interviews
9 October 2024

Interview with Lorenzo Armando
(IT PUBLISHING)

Author: Luigi Visconti

Interview with Lorenzo Armando <br>(IT PUBLISHING)</br>

Lorenzo Armando is the owner of the Turin-based company Lexis, which has been providing publishing services since the 1980s and has been publishing non-fiction and university texts under various brands for the last fifteen years. In 2023 he founded the startup IT PUBLISHING with Antonella Fabbrini (a seasoned professional with extensive experience, in particular at Casalini Libri).

 

What is IT PUBLISHING, how did it come about, who is it aimed at?

 

IT PUBLISHING was born out of the conviction that there is unexpressed potential for Italian publishing abroad. In particular, the numbers tell us of a growing production of titles with characteristics suited to the international market, and of a pool of readers abroad whose demand is not being intercepted. But we believe that there is also room to innovate the practices we more traditionally associate with publishing exports, in particular, the sale of rights and a presence at international fairs.

In order to intercept this potential, in an increasingly complex and rapidly evolving market context, we felt it was necessary to implement an innovative and structured support strategy, aimed primarily at publishers who would like to be more present in foreign markets.

 

What needs do you think the current system is failing to meet? What services and consultancy do you think you can offer?

 

Today, working on foreign markets not only means selling or buying publishing rights. There are more and more experiences of publishers who have equipped themselves to sell their products directly (perhaps using print-on-demand through one of the available platforms), using new technologies (including artificial intelligence) for promotion work, or who are experimenting with innovative partnership models or have created specific brands for the markets on which they believe they can work successfully.

IT PUBLISHING aims to share the know-how needed to explore these opportunities, starting with a careful selection of catalogues, channels and markets, in order to define tailor-made strategies with its customers. It thus combines knowledge of the mechanisms of book publishing with the ability to implement innovative solutions.

 

What synergies can be activated with public bodies and institutions operating in the field of promoting Italian books abroad?

 

What we are proposing intends to complement what already exists, avoiding harmful overlaps in any way. In this perspective, we consider of great interest the possible collaboration with the promotional activity carried out by newitalianbooks. We would like to contribute to an overall reasoning on the effectiveness of the investments that public bodies and institutions put in place, which would lead to adjusting the focus where appropriate. It would be ideal to create a real permanent observatory in this sense, involving the various players in the supply chain, starting of course with the publishers, an idea that AIE has already evaluated positively.

 

How long will the project take to develop? What are the prospects?

 

The company was set up in September 2023, and in this first year it has already started working with several publishers. Each one has its own needs and IT PUBLISHING uses its expertise to meet them, whether it is the promotion of a large volume in several languages in bookshops around the world, assistance in the promotion of an academic series in a foreign language or the organisation of an author launch tour. On the other side of the chain, agreements are already in place or being finalised with players such as Amazon and Ingram, and the activity in Spanish-speaking markets, via the distributors Liber Express and Interleo, is particularly promising.

At Buchmesse 2024 we will present the new website, the content of which will give an account of both the activities carried out to date and the initiatives we intend to launch from next year.

Interview with Lorenzo Armando <br>(IT PUBLISHING)</br>
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