AGP Executive Report

Publishing Politics: Italy’s Più Libri Più Liberi book fair is at the center of a censorship row after organizers required publishers to sign an “anti-fascist values” declaration—prompting sharp backlash from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and criticism from opposition figures. Justice & Culture: Justice Minister Carlo Nordio also weighed in, arguing the Fascist-era criminal code still in use makes the “anti-fascism proof” demand paradoxical. Art & Heritage: Florence’s Santa Croce Giotto frescoes in the Bardi Chapel are nearing the end of a four-year restoration, with scaffolding set to come down ahead of a September reveal. Literary Spotlight: A new novel, Ominous Odyssey, turns a Rome dig into a survival thriller set 50,000 years in the past. Book Prizes: Pam Morrison wins the 2025 Lorian Hemingway short story contest for “One Small Bird.”

Publishing & Culture Clash: Italy’s Più Libri Più Liberi Rome book fair sparked a censorship row after organisers asked exhibitors to sign an “anti-fascist” declaration; Giorgia Meloni called it “censorship,” while organisers said it’s about “clarity” ahead of the Dec 4–8, 2026 event. Books & Publishing Spotlight: Michelle Obama’s new Penguin Random House book “The Look” will feature 200+ photos of her White House fashion, blending personal and political moments. Archaeology & Heritage: DNA from 2,000-year-old grape seeds in Tuscany links Roman vineyards to long-lived grape lineages and helps explain ancient wine variety shifts. Sports Collectibles: FIFA ends its 54-year Panini sticker deal, handing the official license to Fanatics as it pushes new physical and digital fan engagement. EU Security/Tech: NATO’s experimental Arctic unit set off from La Spezia to test uncrewed systems for persistent awareness across the North Atlantic and High North. Energy Policy: The EU’s AccelerateEU plan reframes decarbonisation as competitiveness and security, proposing coordinated short-term steps and faster electrification. Travel & Lifestyle (Italy angle): Lake Garda is pitched as a more affordable, less crowded alternative to Como, with a focus on towns like Torri del Benaco.

NATO & Italy’s Role in Arctic Tech: NATO’s experimental Task Force X-Arctic set sail from La Spezia on June 8, testing how uncrewed systems can deliver persistent situational awareness across the North Atlantic and High North through 2026-27. Publishing & Online Safety: The U.S. DOJ and DHS seized domains CFAKE.com and SOCFAKE.com under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, targeting non-consensual deepfake nude forgeries of famous women. Food & Books: A new cookbook, Easy Italian Dinners from My Little Kitchen, spotlights cucina povera-inspired, veg-forward “no magic bullets” cooking, sharing budget classics like Tuscan tomato-and-bread soup. Science & Wine Heritage: DNA from 2,000-year-old grape seeds in Tuscany traces Roman-era grapevine continuity and even points to ancient white grapes. Health Guideline: The Endocrine Society updates care for central precocious puberty, suggesting some subgroups may need less testing and treatment. Travel & Italy: A Lake Garda guide pitches a more affordable, less crowded lakeside escape, with Torri del Benaco as a base.

NATO Arctic Tech Test: NATO launched Task Force X-Arctic, sending the research vessel Alliance from La Spezia to trial uncrewed systems for persistent multi-domain awareness across the North Atlantic and High North, building on a Baltic Sea effort. World Cup Culture & Collecting: In Argentina, kids are swapping World Cup sticker albums with paper “stacks” instead of phones, turning the pastime into a real-life social ritual. Deepfake Porn Crackdown: The US seized domains used to distribute non-consensual nude digital forgeries of famous women under the TAKE IT DOWN Act. Royal-Style Publishing Angle: A new book claims Queen Elizabeth gave Prince Harry and Meghan “blessing” to leave royal life on the condition they wouldn’t keep doing public engagements that could overshadow the family. Cruise & Wine Books: Regent Seven Seas unveiled its 2027 Spotlight Collection, including a Rome-to-Barcelona wine voyage with expert-led programming. Publishing/Books in Italy: A new Andrea Wulf biography, The Traveller, spotlights George Forster’s radical ideas on equality and freedom.

Deepfake crackdown: The U.S. seized domains CFAKE.com and SOCFAKE.com used to publish non-consensual nude forgeries of famous women, citing the TAKE IT DOWN Act. Publishing & rights: Random House acquired an authorized “Godfather” novel, “Connie,” by Adriana Trigiani, set for fall 2027 and focused on Connie Corleone. Tech for publishing workflows: A companion guide explains how to parse PDFs locally with Docling (open-source) to recover tables, OCR, and figure text without sending documents to the cloud. Health guidance: The Endocrine Society released a new clinical guideline on central precocious puberty, noting some subgroups may need less testing or treatment. Italy-linked NATO move: NATO’s experimental Arctic unit, launched from La Spezia, will test uncrewed systems for persistent multi-domain awareness across the North Atlantic and High North. Italian culture on the ground: Ishpeming’s 126th annual Italian Fest returns July 25 with food, music, and family activities.

Court Ruling on Religious Funding: Italy’s long-running “intese” exclusion for Jehovah’s Witnesses has been ruled discriminatory by the European Court of Human Rights, reshaping access to the country’s main religious funding route. Publishing & Books: Mac Barnett’s adult debut, “Make Believe,” argues that children’s literature deserves serious study and that adults underestimate kids’ ability to engage deeply with stories. Book Reviews Roundup: A weekly “big new releases” take highlights fresh fiction and non-fiction across genres, from coming-of-age to crime and climate policy. Wine & Science for Readers: DNA analysis of 2,000-year-old grape seeds from Tuscany traces ancient grape continuity and reveals white grapes once dominated the Chianti vineyard now known for red wines. Culture Beyond Books: A pop-up World Cup jersey exhibit in New York spotlights game-worn shirts from legends like Maradona, Baggio, Ronaldo and Mbappé, blending sports history with collectible culture.

NATO & Tech in the High North: NATO’s experimental Task Force X-Arctic set sail from La Spezia, Italy, to test how unmanned systems can deliver persistent situational awareness across the Arctic and North Atlantic through 2026-27. World Cup Culture & Media: The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off today with Mexico vs South Africa in Mexico City, with FIFA rolling out new fan-centered pre-match ceremonies and a huge global audience. Travel & Scams: A warning on online travel middlemen highlights how advance travel authorisations can be exploited for inflated fees, with the EU’s ETIAS looming. Publishing & Books: A major reissue and film adaptation spotlight Pier Vittorio Tondelli’s Camere Separate, while a separate piece looks at how literary characters offer “life lessons” worth stealing. Italian Business/Finance: Berlusconi’s children get permission in a Dublin court matter tied to shareholding notifications for Banca Mediolanum. Science & Nature: A new global map shows underground fungal networks are vast—dense enough to rival a significant slice of the Milky Way if laid out in a line.

NATO & Italy: NATO says an experimental Arctic unit, Task Force X-Arctic, has departed La Spezia on June 8 to test unmanned systems for persistent awareness across the North Atlantic and High North, building on a Baltic deployment last year. World Cup 2026 (books & culture angle): FIFA will honor Pelé and Maradona at the June 11 opening ceremony, as the tournament expands to 48 teams. Deep-sea science: Researchers report the deepest, oldest whale “graveyard” in the Indian Ocean—5.3 million-year-old bones supporting jellyfish, tubeworms and brittle stars—published in Nature. Classics & education: A piece traces how Renaissance humanism shaped classical studies and how the sciences later challenged that model. Publishing & reading: A summer reading list spotlights André Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name, set in Italy. Sports spotlight: Italian driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli wins Monaco’s F1 Grand Prix from pole, in a race marked by penalties and disruptions. Community & culture: Fredonia’s Italia Festival (June 20) returns with food, wine and live music.

Deep-Sea Science: Researchers report the largest, deepest, oldest “whale graveyard” yet in the southeastern Indian Ocean, with fossils and living communities (jellyfish, tubeworms, brittle stars) thriving on whale falls dating back 5.3 million years. Publishing & Books: A new AP report says independent bookstores in the U.S. are actually expanding again, with ABA membership up and new formats (mobile, pop-up, niche romance/fantasy) driving growth. Italy & Culture: Emma Watson, known for playing Hermione in Harry Potter, has been photographed in Venice while continuing her studies at Oxford. Arts & Museums: A debate piece argues the “crisis of the museum” is also a crisis of the white-cube model, touching politics, restitution, sustainability, leadership, and tech. Food (Italian): A quick recipe for tortellini alla panna highlights creamy, prosciutto-cotto goodness in under 30 minutes. World Cup (Sport/Media): Coverage ramps up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including commentary on politics, logistics, and fan culture.

Publishing & Books: A new Pride-focused reading roundup spotlights queer and trans artists, with titles ranging from Claude Cahun to photo archives of queer nightlife, while another list curates summer fiction and nonfiction picks for readers. Culture & Art: India’s Venice Biennale pavilion returns with “Geographies of Distance: Remembering Home,” curated by Amin Jaffer, exploring identity and “home” across cultures. Italy & Heritage: Italian students at Liceo Scientifico Cavour in Rome uncover a large Roman vault beneath their school, likely tied to a second-century villa, adding to the Colosseum area’s still-mysterious layers. Religion & Rights: Norway’s Supreme Court backs Jehovah’s Witnesses, striking down administrative bans and funding denials—an outcome framed as significant for religious freedom beyond Norway. Food & Lifestyle: A restaurant feature uses the “hyphen” as a bridge between Ethiopian and Eritrean identities, while other pieces track how dining trends shift toward smaller, shareable starters. Sports & Media: World Cup coverage keeps blending politics, pricing, and global fan engagement—plus streaming and rights strategy angles.

Italian Literature & Publishing: Mario Desiati brings his Strega-winning return, Malbianco (Einaudi), to Lyon on June 13, tracing a Puglia homecoming where illness leads to family history, silences, and buried trauma. Book Culture & Travel in Italy: Andrew Sean Greer’s Villa Coco (review) keeps the “Italy as comic education” vibe, with a young archivist at a Tuscan villa learning customs, romance, and power games from the Baronessa. Publishing Industry (Italy): Bocconi University launches a Junior Workshop in Geoeconomics in Milan (June 10) with a €3,000 best-paper prize, signaling how research funding and policy priorities shape what gets studied. Sports & Books Crossover: A “Cost of the World Cup” piece spotlights Panini sticker collecting as a nostalgia-driven, physical-booklet obsession—proof that fandom still has a paper trail. Media & Film: The Kidnapping of Arabella trailer lands ahead of its July 2026 release, with Italian director Carolina Cavalli returning after Amanda.

AI & Anti-racism: Afroféminas founder Antoinette Torres Soler is building AfroféminasGPT, an AI trained only on Black feminist, anti-racist and decolonial thinkers—an explicit bid to challenge Western dominance in tech. Science & Publishing Culture: A new look at peer review argues it’s become science’s main gatekeeper, shaped by incentives, politics and funding pressures—raising questions about what gets published and funded. Health Research: Italian-linked lab work reports protein-repair defects tied to hidden heart failure, pointing to misfolded-protein stress mechanisms. Books & Academia: Bocconi (Milan) launches a Junior Workshop in Geoeconomics with a €3,000 best-paper award; submissions close 19 April 2026. Publishing/Media: A documentary, Nature Provides: The Ancient Wisdom of Plant Stem Cells, wins Best Feature Documentary at the Alpine International Film Festival. Food & Craft: A new focaccia recipe from The Next Loaf Baking School spotlights rosemary, olives and sea salt. EU Workplace Rules: The Pay Transparency Directive deadline has passed, with employers now weighing uneven national implementation.

Publishing & Books: Andrew Durbin’s dual biography The Wonderful World That Almost Was spotlights photographer Peter Hujar and artist Paul Thek, framing their careers and shifting relationship as a story of two creatives “coming into being.” Graphic Memoir Spotlight: Tributes follow Marjane Satrapi, whose Persepolis remains a global benchmark for graphic storytelling about revolution and women’s rights. Business Publishing in Italy: Milan’s Bruno Editore pitches itself as a business-authority engine, claiming 3M readers, 1,300 authors, and a contractual “Amazon Bestseller” guarantee for entrepreneurs and professionals. Culture & Art: Olivia Laing marks the 10th anniversary of The Lonely City with a new excerpt choice tied to Andy Warhol’s “time capsules.” Space & Industry: ESA (for the Czech Republic) signs with Vast for a private astronaut mission to the ISS, pending panel approval. Politics & Reading Culture: Reuters reports Roberto Vannacci’s new far-right party Futuro Nazionale is gaining paying members fast, raising stakes for Meloni’s next election.

Workplace Culture Debate: An Instagram reel from an Indian woman living in Italy sparked a lively discussion after she noticed an almost empty office at 5:15 pm, raising questions about productivity, professionalism, and work-life balance across countries. Publishing & Books: A new translation-focused spotlight emerged around Vauban Books and the English translation of Jean Raspail’s The Camp of the Saints, after Amazon briefly delisted it—another reminder of how publishing can collide with politics. Italian History in Print: Routledge released an edited/translated volume on Saint Benedict and Montecassino, using ninth-century Cassinese memory to illuminate southern Lombard politics and Muslim raids. Detective Fiction Legacy: A profile revisits Dorothy Leigh Sayers’ role in making detective fiction “respectable,” tracing her path from Oxford scholarship barriers to a major publishing career. Culture & Media: The 22nd Century Cinema Project launched as a global think tank aimed at keeping theatrical exhibition central as technology changes how films are experienced.