bulimia and literary enthusiasm” and Domenico Startone, “whose sly, slightly fatalistic Neapolitan attitude I appreciate which also affects his way of reading”.
Teresa Cremisi, president of Adelphi, takes care of the publishing section and will shine a light on the profession of the publisher: “it is very difficult, it has to do with commerce and spirit, it is also a bit mysterious and chameleon-like”. You will discuss it at the Salone with Antonio Sellerio, Antoine Gallimard, Stefano Mauri, Massimo Turchetta.
Luciana Littizzetto takes care of the lightness section: «Often considered superficiality, however it is very useful and helps us see reality from another perspective and allows us to glimpse a little light». Four meetings will follow: one on Marcello Marchesi, with his son Massimo, Gianni Morandi, Giacomo Paci and Luca Bianchini. Second meeting with Stefania Bertola, Alessia Gazzola and Diego De Silva. The third will be with children on children’s publishing: “Books are fantastic, it’s a way to approach beauty.” The fourth will be on television writing with Andrea Zalone, Pietro Guerrera and Luca Restivo.”
Melania Mazzucco is head of the art section: she will dedicate herself to meeting art experts, curators, critics and artists such as Monica Bonvicini, Alexandra Lapierre, Salvatore Settis and Francesca Cappelletti. Among the artists who will perform Manuel Agnelli, Gianluca Grignani, Big Mama, Antonio Rezza.