Publishers Weekly - November 3, 2014

Sandra Ozzla Ferri and Sandro Ferri

Europa Editions

Family Affair

PW talks with Sandro Ferri and Sandra Ozzola Ferri

BY CARRIE TUH Y

Sandro Ferri and Sandra Ozzola Ferri, the husband-and-wife team behind Edizioni E/O, a leading publisher of Italian fiction since 1979, are also the founders of Europa Editions, which has offices in New York and London and foreign literature in English translation. Since Europa launched in 2005, it has released translations of books by more than 120 authors from 30 different countries, bringing high-quality international fiction to American and British audiences. (Europa’s New York office is directed by Kent Carroll and the London office is headed up by Daniela Petracco.)

The house is dedicated to the Ferris’ belief that literature “can help people to understand and respect each other.” Among Europa’s successes is The Elegance of the Hedgehog by French author Muriel Barbery, which has sold more than one million copies in English and made the New York Times bestseller list. In 2014, Europa’s reclusive Italian author Elena Ferrante captivated American reviewers and readers alike with Those Who Stay and Those Who Leave, the third of her Neapolitan Novels. According to Sandra, Ferrante has just delivered the fourth installment in the series, which is scheduled to appear in English in fall 2015. Here the talented couple talk about publishing and how they divide the work, and the spoils.

Whose idea was it to start Europa?

Sandro Ferri: It was my idea. It was political. Following 9/11, I kept thinking it would be a good idea to draw America into closer proximity with the rest of the world.

Sandra Ozzola Ferri: I immediately liked Sandro’s idea. It was time for us to grow as a company, and, instead of staying in Italy, stealing authors from other publishers, and being stolen from, it seemed more interesting to come to the U.S. and address an area that was neglected: translated fiction.

Who does what at Europa?

Sandro: We have no individual titles. We’re both publishers, and for us being publishers means doing whatever is needed, performing whatever role our profession calls for.

Sandra: Sandro is always reading, and he reads all kinds of things. But he doesn’t intellectualize too much. He is a good businessman: courageous but cautious, creative but with a sense of reality. And he does the math. This is why I trust him and believe in his ventures.

Sandro: Sandra is much more determined than I am. When she believes in something, she really follows through on it. She is also more perceptive. I wouldn’t have founded these publishing houses without her.