A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in partnership with cultural association Monteverdelegge

What is the fascination of books that start from an image, a drawing, rather than words? How important are comics, manga and graphic novels in the Italian publishing market? What are the characteristics of the increasing number of publishing houses that put “illustrations” at the centre of their production? And how do illustrators and writers engage in dialogue? Leafing through the Alfabeto italiano, the page opens at the letter D, D as in Drawings, a big word, a kind of umbrella term under which many different books can easily be found: picture books for children and adults, comics, manga, graphic novels… It was almost a niche market until around twenty years ago but it is now one of the most important segments in the panorama of Italian publishing.

With Massimiliano Clemente (Tunué) and Lorenzo Mattotti