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A stylish set of travel guides with eclectic content is set to find its way into UK travellers’ suitcases after Europa Editions struck a deal with Italian independent publisher Iperborea to translate the title
These aren’t travel guides—you don’t want to walk around a city with them—but they are really good to go into more depth after you’ve been somewhere, or to read up before you go, or just for the armchair traveller,” says Europa Editions UK’s head of sales and publicity, Daniela Petracco, of the publisher’s new travel list.
Bearing the tagline “for explorers of the world”, The Passenger series is a co-publishing project between Italian independent publisher Iperborea and Europa Editions. Born out of a conversation between the long-term friends and collaborators, the co-editions were the brainchild of Europa Editions publishing director Eva Ferri (pictured). Originally conceived by Iperborea, which launched the project in Europe last year, the series is now being brought by Europa Editions to the English-language market with the first two titles—focusing on Japan and Greece—publishing in the UK in May.
Each volume contains 10 to 12 long-form pieces, with a mix of original work commissioned from local authors and journalists, as well as international experts on the area, and previously published writing that has been reprinted or translated for the project. Content is varied, taking in essays, investigative journalism, literary reportage and visual narratives to tell the story of the chosen country or city. Every title also includes a series of regular sections, such as infographics, original illustrations, book and film recommendations, debunked “false myths” about the area, a country-specific Spotify playlist, and an original photo essay. Petracco says the result is “quite profound and very sensitively put together, and fun”.
All of the editorial content will be the same as that usedin the original Italian series, commissioned and edited by Iperborea, as will the highly stylised layouts, with each volume taking on a different colour. Freelance editor Simon Smith, formerly of Peter Owen, has been hired to co-ordinate the English-language edition. Europa Editions will be responsible for the translation, publicity and global distribution of the English editions, while export rights and sales and distribution are to be handled by the Independent Alliance.
The Passenger represents a rare foray into non-fiction for Europa Editions, which is primarily known for its translated fiction, in particular as the UK publisher for Elena Ferrante (although last year it launched the Europa Compass imprint, focusing on travel, contemporary culture, popular science, history, philosophy and politics). Despite this, Petracco is confident that the new series will appeal to the publisher’s core audience—given that its fiction already has “a strong sense of place”—as well as those tempted to pick the titles up for their gift/coffee-table book qualities. She says: “It should fit quite well with our readership, and also go beyond it and bring more people to fiction in translation too.”
Europa predicts The Passenger will do well in the export market and upmarket airport and travel shops. The publisher is also talking to distributors and non-traditional sales channels such as gift shops, museums and galleries, and is open to collaborating with relevant organisations. Iperborea has released six The Passenger titles in Italy so far, all of which have appeared on the country’s bestseller lists. Europa Editions UK is deciding the publishing schedule for the series based on the topicality of the content, although Petracco also highlights the “timeless qualities” of the essays included. One of the first titles—Japan—is publishing just ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in July, and Petracco is already in talks with festivals about speaking opportunities for the volume’s contributors, which include the Times’ Asia editor Richard Lloyd Parry, the author of the collection’s first essay on the 2011 tsunami and how it sparked a renewed “cult of the dead” in the country.
A volume on Greece will be published simultaneously, and two further titles, dedicated to Brazil and Turkey, are coming in the second half of 2020. In keeping with the timely publishing of the series, Petracco promises that the Brazil volume taps into the conversation around the current climate crisis, with content about the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and a “really arresting” front cover that defies expectations.
Although digital has hit the general travel publishing market hard, Europa Editions does not think this will be the case with The Passenger books, partly due to their aesthetic appeal. Petracco says: “I don’t think you could have this digitally, it just wouldn’t be the same... Paper still has its place.”