The Island of Books returns to the Turin Book Fair under the banner of AES, the Sardinian Publishers Association which brings together the great majority and the main regional publishing houses for the 37th consecutive year. There are 31 publishers who will be hosted in the AES stand from 9 to 13 May and who will bring 5000 books to the Lingotto, declining the theme “Imaginary Life” in a regional key, chosen by the new editorial director of SalTo Annalena Benini, which opens up to a multiple gaze which meets the horizons and common hopes inherent in the different languages of creativity. Sardinia, “Island of the future”, reflects on what it will be with courage and visionary thanks to the interweaving of its millenary arts open to the world, in evolutionary continuity with the themes of the two previous editions: “Island outside borders” of 2022 and “Island in the mirror” last year, when thanks to the commitment of AES Sardinia was chosen as the host region of the Show. Thousands of books but also great cultural events by AES, 22 in five days, among which the meeting “The Middle Ages in Sardinia” with the medievalist and popularizer Alessandro Barbero stands out on Friday 10th in the 1200-seat auditorium, already sold out. «The numbers, the quality of the editorial proposals and events – explains AES president Simonetta Castia – highlight once again that AES is entitled to represent Sardinian publishing, the only one capable of expressing the image and culture of the island in an artistic, cultural and professional sense also from an organizational point of view. We can only be disappointed – continues President Castia, referring to the failure to assign the programming of the institutional stand of the Sardinia Region to the AES – that the Department of Culture did not choose, as was logical, the publishers to deal with its own sector, moreover participating without authoritative representation of them in number and quality. But shouldn’t Isolana publishing be promoted in Turin?”. The AES will be in Turin with the decisive support of the Sardinia Foundation.
The main events. There are three main events on the Lingotto schedule. On Friday 10th at 12 the auditorium will welcome Alessandro Barbero for the meeting, organized by AES and Ilisso, “The Middle Ages in Sardinia” in which the well-known historian and writer will retrace the Middle Ages on the island, from the lesser-known events to the moments in which Sardinia participates in great history, starting from The time of the Vandals and the Byzantines And The time of judgment (Ilyssus). The archaeologists Sabrina Cisci, Rossana Martorelli, the historian Giovanni Serreli and the professor of medieval history at the University of Sassari Alessandro Soddu will discuss with Barbero. Inserted in the “Reinas” section of the AES programming and preview of the Mediterranea literary festival, “Cenere. Story of love and pain”, in-depth analysis of the novel by Nobel Prize winner Grazia Deledda Ash, in correlation to the 1916 film adaptation of the same name, which sees the great actress Eleonora Duse as the only one on the screen, with Paola Bertolone, Claudia Gianetto and Angela Guiso. On May 11th at 11am the Cobalto room will host the meeting “Creative Europe and opportunities for publishers: the case of Mediterrani-A”, with Simonetta Castia, Bernard Biancarelli and Marian Val, representatives of the Associazione Editori Sardi, Association des éditeurs de Corse and Associació d’Editors del País Valencià, online for the sharing of initiatives to promote reading and publishing and the creation of a dedicated portal.
In the AES stand. The AES stand, in pavilion 2 of the Lingotto, will host most of the meetings. On May 9th from 4pm there will be space for “The Island of books and stories. Journey into the literary production of Aipsa” with Annamaria Baldussi; they follow Eleanor of Arborea and Carta de Logu, with the historians Alessandro Soddu and Giovanni Serreli (Ilisso) and from 6pm, in collaboration with the Regional and Territorial Publishing Forum and the “Mediterranea. Cultures, exchanges, passages”, meeting between Simonetta Castia (AES), Elena Costa (AEA), Alberto d’Angelo (ADEI Campania), Chiara Finesso (Editori Veneti), Mauro Garbuglia (Èdi.Marca), Salvatore Granata (ASE) , Livio Muci (APE), Aldo Putignano (ACE), Giuliano Velliscig (Editori FVG) on Italian bibliovariety. The day ends with a tribute to Maria Giacobbe with Annamaria Baldussi, Angela Guiso and Simonetta Castia (Reinas section). Friday 10th, from 4pm Discovering the thousand-year-old island, Innovative series on Sardinian archeology with the curator Tatiana Cossu and the editor Anna Pau (Ilisso). From 5pm The art of being children by Luciana Satta with Simona Scioni e For my roots by Alessandro Zara with Maria Elena Sini (Carlo Delfino Editore). From 7pm Teachers of the unknown university by Bastiana Madau with Anna Pau (ISOLAPALMA). Saturday 11th from 10am Contemporary Romanian poets, Ilaria Loddo talks with the curator Alberto Contu (Ediuni); follows Antoni Simon Mossa. The architect of freedoms edited by Luciano Deriu, with Massimo Boccaletto and Pietro Lorenzo Simon (Carlo Delfino); at 12 the presentation of the new Ilisso series “Sensory journey in 5 volumes”, to discover the story that each food tells and the traditions that accompany it, with Vanna Fois and Anna Pau. From 3pm Maschighe by Giampaolo Manca, with Alessandro Meloni (La Zattera edizioni), which precedes “Fra editoriali e philologia” with Giancarlo Porcu, on the occasion of the awarding of the 23rd InediTo RitrovaTo special prize for the discovery of an unpublished collection of letters by Grazia Deledda (Il Maestrale) . Continued Simply Linen. The Cagliari tale of Lino Bistrussu by Paolo Matta with Lino Bistrussu and Ilaria Loddo (Ediuni). From 6pm “Chronicles of archeology and the measurement of time in the Nuraghi Valley”, with Lavinia Foddai and Michele Forteleoni, in collaboration with Mediando, Aristeo cultural club and Turritana Astronomical Society. It ends with “Army Aviation. A look at the Italian military conquest of the skies”, by Andrea Di Stasio and Gianluca Carofalo, with Massimo Boccaletti. Sunday 12 “The island of books and stories. Journey into the literary production of Taphros”, a tribute to Simone Sanna (an artist from Aggio who recently passed away), with Dario Maiore, who then talks with Carlo Ferrucci, author of The wrong house (Taphros). At 5pm Annamaria Baldussi presents Maria Piera Mossa. The first Sardinian director (Aipsa) and finally Mario Fadda and Umberto Oppus present with Renato Copparoni Gigi Riva (Carlo Delfino). On Monday 13th the events close with the collection of stories from some schools in Turin, with Marco Demurtas, Michela Magliona and Emanuela Vizzari, “With our eyes”, in collaboration with Catartica.
The publishers. AES has always brought together Sardinian publishers to strengthen their values and best represent their needs on the book market. They will be with AES: Abbà, Aipsa, Alfa, AM&D, Amico Libro, Archivi del Sud, Arkadia, Camena, Carlo Delfino, Catartica, Domus de Janas, Edes, Ediuni, Edizioni della Torre, Edizioni Enrico Spanu, GC, Grafica del Parteolla, Ilisso, Il Maestrale, Imago Multimedia, Iskra, Isolapalma, La Città degli Dei, La Zattera, Maxottantotto, Mediando, Paolo Sorba, Papiros, PTM, Soter, Taphros.
