exlibris20: an introduction
Twenty years have passed since the first issue of this monthly books magazine, exlibris. A magazine that went against any classic editorial rule: it was a small, rectangular, colorful magazine written by fans and not critics, self-produced in the south of Italy and self-distributed throughout the country.
Ever since I was little, my dream was working in publishing. Back in the south after studying in the north, in that distant 1996, I decided to bring home publishing. So, I convinced my old friends and my new friends to follow me in this project and the magazine was born!
exlibris was gorgeous thanks to the graphics and care of Bruno Ruffilli, a man of great intelligence and taste. The press was curated by an “avellinese” typographer who I remember for his kindness and warmth, Jacelli. The ideas were shared with Roberto, Sara, Elena, Tiziana, Marisa, Barbara, Elvira, Daniela. Then, after Bruno, came Carmine Picone.
With Carmine we have been (and are) a very strong team. It is our fault that exlibris20 were born. We found ourselves on a Saturday in a bar in Turin and decided that we wanted to put in circulation the ideas of exlibris. There was no online archive and the magazines were (and are) almost unobtainable. So we decided to publish all the issues at the same rate of publication than twenty years ago. One issue per month for five years. The magazine will have contemporary incursions with insights that will give an idea of how literature and publishing have changed in the recent years. But above all, it will provide cues of reading out of time and out of the logic of editorial promotion. How we like it, from one friend to another.
Lea Iandiorio
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