A conversation with the editor of Benedict XVI
From pencil to e-book
Giulia Galeotti
Seven initial editions for a total of one million two hundred thousand copies and signed contracts with twenty-two publishers around the world. These are the first issues of Benedict XVI's book Jesus of Nazareth. The entrance to Jerusalem to the Resurrection. The book is presented in the afternoon of March 10 in the Holy See Press Office. Of its genesis, the background that led to the creation and especially the complex publishing operation that is at the base, talk to Don Giuseppe Costa, director of the Libreria Editrice Vaticana (LEV).
In the interview last January 20 with our newspaper, she provided for the output volume for March: perfectly on time thanks to whom?
The credit is a bit 'all, but first author, who has delivered very early. Then there was the long process of translation into several languages, and by February, the press and an organization that really took a lot of effort
What was the history of book publishing?
Almost a year and a half ago, Monsignor Georg Gänswein gave me the memory stick and paper: the Pope had entered the text in pencil, with his unmistakable handwriting minute, then, as always, Birgit Wansing has transcribed to the computer.
In Italy, the first volume was published by Rizzoli, while the current goes out with the Lev: not just a change.
I would say so. The book, printed by the Vatican Press, is distributed by the RCS, with its excellent organization that has guaranteed distribution of three hundred thousand copies in three days.
One thing not easy to be that of the translations.
especially in Italian it was not easy, because in these decades, Joseph Ratzinger's books were translated by different hands: the challenge was to find a degree of uniformity of language. It should also avoid the risk that the various language can not keep or even betray the author's thought. Fidelity to the original has been insured with care and commitment by the translators of the Secretary of State.
For the first volume, there were translation problems?
Yes: for example, that China was not flawless, and others did not respond to theological language. We received more requests for translations from the first volume?
Yes, the interest is higher, and consequently the number of publishers has grown. And this is just the beginning: we have signed contracts with twenty-two publishers around the world, but we are negotiating with others.
How is the choice of the publishers?
When you know that the Pope is working on a book, there's several requests from several countries, so that the editors at the end are only a part of those who had come forward. In the United States, for example, it seemed Ignatius Press il più adeguato, anche se avevano fatto richiesta editori importanti come Doubleday e Our Sunday Visitor. Per l'edizione in francese, abbiamo scelto Parole et Silence, una casa editrice in crescita, molto impegnata nella diffusione del magistero papale, e in Spagna Encuentro.
Il cambiamento è stato completo...
Il cambiamento è stato completo...
Quasi completo: non tutti gli editori del primo volume hanno stampato anche il secondo. La scelta è stata dettata da più criteri. Di serietà editoriale e organizzativa, certo, ma anche di affidabilità: abbiamo deciso per editori capaci di promuovere non semplicemente il libro, ma anche il suo contenuto.
What issues are scheduled?
On March 10, leaving seven editions - in German, Italian, English, French, English, Portuguese and Polish - for a total of one million two hundred thousand copies. The German edition is playing with one hundred and fifty thousand copies, but Herder has already added other fifty thousand and is ready to run. The Italian edition has already distributed three hundred thousand copies, and we are reprinting other hundred thousand. And while in France one hundred thousand copies are ready, Portugal began with twenty thousand. In late March, then, comes the Croatian edition.
It will provide the e-book?
Yes, certainly, and in some languages \u200b\u200bis also available for the first volume.
And the future?
In the preface to this book, the Pope announced a third part devoted to the Gospels. And there is the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a single edition of the Lev to the three volumes. We believe that this new book by Pope Benedict XVI will be a long seller. As such it will be well promoted through presentations, meetings and other activities.
The book is dedicated to the last days of Jesus' life output in the vicinity of Easter is a case?
No, this is certainly the best time. You could also post before, but there was the book's release in November interview.
Benedict XVI is surely a sign that it will save on advertising ...
Not only that, but as a publisher I must say that the Pope has increased the Lev because we had to adapt structures and organization, demonstrating a capacity that had previously not had. Obviously, the Pope also calls on the cultural side, because we offer essays in response to his works and books that disseminate for the general public of her teaching.
There is no author, if there is a reader: even in the case of Benedict XVI?
The Pope is always read, even the most complex. Benedict XVI is a distinguished theologian, and sometimes also delves into issues concerning the research method, but who is interested in the story of faith, the spiritual dimension or even human communication, always finds its pages very understandable. And engaging.
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