A Decade of Chinese Literature in Italy: Challenges and Prospects

When compared to other European contexts, especially France and the UK, the Italian market of modern and contemporary Chinese-language literature in translation is still in its early stage of development. However, in recent years, the situation has begun to show some signs of improvement, namely, an increase in the number of published titles, an expansion of the range of genres covered, and a general advancement of national editorial policies. Far from being an exhaustive report on the state of Chinese-language literature currently available in Italian, this paper illustrates a number of phenomena that can be observed in the Italian publishing industry roughly in the last decade. More specifically, it scrutinizes the growing role played by small and medium publishers, the impact of Chinese official support and funding programs, and the emergence of some promising genres and literary forms (notably sci-fi and children’s literature). Finally, the paper attempts to identify the challenges that Chinese-language literature still encounters in the editorial and publishing process, as well as to pinpoint some future prospects for the further development of Chinese-language literature in Italian translation.