AGP Executive Report

Bibliography: Alain Riffaud’s catalogue of Molière’s works has won the 2026 ILAB Breslauer Prize, a major international award for bibliography. Literary Recognition: Irish novelist Colm Tóibín is set to receive an honorary degree from an Italian university. Publisher Rights: Italy’s administrative court upheld AGCOM’s fair-pay resolution, a ruling with implications for publishers’ compensation when their content is used online.

Publishing Rights: Italy’s administrative court has rejected Meta’s appeal, leaving AGCOM’s fair-pay resolution for publishers in place — a significant step in the fight over compensation for news content online. Italian Literary Links: Irish novelist Colm Tóibín is set to receive an honorary degree from an Italian university. Books & Readers: October’s book-club picks range from horror to romance, while Billy Bat has won Best Manga at the 2026 Harvey Awards; the series previously received a Lucca Comics award. Book History: Alain Riffaud’s Molière catalogue won the ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography, recognising research that identified 15 previously unknown editions. New Fiction: British debut novelist Mark Coady’s Lying Beneath connects a fictional Northampton museum to Avezzano and a Roman archaeological dig.

Literary Honours: Irish novelist Colm Tóibín will receive an honorary degree from the University of Macerata on Oct. 13, followed by a conversation with Rector John McCourt and a screening of Brooklyn, adapted from Tóibín’s novel. Italy in Fiction: Spokane author Gregory Spatz says a visit to an Italian church helped shape The Vivaldi Church, a new novel linking three characters across time and place; its launch is set for Oct. 16. Rare Books: An interview with dealer Irene Malfatto of Bruce McKittrick Rare Books turns to book fairs and illustrated children’s books, offering a glimpse into the specialist book trade.

Venice in Fiction: Spokane author Gregory Spatz’s new novel, The Vivaldi Church, links three lives across centuries through Vivaldi’s music, including an 18th-century Venetian singer. A visit to a church in Italy helped inspire the story. Rome on the Page and Screen: Cathy Whitlock’s On Location explores settings from films and TV, with two chapters devoted to Rome, including Roman Holiday and the history of the Spanish Steps. Rare Books and Fairs: An interview with rare-books specialist Irene Malfatto turns to book fairs and illustrated children’s books.

Rome’s Manifestival: The second edition of the free festival in Garbatella brought readers together for events built around exchange and community. Organizers also pointed to the challenges facing Italian publishing, including cartel-like practices and conflicts of interest. Classics in the Digital Age: A new look at the revival of ancient works cites Italian writer Italo Calvino’s view that a classic never runs out of things to say, as Homer and Greek drama find fresh audiences through adaptations and translation. Italian Cookbook: Chef Gennaro Contaldo is set to publish a new cookbook focused on a single ingredient, adding to the steady stream of Italian food titles.

Italian Publishing: Rome’s second Manifestival brought free events to Garbatella, with organiser il manifesto framing the festival as a way to give back to readers and exchange ideas amid concerns about cartels and conflicts in Italy’s publishing world. Italian Literary Links: Northern Irish author Bernie McGill will write fiction inspired by Italian actor Eleonora Duse, with research planned at the Cini Foundation and Asolo’s civic museum. Fair Pay: Italy’s administrative court rejected Meta’s appeal, upholding AGCOM’s resolution on fair payment. Vatican Books: The Vatican is set to publish Pope Francis’s private diary next month.

Florence’s Literary Legacy: Queen Camilla’s recollection of secretly reading Lady Chatterley’s Lover has renewed interest in the novel, first published privately in Florence in 1928. Audiobook Expansion: Spotify plans to bring audiobooks to more than 180 markets and 120 languages; publishers have criticized its subscription bundle, while the company says Audiobooks+ has topped $100 million in annual recurring revenue. Vatican Publishing: The Vatican Publishing House will release Pope Francis’s private diary in five languages, drawing on three decades of notes. Literary Prize: Canadian writer Anne Carson has won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Literary Legacy: Queen Camilla’s recollection of secretly reading Lady Chatterley’s Lover renews interest in the banned classic, first published privately in Florence in 1928. Italy in Print: Jason Horowitz’s new book, The Italian Job, casts Italy as a testing ground for political trends that later spread across Europe and the US. Vatican Publishing: The Vatican Publishing House will release Pope Francis’s private diary next month in five languages, drawing on three decades of notes. Audiobook Market: Spotify says its audiobook service is expanding to more than 180 markets, with 350,000 titles in 120 languages.

Publishing Rights: Italy’s Lazio Administrative Court upheld AGCOM’s rules requiring online platforms to pay publishers for using their journalism, rejecting Meta’s appeal and reinforcing publishers’ right to fair compensation. Vatican Books: The Vatican Publishing House plans to release Pope Francis’s private diary in November. The three-decade record is set to appear in five languages. Audiobooks: Spotify is expanding its audiobook service to more than 180 markets, while publishers have challenged its subscription bundle as unfair to the industry. Books on Italy: In The Italian Job, journalist Jason Horowitz argues that Italy has acted as a political laboratory for the modern far right, drawing on his years reporting from the country. Italian Cookbooks: A review of Big Mamma’s new pasta book highlights 150 recipes, from classic dishes to handmade pasta shapes.

Italian Fiction on Screen: Gianrico Carofiglio’s novels move to the screen in The Cases of Attorney Guerrieri, an eight-episode series set in Bari and starring Alessandro Gassmann. Vatican Publishing: The Vatican plans to publish a book presenting Pope Francis’s private diary worldwide in November. Book History: Scotland’s National Library acquired a 1472 edition of John Duns Scotus, printed by one of Italy’s earliest printing houses and among the first printed works to feature a Scottish author.

Audiobooks: Spotify says its audiobook service will reach more than 180 markets by the end of 2026, with Audiobooks+ topping $100 million in annual recurring revenue. The expansion comes amid criticism from publishers over Spotify’s audiobook bundle. Italian Cookbooks: UK publisher Pavillion has acquired Pomodoro, the 13th cookbook by Italian chef Gennaro Contaldo, built around a single ingredient. Literature: Canadian writer Anne Carson has won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Vatican Publishing: The Vatican Publishing House will release Pope Francis’s private diary in five languages next month, drawing on three decades of his notes.

Audiobooks: Spotify is taking its audiobook service from 22 markets to more than 180 by year-end, adding Italian-language titles and working with publishers including Mondadori and Planeta. The expansion brings a major new route to readers, as publishers challenge Spotify’s subscription bundle model. Vatican Publishing: The Vatican Publishing House plans to release Pope Francis’s private diary next month. The book draws on three decades of the pontiff’s notes and is set to appear in five languages. Italian Literary Scene: Ukraine will be guest of honor at the 24th Pisa Book Festival, while translation awards spotlight work bringing Taiwanese and other international fiction to Italian readers.

Audiobooks: Spotify plans to bring its service to more than 180 markets by year-end, with titles in over 120 languages, including Italian. Monthly listeners rose 40% in the past year, even as music publishers accuse the company’s audiobook bundle of cutting royalty payments. Vatican Publishing: Pope Francis’s private diary, drawn from notes spanning more than three decades, is due out Nov. 24 in five languages and 94 countries. Venice’s History: Historian Alexander Lee’s new book, The First Ghetto, examines how Venice confined its Jewish community and how the word “ghetto” took on wider meaning. Italian Book Events: Colson Whitehead will open BookCity Milano 2026, while Ukraine is set to be guest of honor at the Pisa Book Festival; an Italian translator has also won the festival’s award for a Taiwan novel.

Audiobooks: Spotify plans to expand its service to more than 180 markets by year-end, with Italian-language titles and 12 monthly listening hours for eligible Premium subscribers in Italy. Vatican Publishing: The Vatican Publishing House plans a November release of The Private Diary of Pope Francis, featuring notes spanning three decades. BookCity Milano: Pulitzer-winning author Colson Whitehead will open the 2026 festival, bringing a major international literary voice to Milan. Book Fairs: Ukraine will be guest of honour at the Pisa Book Festival, spotlighting its publishing scene and writers. Translation: An Italian translator has won a Pisa award for a translation of a Taiwanese novel.

Vatican Publishing: The Vatican Publishing House will publish The Private Diary of Pope Francis, covering three decades of the pontiff’s notes, with release dates now pointing to late 2026. Publishing & Rights: Greece is heading to the Frankfurt Book Fair with 282 titles and 47 publishers, organized via ELIVIP, and each book will include an English summary to support international rights sales. Italian Culture Abroad: An Italian Conversation Group at the Beebe Library received a donation of children’s books sourced from Abruzzo, aiming to boost Italian-language reading and even support a hospital pediatric-ward book program. Tech & Production: LOFTAPPS will bring its generative-AI production software to VIEW Conference 2026 in Turin, alongside a sneak peek of Phil Tippett’s Mad God sequel. Sports Business: EuroLeague clubs rejected an initial NBA plan for a Europe joint league at a Lake Como summit, citing insufficient financial guarantees while talks stay open.

Vatican Publishing: The Vatican Publishing House will release “The Private Diary of Pope Francis,” based on notes kept from 1992 to 2024, worldwide in five languages on Nov. 24, with the Italian edition handled by the Vatican and other languages via Penguin Random House and Albin Michel. Publishing & Culture: Insight Editions is marking Rocky’s 50th anniversary with “The Fine Art of Rocky: An Artistic Tribute from Screen to Canvas,” featuring official Rocky artist John Rivoli’s rare paintings and a foreword by Sylvester Stallone. Tech & Retail Security: ASOS is investigating after customers received app notifications claiming hackers “fully compromised” a Snowflake instance, sending the retailer’s shares down sharply. Italy & AI Policy: Italy’s Giorgia Meloni has trademarked her voice to protect against AI deepfakes. Books & Community: A local event in Italy highlighted a biography of partisan commander “Commander Pippo,” tying publishing to regional history. Science & Agriculture: An NRC Italy-led study links olive verbascoside levels to a chromosome 21 locus, pointing to future breeding tools.