EDITORIAL DIRECTOR HARLEQUIN MONDADORI

WFF: Alessandra Bazardi, tell us a little about yourself, your educational background and how you ended up an editor. Have you always wanted to work in publishing?
What books do you read, besides, of course, the ones Harlequin Mondadori publishes?

AB: I'm 40 years old, married and I have an 8 year old son. I'm a journalist by training and my educational background is in the classics. I obtained a degree in Classical Literature at the University of Pavia, with a minor in Greek History. My dissertation was on Ecateus of Miletus. Then I studied journalism and worked as a teacher. But my dream was to work in publishing and my dream came true when I got a publishing job when I was 25 - and what better place for one's dream to come true than Harlequin, where a happy ending is guaranteed! After I joined the company, I rose through the ranks as a junior and then a senior editor, dealing with public relations. At the end of 2003, I became editorial manager.
What do I like to read? Well, of course besides our novels, which occupy a good chunk of my reading time - especially the chicklit novels - I have broad reading tastes. Sometimes I am nostalgic for my classical roots and dive back into such classics as Plutarch and Plato. I love Italian and Latin America literature and non-fiction of all types. My reading habits are odd, though, and irregular. Sometimes I'll read constantly and other times I give myself a period of utter rest from reading. And sometimes, if I'm engrossed in the book, I'll read deep into the night.

WFF: Can you tell us something about Harlequin Mondadori, when it was founded and which of Harlequin's lines it publishes? What's your best-selling line and how many books do you publish a month?

AB: Harlequin Mondadori is a joint venture between Harlequin Enterprises, the world colossal in women's fiction, and the Italian publishing house Arnoldo Mondadori. Harlequin Mondadori is known for its category romances, published as 'Harmony' books. Just imagine - research has shown that at least one woman out of three has read a Harmony category romance in her life and that brand awareness tops 80%. Harmony books are the undisputed leaders in the field of romance, and the numbers speak for themselves: there are 14 Harmony lines and 8 Harlequin Mondadori lines, sold in newspaper kiosks, with about 650 books published a year. That's an average of 50 books published a month, with sales figures rising sharply during the summer months. Harlequin Mondadori underwent major restructuring in 2002 - its core mission changed and it began publication of the Red Dress Ink line, sold in bookstores. The 'Chiaroscuri' line (Mira) was added in 2003, real page-turners for readers who love romantic suspense and thrillers. At the moment, the most famous and best-selling line is our first line of category romances, the Harmony Collection. Our bookstore sales of the Red Dress Inks are such that our chicklit line has become a staple for readers with single attitude. We're truly proud of it and we're hoping that the new line, 'DCuore', will continue the success of the other lines and help us grow.

WFF: Harlequin Mondadori is expanding its range of women's fiction books, thanks to the Red Dress Inks, the Chiaroscuri (Mira) books and now with its DCuore line.
Tell us a little bit about this new line, DCuore.

AB: DCuore is the new women's fiction line published by Harlequin Mondadori. These are books that speak to women's hearts. They are beautifully-written, emotionally-involving stories by best-selling authors, touching upon all the genres of women's fiction: sagas, historical novels, contemporaries, relationship novels, sensual novels.

WFF: Which of the vast range of Harlequin lines does HM choose to publish in Italy? Are Italian reader tastes different from the reading tastes of the English-speaking public?

AB: Harlequin Enterprises is a 'perfect machine', in terms of its organization, author policy, number of books published per year and range of genres. We publish a good portion of these books, though of course we have to take into account the size of our Italian reading public and the tastes of our readers. Our 'traditional' romances pretty much mirror what's published in America and often the successful trends are the same. There are, however, some genres which don't sell as well over here, because they are 'too' American or are part of a niche market, such as the 'Inspirational' romances, paranormals or adventure books. Our readers are much less interested in them.

WFF: What kind of topic and language should a Harlequin writer wanting to sell to an Italian reading public be using? What do Italian readers like and - above all - what don't they like?

AB: Italian readers love reading aspirational novels, novels about the glitz and glamour of the big city. They love plots that are well-constructed yet emotional, written in a simple, sophisticated style, where the pace never lets up. However, I do feel that the language of love is universal, no matter what country the reader is in. Just use the right mix of ingredients without going overboard and keep those pages turning!

WFF: What kind of category romances are selling - suspense, classic romances, contemporaries, historicals? Have you noticed that readers' tastes have changed over the course of the past few years? What do you think future trends will be?

AB: Our range of books and lines is so vast that I think we can meet any reader's tastes. Having said that, the classic fairy-tale happy ending, including royalty, sheiks and princesses, is always a favorite. Lately we've seen a big boom in sensual romance, like our Temptation series, which are perennial best-sellers. Romantic suspense, as well, written by our best-known writers, is very popular, as are sagas and historicals. Famous families, dynasties, sagas set in the past and the present - these all sell well. Of course reader tastes have changed over the years, and readers have changed as the love stories have changed. Just read a Harmony category romance from 20 years ago and you can see how the structure of the novel has evolved. The heroine was once 'prey' of the alpha male and now she's much more pro-active. Future trends? I'd say new romance.

WFF: As you know, the Women's Fiction Festival in Matera is putting the spotlight on historicals. How popular are historicals with Italian readers? What historical periods do they prefer and what kind of settings are popular?

AB: I am delighted that the Women's Fiction Festival is dedicating a day to historicals. Harlequin historical authors can meet their readers and editors in Matera. Historicals are immensely popular at the moment, and the market for historicals in Italy is growing, what with books and TV series (such as the recent historical series on TV). Harlequin Mondadori is right in the forefront of this trend, both in terms of novels published and excellent sales figures. At the moment, we have 6 historical romance lines and have published a number of book in our Chiaroscuri line in bookstores. Early Medieval settings in England and Scotland are always very popular. By popular demand, we're republishing the most famous medieval sagas with elegant covers as collector's items. Regencies are always a big favorite, as well. We've published special series of big-name Regency authors such as Kasey Michaels and Elizabeth Bailey. This year we've purchased the copyright for Italy of seven unpublished novels by the greatest name in Regency: Georgette Heyer, available in newspaper kiosks as of March and soon available in bookstores. Our readers enjoy the elegant covers we've given the novels.

WFF: What are Harlequin Mondadori's future plans? Do you plan on offering a broader range of women's fiction, over and above romance?

AB: Absolutely. We will continue offering romances where couples meet and move towards a happy ending and or a happy marriage. But we'll also publish stories revolving around the heroine, her feelings and her loves - whether physical love for a man or other types of love. Readers long to identify with the heroines and share in their choices, as if looking in a mirror. In terms of our publishing future, that's the direction we're going in. We're planning on working on some new concepts which will cover the entire range of women's fiction, from introspective fiction to the delights of the new chicklit and romantic comedy.

WFF: Thank you so much for your time, Alessandra, we appreciate it.