SUMMERSIDE – Giulia De Gasperi believes books have a lot to offer.
A native of Italy, De Gasperi came to Prince Edward Island for the first time when she was 17 while participating in a school exchange program at Colonel Gray High School.
“I fell in love with the Island. At the time though, I wasn’t aware that P.E.I. was Anne’s [of Green Gables] land. I was completely in love with the character,” she said.
After attending Gray, she returned to Italy and went on to attend university, specializing in Canadian literature.
“There wasn’t a specific Canadian literature course, so it was more a foreign language and literature course. After I got my bachelor of arts, I went for my PhD, and it was still a broad scope but I tried as much as I could to focus it on Canadian studies, culture and literature,” explained De Gasperi.
During this time Mark Holton, a teacher at Colonel Gray, would send her care packages of classic Canadian books and literature critiques.
“That’s what kept my interest alive.”
Between her second and third year of university, De Gasperi became unhappy with her program and applied for a government of Canada scholarship to attend a Canadian university to pursue Canadian studies.
She studied at St. Francis Xavier from 2004 to 2007 where she met her future husband. When he went to Edenborough, Scotland, in 2008, she went with him. De Gasperi was in Scotland for four years before returning to Antigonish in 2012 and then moved to Summerside in 2013.
Eventually she became involved with the Association of Italian Canadian Writers, and it was through that work, she learned that there wasn’t a lot of Canadian literature available in Italy.
To change that, she formed the literary agency in 2015: Radici Translation and Wordcraft Ltd.
“The purpose of the business is to promote translation of Canadian works to Italian publishers. I read and evaluate books in English and French and determine if they are of interest to the Italian readership. Then I approach publishers that might be interested.”
She says many of the books accessible in Italy by Canadian authors are not necessarily the ones that best depict the country, but rather the stereotypes.
“It doesn’t really give people the chance to get to know Canada. There are a bunch of authors, publishers and illustrators who are not given the right visibility.”
She says finding the right publisher isn’t about luck, but rather a long process.
“I recently sold the rights of a book to a publisher that took two years. It’s all about finding the right publisher.”
Last week, De Gasperi launched a publishing imprint that is part of Radici. It’s called Sofia’s Books.
“I didn’t want a logo that was strictly tied to a location, but rather one that is welcoming and inviting with room to grow.”
The imprint is named after her Bernese mountain dog, Sofia.
“She brought us back to life like a furry phoenix. So, this imprint is also like the rebirth of literature.”
She plans to create two editorial lines, one that translates French and English Canadian literature into Italian and another that translates Italian literature into French and English.
“I plan to feature books from all across Canada from all different genres. There will be classic novels but also more contemporary titles, books by female authors, indigenous authors and minority groups as well.”
De Gasperi is also working with a friend to create an interactive map that will be featured on the business’s website where users can hover over the province, a list of books will come up along with facts about the region, the author, the book and the country.
She also wants to incorporate the artwork of Canadian artists for the cover and illustrations of the books by matching artists with a specific book. Extending the process, she wants translators to write an excerpt of their experience translating the book using the business as a tool to capture and showcase the creative process.
Her first project will be “Anne of Green Gables.”
“I couldn’t not start with her.”
In the meantime, De Gasperi is researching funding options for the imprint.
“Right now, I’m ineligible for federal funding because I focus on translation exclusively. But I’m hoping to still apply and maybe be considered. Money won’t be a deterrent. I want to do this now because it is the right time and the right thing to do.”
She added, “I feel Canadian literature has been unappreciated and underrated. It has so much to offer.”
