Having dealt with the Medieval period, the great writer of bestsellers sets his new novel in the twentieth century
The book by Ken Follett, the first volume in the Century trilogy, has been published on the same day around the world in 14 countries, including the UK, the USA, Italy, France, Germany and Spain
In this novel Ken Follett tells the interrelated stories of five families (an American, a Russian, a German, an English and a Welsh) against the backdrop of the historic events that took place from 1911 to the First World War and the October Revolution. As in Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, Follett ably reconstructs a historical saga, weaving the events of big history into the smaller stories of protagonists that move, love, struggle and suffer against the background of the terrible events of the twentieth century. From the coal mines of Wales to the sparkling candelabra in sumptuous palaces, and from the corridors of politics to the alcoves of power, from Washington to St Petersburg, from London to Paris, the story moves incessantly between hidden dramas and international intrigues. The protagonists are rich aristocrats, the ambitious poor, courageous and strong-willed women, all of whom have to deal with war and the consequences of war.
Good and evil, love and hate, peace and war intertwine in this epic novel and are also graphically represented by two different covers, one white, one black.
Ken Follett is considered the world’s leading author of bestsellers and has sold more than 120 million copies, 18 million with Pillars of the Earth alone.
From 1 October, Sky Italia will broadcast the Ridley Scott-produced TV drama series based on Pillars of the Earth.
Extra content, meet the staff, backstage and fashion services for the new digital version of the Mondadori weekly
Grazia readers now have a an extra way to get access to and read – at any time of the day, also when travelling or abroad – their favourite magazine.
First among women’s fashion weeklies, Grazia has launched its app for the iPad and with iGrazia it is now possible to flick through a digital version of the magazine every week and discover – in addition to everything that is in the print version – a range of additional features specially created for enthusiasts of the new device, including a video-editorial by the editor Vera Montanari, interviews and “chats” with the magazine’s staff.
And to coincide with the Milan Fashion Week there will also be a photo gallery and backstage coverage, which thanks to the quality of the images, will provide a taster of the collections on the catwalks for the 2011 Spring/Summer season.
And for those who want to re-read or get more background from already published interviews, with iGrazia you can access all the content of the last ten issues of the magazine.
The Ottagono of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and Piazza San Fedele will be animated by installations by international designers and architects and fashion performances
To coincide with the 2010 Women’s Fashion Week, the City of Milan and the Mondadori Group, with its titles Grazia and Interni, are the promoters of an initiative entitled Fashion & Design 2.0.
The weekly magazine Grazia, a qualified interpreter of Italian fashion and style, has involved prestigious Italian brands and exploited the know how of its editorial staff to produce a series of innovative fashion performances at the centre of the Ottagono, and open to the whole city.
The monthly Interni, with its long and consolidated experience in the world of design, has selected 4 important and world famous designers and architects to produce 4 large installations inspired by the themes and values of the world of fashion in order to illustrate the connection between the fashion system and the world of design.
The opening of Milan’s Fashion Design House
A symbolic space in the centre of Milan, the Galleria, is transformed into a place of encounter and events dedicated to fashion, but also to design, in order to engage not only the media and fashion professionals who during the Fashion Week converge on Milan, but above all local citizens, during one of the most important periods of the year for Italian industry.
The event is organised in three distinct areas:
1. The design installations at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele
Four designer/architects selected by Interni were asked to produce four installations, macro objects of great symbolic value, celebrating the cross-fertilization between fashion and design; in the creation of the installations, the designers have been inspired by the content of the world of fashion, with the possibility of working with the sorts of materials that are most identifiable with it.
The four installations:
Air du temps,
by Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and Partners with Moncler
Wooden Thread,
by Lissoni Associati with Gallo
Timeless Chic,
by Vudafieri Saverino Partners with Tod’s
Apparition,
by Alberto Biagetti with yoox.com
2. The Fashion Design House at the centre of the Ottagono
A stage and a large tiered stand built in the centre of the Ottagono, and enriched with highly suggestive design objects design, creating an original and modern backdrop to enliven every day the fashion performances; Grazia has organised 4 days of appointments during which more than 20 Italian fashion brands will give life to the same number of fashion events created and organised exclusively with the magazine’s fashion department. The tiered stand of the Fashion Design House makes it an authentic exhibition space: with the tiers and the terrace decorated by prestigious furniture and design companies, creating an original and very evocative backdrop.
3. Piazza San Fedele, animated by fashion and design
Piazza San Fedele will become an open-air exhibition space dedicated to the city, in which there will be a combination of moments dedicated to the world of fashion and contemporary design.
From next week, Marco Casareto will be the new editor of the monthly magazine Geo.
Marco Casareto, 43, was born in Chelmsford, England. After studying physics at the University of Milan, he began freelancing for a number of magazines including, from 1993, Focus.
He joined the editorial staff of the Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori monthly three years later and in 2000 was appointed section chief with responsibility for coordinating the Focus Extra brand extension. Managing editor from 2002, in 2004 he became the coordinator of the new Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori title, Focus Storia, of which he became deputy editor in 2006 and editor in 2008. The same year he was appointed editor of Geo, a role he kept until November 2009, when he focused on the monthly Focus Storia and related editorial projects.
Following the launch of three new titles in 2010 (Wars, Biografie and Collection), Casareto today re-takes the helm at Geo.
Circulation figures continue to reward Tu Style, the Mondadori weekly edited by Marisa Deimichei, re-launched in mid-July with a completely new look.
The appreciation of readers has been immediate, with a circulation in the July/August period of 260,000 copies, a 32% increase on the already excellent results of the previous months.
These summer results consolidate and give a new impetus to the positive trend recorded by the title since its initial launch, just over a year and a half ago. A success that the latest ADS figures, for the 12 months May 2009 – April 2010, had already established at 192,646 copies.
There has also been an extremely good response from the advertising market, with revenues up by 49% in July and 72% in August.
“Tu Style is the advertising phenomenon of the year,” declared Angelo Sajeva, chairman and chief executive of Mondadori Pubblicità. “Advertisers have understood the evolution of the title and have particularly approved of the format and the new layout, which is both more modern and, in line with Mondadori’s activities, has an international feel. We immediately noticed a very positive attitude and the results were quick to follow,” underlined Sajeva. “Despite the low season, the revenues of Tu Style have increased considerably, as has the number of clients and the average price of the title. There has been constant growth in all sectors, especially fashion, which has become the main sector even in a title that is not seen as a priority in planning terms. September is also showing an overall increase of around 60%, with fashion and cosmetics reaching 76% of total billings,” concluded Sajeva.
Tu Style has captured women’s attention thanks to an original and revolutionary editorial formula: the large format and completely new layout amplifying the title’s characteristics and giving readers a product with a big impact.
For the editor Marisa Deimichei: “the new Tu Style is increasingly glamorous and exciting. Fashion, beauty and shopping have become more appealing, thanks to an impeccable redesign of the layout and use of photographs, the increase in the number of pages and an even more focused selection of content. Readers are happily captivated by the desire to go out an buy the up to date items shown, even in their super-accessible versions. Just as they are drawn into the world of women that is reflected in Tu Style: stories about celebrities and ordinary women that alternate to give a picture of the many shades and variety of real life,” Deimichei.
A partner of undisputed international prestige for the joint preparation in the upcoming bids for the management of services at state-owned museums and archaeological sites in Italy
Electa, a leader in art book publishing and museum services management, and Réunion des Musées Nationaux have drawn up an agreement for the creation of a 50-50 joint venture for the management of bookshop services at museums and archaeological sites owned by the Italian state.
Réunion des musées nationaux (RMN) – the biggest commercial operator in France and Europe in the culture sector, with revenues of over €100 million and over 1,000 employees, has a long-standing reputation for quality in the different areas in which it operates: publishing, sales, merchandising, exhibition organisation, picture agency and the valorisation of museum sites.
The French company is also the world’s biggest distributor of editorial products and gadgets, through the management of over 40 “librairies-boutiques”, including those at the Louvre and the other leading museums in Paris.
The newly-established company – Electa Rmn – aims to participate in all of the forthcoming bids for the management of bookshops in Italian state-owned museums and the creation of high-quality publishing and merchandising activities, which – thanks to the complementary experience and know-how of the two companies – makes it a qualified interlocutor for the valorisation of Italy’s historic artistic and museum assets.
“What is clear from the numbers is that there is a gap, in terms of best practice in museum services, between the offer in the Italian market and in other European countries,” explained Martin Angioni, managing director of Electa. “This is why, confident of the great potential for development offered by Italy’s outstanding historical and artistic heritage, Electa has decided to share with a partner, that we consider to be the best possible, the crucial transition for our sector,” continued Angioni.
“Access to a great store of knowledge and management skills and the opportunity of creating a system together with that of France, in general, and Paris in particular, gives a sense of the qualitative leap that our country can make in the so-called “additional services” sector, which is so strategic for our development. One figure is enough to illustrate the point. The Louvre, on its own, generates more bookshop revenues than all our museum bookshops put together,” concluded Angioni.
“Electa’s detailed knowledge of the Italian market, allied with Rmn’s experience as the world leader in museum bookshops, will enable Electa Rmn to make an attractive proposal for the valorisation of the extraordinary assets of Italy’s museums and archaeological sites,” claimed Thomas Grenon, managing director of Rmn.
Completion of the operation is subject to the necessary authorisation of the relevant authorities.
For more than 60 years Electa has played a dynamic role in the documentation and study of different areas of the visual arts. The company’s innovative editorial models, the quality of research, the unmistakable image and the great care taken in the preparation of reproductions are part of the history of illustrated publishing.
A success that has also led to an extensive network of co-editions with the world’s leading publishers in the sector and in the direct sales sector abroad, especially in the English-language markets.
Electa is currently the leader in the art and architecture sectors. But over the years the activities of the publishing house have expanded and it is now Italy’s leading player in the organisation of exhibitions and the management of museum services.
Réunion des Musées Nationaux is the world’s biggest commercial operator in the culture sector. In addition to the most important museums in Paris (Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Grand Palais, Petit Palais, Musée Guimet, Musée du Quai Branly), it manages museum services and organises exhibitions across the whole of France (from Versailles to the Musée Cezanne in Aix-en-Provence).
Rmn is also part of the Louvre Abu Dhabi Project. In 2009 the company organised 28 exhibitions, including “Picasso et les Maîtres”, which, with 800,000 visitors and 94,000 catalogues’ sales, was one of the world’s biggest exhibitions of the year.
Paola Girardi has been appointed as the new editor of Casaviva from 2 November.
Girardi, born in Bari, she began her career at Mondadori, in 1982, in the graphic design area. She became a qualified journalist in 1985, and the following year she moved to Casaviva where she remained until 1989. From ’89 to ‘98 she was head of the design and layout department of Elle Decor (Edizioni Edif) before returning to Mondadori, to work on the weekly Grazia, where she worked also on the title’s supplements. In 2000 she was appointed editor of Sposabella (Condé Nast) and, after editing the travel magazine V&S (Edizioni Quadratum) from 2006 to 2009, she took the helm at Home (Hachette Rusconi), where she remained until now.
Casaviva is the leading title in the homes and furniture segment, in which Mondadori operates with a number of established titles that cover all of the circulation and advertising targets in the sector.
With a formula based on lifestyles, the evolution of tastes, the pleasures of the home and a constant update on production, Casaviva is an essential point of reference in the interiors market.
Mondadori France launched Grazia in France a year ago, on 29 August 2009: a new up-market title that – in line with the company’s innovation and development strategy – has enriched the French women’s magazine market, and rapidly became a new point of reference.
With Grazia Mondadori France has created a new up-scale women’s weekly that is both different and immediately recognisable..
With the benefit of the international experience of the Mondadori Group and the strength of a brand that is currently present in 16 countries, Grazia made its debut on the French market with an original editorial concept that combines news, celebrities, fashion, beauty and culture.
The excellent results achieved by the title confirm, one year from the launch, the validity of the Grazia identity as a “news fashion magazine”: a formula that is highly appreciated by readers in the 25 to 44 year-old age range who are active, metropolitan, independent, passionate about news, fashion, new technology and with a high level of purchasing power.
Circulation:
Since its launch Grazia France has reached an average weekly circulation of 177,360 copies (OJD/dsh 2009-2010): +11% on the declared target of 160,000 copies.
The web site Grazia.fr:
910,000 unique visitors and 5 million page views (Source: Nielsen, June 2010).
iPhone app:
71,000 downloads since the app was launched in February 2010.
Advertising sales:
A total of 1,600 advertising pages sold for the first 52 issues of the magazine (an average of 30.8 pages per week): +60% on the declared target of 1,000 pages.
Grazia France has won the unanimous approval of advertisers, 63% of the client portfolio made by up-market advertisers. A success that has also resulted in an evolution of the overall composition of the advertising revenues of Mondadori France, 22.4% of which now comes from the up-scale sector (compared with 6.5% in 2009).
Innovation
The strategy of the Group is to reinforce its portfolio of historic mass market titles, including Télé Star, Closer, Science & Vie, Auto Plus, Biba, Nous Deux, Modes & Travaux and Top Santé, thanks to the constant updating of the editorial offer supported by a focused marketing policy.
Significant events in recent months:
– significant growth for the monthly Biba in its sector: with an increase of 5.1% in the first half of the year, raising the title’s circulation to more than 300,000 copies. A success that has resulted in an increase of 44% on the performance over the previous four years. Meanwhile, advertising revenues in the first seven months of the year were up by 30%.
– For the second year in a row the weekly Closer has confirmed its position as the undisputed leader in the people sector: advertising pages were up 10% on 2009, and market share up by 2.8%.
– The new formula for the monthly Modes & Travaux – launched in June – has met with exceptional success, with a 30% increase in circulation compared with the months prior to the re-launch.
– With annual sales of 15 million copies, Nous Deux continues to be very popular with readers, thanks to a strengthening and renewal of the title. Among the most successful initiatives were a series of twelve previously unpublished novels sold along with the weekly, the publication of five special issues and the launch of “Miss Nous Deux” in June. The solidity of the Nous Deux brand is an authentic point of strength for the Group.
– Following the launch of the new formula, the magazine L’Auto-Journal saw circulation grow by 16% in the period January-July 2010.
First half 2010: a comment on the results
In the first six months of the year Mondadori France generated revenues of €1684 million, an increase of 6.6% (on a like-for-like basis, excluding titles no longer in the portfolio and includingGrazia) compared with the first half of 2009, thanks to a good performance in terms of circulation (+5.3% on a like-for-like basis) and, above all, a significant increase in advertising revenues (+21.1%), mainly due to the success of Grazia.
There was also a big improvement in gross operating profit, which came to €16.4 million (+35% on the €12.2 million of the first half of 2009), and equal to 9.7% of total revenues.
With a portfolio of 28 titles, including Télé Star, Closer, Science & Vie, Auto Plus, Biba, Top Santé, Nous Deux and Modes & Travaux Mondadori France is the France’s third largest magazine publisher in terms of circulation.
With total sales of some 200 million copies, Mondadori France publishes three of the top selling consumer magazines in the country: Télé Star, Télé Poche and Pleine Vie.
In the last two years the company has distinguished itself in the “Magazine de l’Année” competition, organised in France by the Syndacat de la Presse Magazine et d’Information (SPMI), winning four prizes in 2010 (including the prizes for “the best new magazine” for Grazia France; “best people magazine” for Closer; “best passion magazine” for Réponses Photo; and “best TV magazine” for Télé Star) and five awards in 2009, including “best magazine of the year”.
With a staff of around 1,000, Mondadori France generated total revenues in 2009 of €343.5 million.
From 14 September Annalisa Monfreda will take over as editor of Cosmopolitan, the Italian edition of the world’s top-selling monthly, with 60 international editions, managed by the Hearst-Mondadori joint venture.
Annalisa Monfreda, 32, was born in Bari, and began working as a journalist in 1996. In 2002, after a Master in Journalism from the University of Urbino and an internship in the “home news” department of Corriere della Sera, she began a series of collaborations with different magazines. In 2004 she joined the staff of Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori working on the monthly title Geo. In 2008 she was appointed editor of Topgirl and in November 2009 became the editor of Geo.