Children's Books, Poems, Fiction
Anselmo Roveda (Genoa, 1972), journalist, literary critic and writer.
For over ten years has worked as an educator, administrator and coordinator of education in social services for the prevention of child distress. Since 2008, editor-in-chief of the monthly "Andersen", italian children's books magazine. He is a regular reviewer of books for young and has contributed essays to various publications dealing with children's fiction. Indipendent researcher on children's literature, social imaginary and folklore; he has a particular interest in fairy tales and in literature of Lesser-used Romance languages.
Author of children's books, fiction and poems, in italian and ligurian language (his native tongue); he is professor of Screenwriting II (Analysis of Narrative Structure and Foundations of Creative Writing) at ISIA Urbino; resident professor of Creative Writing at Officina Letteraria; and held workshops at Università per Stranieri di Perugia, Genoa Comics Academy and other institutions.
His most recent books include: Dimmi (ill. by Chiara Bongiovanni; Pulci Volanti, 2019), L'Angelo di Ali (Angelo Dundee and Muhammad Ali, a boxing story; non-fiction, Coccolebooks, 2018), Le avventure dei pirati di Capitan Salgari (map, ill. by Marco Paschetta; EDT Giralangolo, 2018), Gastaldo (middle grade/YA fiction, Coccolebooks, 2017), Nino e la mafia (middle grade novel, ill. by Gianni De Conno, n.e., Coccolebooks, 2017), Una partigiana di nome Tina (new edition; YA fiction, ill. by Sandro Natalini, Coccolebooks, 2017), Rafataggi (poems, cover by Pia Valentinis, Zona, 2016), L'ululato del lupo (middle grade novel, ill. by Ilaria Guarducci, Coccolebooks, 2012), Il pidocchio e la pulce (picture book, ill. by Fiammetta Capitelli, Egnatia, 2015), Nati liberi (middle grade/YA fiction, ill. by Sandro Natalini, Fatatrac, 2014), Il trattore della nonna (picture book, ill. by Paolo Domeniconi, EDT Giralangolo, 2014), La camera delle meraviglie (children fiction, ill. by Enrico Macchiavello, Coccolebooks, 2013), Il meraviglioso viaggio di Pinocchio (map, ill. by AntonGionata Ferrari, EDT Giralangolo, 2013), Al lavoro! (picture book, ill. by Sara Ninfali, Coccolebooks, 2012), Ada decide (no fiction, with Valentina Volonté, foreword Oscar Luigi Scalfaro former President of the Italian Republic, ill. by Chiara Nocentini, Sinnos, 2011), E vallo a spiegare a Nino (middle grade novel, ill. by Gianni De Conno, Coccolebooks, 2011), Una partigiana di nome Tina (YA fiction, ill. by Sandro Natalini, Coccolebooks, 2010), Barba, bibòu e foe. Dizionario delle figure fantastiche (folklore essay, Il Golfo, 2010), Rosso Papavero (picture book, ill. by Chiara Dattola, Lapis, 2009).
For over ten years has worked as an educator, administrator and coordinator of education in social services for the prevention of child distress. Since 2008, editor-in-chief of the monthly "Andersen", italian children's books magazine. He is a regular reviewer of books for young and has contributed essays to various publications dealing with children's fiction. Indipendent researcher on children's literature, social imaginary and folklore; he has a particular interest in fairy tales and in literature of Lesser-used Romance languages.
Author of children's books, fiction and poems, in italian and ligurian language (his native tongue); he is professor of Screenwriting II (Analysis of Narrative Structure and Foundations of Creative Writing) at ISIA Urbino; resident professor of Creative Writing at Officina Letteraria; and held workshops at Università per Stranieri di Perugia, Genoa Comics Academy and other institutions.
His most recent books include: Dimmi (ill. by Chiara Bongiovanni; Pulci Volanti, 2019), L'Angelo di Ali (Angelo Dundee and Muhammad Ali, a boxing story; non-fiction, Coccolebooks, 2018), Le avventure dei pirati di Capitan Salgari (map, ill. by Marco Paschetta; EDT Giralangolo, 2018), Gastaldo (middle grade/YA fiction, Coccolebooks, 2017), Nino e la mafia (middle grade novel, ill. by Gianni De Conno, n.e., Coccolebooks, 2017), Una partigiana di nome Tina (new edition; YA fiction, ill. by Sandro Natalini, Coccolebooks, 2017), Rafataggi (poems, cover by Pia Valentinis, Zona, 2016), L'ululato del lupo (middle grade novel, ill. by Ilaria Guarducci, Coccolebooks, 2012), Il pidocchio e la pulce (picture book, ill. by Fiammetta Capitelli, Egnatia, 2015), Nati liberi (middle grade/YA fiction, ill. by Sandro Natalini, Fatatrac, 2014), Il trattore della nonna (picture book, ill. by Paolo Domeniconi, EDT Giralangolo, 2014), La camera delle meraviglie (children fiction, ill. by Enrico Macchiavello, Coccolebooks, 2013), Il meraviglioso viaggio di Pinocchio (map, ill. by AntonGionata Ferrari, EDT Giralangolo, 2013), Al lavoro! (picture book, ill. by Sara Ninfali, Coccolebooks, 2012), Ada decide (no fiction, with Valentina Volonté, foreword Oscar Luigi Scalfaro former President of the Italian Republic, ill. by Chiara Nocentini, Sinnos, 2011), E vallo a spiegare a Nino (middle grade novel, ill. by Gianni De Conno, Coccolebooks, 2011), Una partigiana di nome Tina (YA fiction, ill. by Sandro Natalini, Coccolebooks, 2010), Barba, bibòu e foe. Dizionario delle figure fantastiche (folklore essay, Il Golfo, 2010), Rosso Papavero (picture book, ill. by Chiara Dattola, Lapis, 2009).
Selected Works
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POEMS
Rafataggi
[Scraps]
ligurian poems 1995-2015
"E restan forme" series,
ed. Fiorenzo Toso
cover ill. by Pia Valentinis
Publisher: Zona
2016
[>>>]
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NON-FICTION
L'Angelo di Ali
[Angelo Dundee and Muhammad Ali. A Boxing Story]
Publisher: Coccolebooks
2018
Everybody knows Cassius Clay – one of the greatest world champions. But in this book the events of European immigrants and great stories of boxers intermingle in the adventure of Angelo, an Italian-American boy from Philadelphia, who will become the greatest box trainer and has been at the side of Muhammad Ali between 1960 and 1980. His adventure started from the Calabria hills and ends when Angelo joins the International Boxing Hall of Fame It is a story of migration, a story of friendship and, first of all, a great story of sports.
foreign rights:
Agenzia Servizi Editoriali - www.serv-ed.it
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CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT BOOKS
Le avventure dei pirati di Capitan Salgari
[The Pirate Adventures - Captain Salgari Stories]
literary map for young - retelling
ill. by Marco Paschetta
Publisher: EDT Giralangolo, 2018
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King size drawings featuring the paths described in the adventures of The Black Corsair and Sandokan The Tiger of Mompracem. Real map, as maps used by adults, by which children can go through the most famous pirate stories created by Captain Salgari. On the back of the map, information and curiosities about the story.
foreign rights:
EDT publisher - www.edt.it
Gastaldo
[Gastaldo]
novel
cover by Fabiano Florin
Coccolebooks, 2017
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16th century Italy is crossed by armed bands, war rages. On the battlefields of the Italian country, Europe's balance and destiny of the greatest powers of the Earth are at stake. Gastaldo, who remained orphaned after the Lansquenets' raids on his native village, is raised by Mastro Claudio, an expert blacksmith, manufacturer of spears and alabards, who is secretly experimenting the development of a harquebus.
In the months preceding the Battle of Pavia in 1525, between Emperor Charles V and the King of France, Francis I, Master Claudio entrusts a mission to Gastaldo: to show and deliver to Giovanni delle Bande Nere, the most important among the captains of fortune, his new harquebus.
It is the beginning of an adventure that will lead young Gastaldo to become a man and to be a witness of a crucial passage of military history: the disappearance of heavy cavalry and the advent of firearms.
foreign rights:
Agenzia Servizi Editoriali - www.serv-ed.it
>>>
Nino e la mafia
[Nino and the Mafia]
novel
ill. by Gianni De Conno
Coccolebooks, 2017
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A story of confiscated assets to the mafia.
Nino, Federico and Elena are brothers. On the road to school there is a house the windows of which are always shut. Nino is the yougest and has some fear of that mysterious building.
He is not the only one to be curious - who is living there? What do they do in it?
Why is there always a car parked outside? Getting answers seems not so easy, but Nino is kinky and Elena, her big sister, has clear ideas. Then finally the windows open up and the house is turned into an aggregation center for children and teenagers of the village.
They may be all happy, but one night ... someone set fire to the house.
foreign rights:
Agenzia Servizi Editoriali - www.serv-ed.it
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Una partigiana di nome Tina
[Tina, an italian partisan girl]
novel
ill. by Sandro Natalini
Coccolebooks, 2017 [new edition]
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The choice of a girl during the World War II.
The struggle of the Italian people against Nazi-fascist horror.
foreign rights:
Agenzia Servizi Editoriali - www.serv-ed.it
>>>
L'ululato del lupo
[The Howling Wolf]
novella
ill. by Ilaria Guarducci
Coccolebooks, 2016
>>>
foreign rights:
Agenzia Servizi Editoriali - www.serv-ed.it
Il pidocchio e la pulce
[The Louse and the Flea]
a traditonal folktale - picture book - retelling
ill. by Fiammetta Capitelli
Egnatia, Genoa 2015
Nati liberi
[Free Borns]
novel
ill. by Sandro Natalini
Fatatrac (Giunti), 2014
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218 BC. Two years earlier, his brother Bostare had been kidnapped by pirates. And enslaved. Now Giscone sets off to find Bostare and make it free. A trip in the Meditteranean, from Carthage to Italy, traveling through Iberia and Gaul, crossing the Alps with Hannibal's army.
keywords: Hannibal, Rome, Carthage, Second Punic War, Gauls, slavery, freedom
foreign rights:
Giunti International Division - internationaldivision.giunti.it
Il trattore della nonna
[Grandma's Tractor]
picture book
ill. by Paolo Domeniconi
EDT Giralangolo, 2014
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Hasdeu Award - Chisinau Children's Bookfair 2015
Shortlist Premio Soligatto Award 2015
Selected for illustrations - Premio Cento Award 2015
Grandma and grandpa wake up at dawn and they have breakfast together. Then, grandma puts on her rubber boots and sets off on her tractor to pick apples, pears, and figs in the field on top of the hill. Meanwhile, grandpa tidies up the kitchen, he does the laundry and he writes a few emails to his friends; then he bakes a pie for the afternoon snsck, so it will be ready when grandma returns. This story explores the theme of subverting stereotypes, strating from two unexpected protagonists (the grandparents) and an inspiring setting full of natural cues skillfully captured by the delicate illustrations.
foreign rights:
EDT publisher - www.edt.it
Il meraviglioso viaggio di Pinocchio
[The Incredible Adventures of Pinocchio]
literary map for young - retelling
ill. by AntonGionata Ferrari
EDT Giralangolo, 2013
>>>
King size drawings featuring the paths described into Pinocchio's adventures. Real map, as maps used by adults, by which children can go through the most famous italian children's book and discover with the help of short texts to explain the more important steps of the journeys. On the back of the map, information and curiosities about the story.
rights sold:
Taiwan, China Mainland
foreign rights:
EDT publisher - www.edt.it
La camera delle meraviglie
I segreti del castelo del Dottor Cattivelli
[The Chamber of Wonder]
fiction
ill. by Enrico Macchiavello
Coccolebooks, 2013
>>>
Hair of the Yeti, Phoenix feathers, old footballs, pictures of fairies, whale droppings, shoes number 76, coins from the mysterious treasure of King Alaric, boxing gloves, siren skeletons magical or maybe bewitched guitars... this and much more you can meet in the rooms of Dr. Cattivelli Baron Von Mahler’s manor. A lively and eccentric adventurer, explorer and secret agent takes us on an exhilarating journey between weird, wonderful and bizarre things.
foreign rights:
Agenzia Servizi Editoriali - www.serv-ed.it
Al lavoro!
[At Work]
picture book
ill. by Sara Ninfali
Coccolebooks, 2012
>>>
“Italy is a democratic republic, founded on work”, the first article of Italian Constitution recites.
But what does work mean to a person? Is it only getting money for producing a service or a piece of goods? Is that money a mean to live with dignity or something more? And what is one ready to do in order to work? One leaves, one lies, one loses his own identity, sometimes one dies. But work can be also enjoyable, a satisfaction, effort and a commitment to make the world a better place. This book gives work a deeper and wider meaning that often we do not manage to appreciate.
Work - a right and a duty.
foreign rights:
Agenzia Servizi Editoriali - www.serv-ed.it
SHORT STORIES FOR YOUNG READERS - ENGLISH:
Explorers of the Cosmos
in: “My Techno Stories”
a picture book with “Vogue Bambini”,
international edition
n. 259, september 2017
The hours of Idriss
in: “Vogue Bambini”,
international and digital edition
n. 254, september 2016
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FICTION
O cadaveo do Reixa
[The Mount Reixa Corpse]
ligurian language - mistery and crime novelette
in: "Il Secolo XIX",
ill. by Matteo Anselmo
August 2016, every Sunday
[with italian lexicon]
[web replica]
as editor
Donne e crimine
[Women&Crime: an anthology]
Publisher: Fratelli Frilli, Genoa 2008, e-book 2014
Liguria in giallo e nero
[Liguria: Mistery and Crime Stories. An anthology]
Publisher: Fratelli Frilli, Genoa 2006
A SHORT STORY FOR ALL:
The hours of Idriss
in: “Vogue Bambini”,
international and digital edition
n. 254, september 2016
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RADIO DRAMA
La vita di Angelica
[The Life of Angelica]
(2008)
Special Mention at RTV Slovenija/Radio Koper-Capodistria Radiodrama Award
later published in: “La Battana” (n.168), Rijeka [HR], 2008
Platano fritto
[Plantain Chips]
(2007)
Finalist at “Radiocorti – La voce degli altri” Award
(Radio Alt, IBS, Lampi di stampa e Scuola Holden)
radio production (page with audio file)
later published in: Le voci degli altri, Lampi di stampa, Milano 2007
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ESSAYS
Barban, bibòu e foé. Dizionario delle figure fantastiche della Liguria
Fate, draghi, folletti e altre creature fantastiche
[Dictionary of fantastic creatures of Liguria: fairies, dragons, goblins and more]
foreword Walter Fochesato; ill. by Fiammetta Capitelli
"I Libelluli" series - Publisher: Il Golfo, Genoa 2010
Pupun de pessa, ninna nanne e orazioni della buonanotte nella tradizione ligure
[Lullabies and bedtime prayers in the folklore of Liguria]
foreword di Walter Fochesato
"I Libelluli" series - Publisher: Il Golfo, Genoa 2005
research
Daula daulagna. Filastrocche e cantilene infantili dell'alta valle dell'Orba
con varianti d'area ligure e piemontese
[Nursery rhymes and lullabies of upper Orba valley]
in: "Quaderni di semantica" n.2/2010
Rivista internazionale di semantica e iconomastica diretta da Mario Alinei
a. XXXI, n. 2, dicembre 2010, pp. 239-266; Clueb, Bologna 2010
as editor
O ratto inta formaggia e o gatto
Dodici favole genovesi
[The Mouse in the Cheese and the Cat - Twelve fables of Martin Piaggio (1774-1843)]
foreword Walter Fochesato; ill. by Fiammetta Capitelli
"I Libelluli" series - Publisher: Il Golfo, Genoa 2011
Quelli della Gorgona
La marineria di Camogli, l’epopea del leudo e la pesca delle acciughe nell’arcipelago toscano
[The Gorgona Island and the ligurian fishmen: the age of leud (latin-rig) and the anchovy fishery at Tuscan Archipelago]
ed. Roveda A - contributors: Berti P, Bozzo A, Fochesato W
"I Libelluli" series - Publisher: Il Golfo, Genoa 2007
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JOURNALISM AND LITERARY CRITICISM
FOR ENGLISH READER
column 'Editorial Buchmesse' series
with translation
column 'Editorial Buchmesse' series
with translation
Italian Wave. Publishing, children's books and export
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("Andersen", n. 336, oct 2016)
No Border
>>>
("Andersen", n. 326, oct 2015)
Italians. Authors and books around the world
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("Andersen", n. 316, oct 2014)
Book lovers
>>>
("Andersen", n. 306, oct 2013)
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