BookCity Milan 2024 is here

11-17 November, the thirteenth edition of the event dedicated to books and reading

War and Peace

Everyone thinks about changing the world, but no one thinks about changing themselves. Leo Tolstòj.

BookCity Milano 2024 will be held from 11 to 17 November. Now in its thirteenth edition, the event dedicated to books and reading is promoted by the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Milan and the BOOKCITY MILANO Association, consisting of the Corriere della Sera Foundation, the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation, the Umberto and Elisabetta Mauri Foundation, the Arnoldo and Alberto Mondadori Foundation, AIE – the Italian Publishers Association and the Center for Books and Reading,  with the patronage of the Ministry of Culture. BookCity Milanofurther expands its boundaries and also reaches Como, Cremona, Lodi, Monza and Pavia.

1597 events with over 3000 protagonists and more than 400 volunteers, 70 bookstores, over 50 libraries (of which 17 are condominiums) and 339 venues that host the meetings of the event.

BookCity Milano 2024 is supported by Intesa Sanpaolo (main partner), Esselunga (premium partner), with the collaboration of Fondazione Cariplo and the Chamber of Commerce of Milan Monza Brianza Lodi. Also participating are Recordati, Galleria Campari, Pirelli, Fondazione Fiera Milano, Gruppo San Donato, Burgo Group, SIAE - Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, Enel, Federazione Carta e Grafica, Comieco, Messaggerie Libri SpA, Fondazione AEM. The media partners of the 2024 edition of BookCity Milano are: Corriere della Sera, Mondadori Group, Rai Radio2, Rai Radio3, Rai Pubblica utilità, Feltrinelli Librerie, Giornale della Libreria, ilLibraio.it and Scomodo.

War and peace

In a historical moment in which the dramatic theme of war is imposing itself with increasing urgency, the thematic focus of BCM24 will be War and Peace, a topic that has always engaged literature, in its various forms, in the effort to offer a tool for reading conflicts. In this context, BookCity's proposal to publishers to dedicate a series of events toWar and Peace fits in, in the belief that books have always played a role in understanding the past, facing the present and trying to imagine the future.

War and Peace will also be dedicated to the opening night of BookCity Milano, whose guests of honor will be Edith Bruck and Claudio Magris who, for the occasion, will receive the Seal of the City from the mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala. Militant of the uselessness of hatred, Edith Bruck reminds us how important it is to preserve and cultivate the seed of memory in order to try to germinate a future in which everyone can learn from the mistakes of the past. Several years have passed since Claudio Magris warned against indulging in "the illusion of living without war", during the Buchmesse of 2009; reread today, at a time when the war that "is taking on so many faces, creeps in and camouflages itself in the most diverse manifestations", his words acquire an even stronger meaning, proving to be the sad and truthful warning of one of the greatest Italian intellectuals. This will be followed by the reading aloud of some passages from the Iliad, read by Anna Bonaiuto and translated for the occasion by Nicola Gardini, who will present the choice. The evening will be hosted by Giovanna Zucconi and will be held on Wednesday 13 November at 20.00at the Teatro Dal Verme.

Among the events dedicated to the thematic focus of the year are, among others, at the Corriere della Sera Foundation, on Saturday 16 November: at 11.00 a.m.  Hitler and Mussolini, with Bruno Vespa; at 2.30 p.m. The cry of peace, with Andrea Riccardi; at 9.00 p.m. Tales of war. Remembering Maria Grazia Cutuli, the annual tribute to the deceased journalist. At the Corriere della Sera Foundation, in Sala Buzzati, there will also be the traditional La Lettura party, entitled La Lettura #potereallaparola, with Antigone Nuda, Gianmarco Bachi, Greg Goya, Maurizio Merluzzo, Stefano Nazzi, Silvia Romani and the musical participation of the Duo Bucolico, conducted by Alessia Rastelli; Sunday 17 November at 4.00 pm.

On the subject there will also be several meetings at the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation, on Saturday 16 November: at 2.30 p.m. The involution of Putin's dictatorship, with Alberto Masoero, Niccolò Pianciola and Anna Zafesova, organized by the Memorial Italia Association; at 4.30 p.m. Brussels and the war on the margins of Europe, with Massimo Congiu and Luca Jahier; and again on Sunday 17 November: at 2.30 p.m. Jerusalem Suite, with Franco Battistini and Guido Olimpio; at 4.00 p.m. The conspiracy of good: hope and resistance in the Mediterranean, with Luca Casarin and Gianfranco Bettin; at 5.30 p.m.World disorder and threats to Italy, with Giampiero Massolo; at 7.00 p.m. The uncertainty of the present, with Nathalie Tocci and Eugenio Cau. And also in many other venues in the area, including: at Palazzo Moriggia – Museum of the Risorgimento a dialogue between Carlo Greppi and Benedetta Tobagi, between Stories that do not make history and Massacres are all a mystery, Sunday 17 November at 5.30 pm; and Palestine and international law: the end of an era?, with Donatella Martini,Maurizio Donati, Francesca Albanese, Roberta Monticelli and Donatella Bisutti, on Saturday 16 November at 6.00 pm  at the Franco Parenti Theatre.

On the subject, Peace has also become an uncomfortable word, a dialogue between the archbishop of Milan, Mons. Mario Delpini, with Milena Santerini, vice-president of the Shoah Memorial Foundation in Milan, and Marco Tarquinio, journalist and European parliamentarian, on Friday 15 November at 6.00 pm at the San Fedele Cultural Centre. Five conferences have also been proposed by the Milanese Catholic publishing houses to explore how, today, religions and spirituality can put themselves at the service of the promotion of peace and reconciliation. The meetings will be held on Sunday 17 November at the San Fedele Cultural Center.  

 The 2024 edition of Poetry and the City will also be dedicated to War and Peace, which, for the occasion, will be entitled Poetry and the Peace and will offer a focus on poems of peace in times of war: the poets Nicola Gardini, Vivian Lamarque and Vittorio Lingiardi will read verses by Israeli and Palestinian, Russian and Ukrainian poets, on Sunday 17 November at 10.30 a.m. at the headquarters of the Riccardo Catella Foundation. Cecilia Strada and some students of the School of Peace, promoted by the Community of Sant'Egidio, will also speak. At 11.30 a.m. Poetry and the Peace will move  to the BAM - Biblioteca degli alberi  park and will invite the public to read some peace poems from all over the world, with a space dedicated to children.

Among the guests of the thirteenth edition

The protagonists par excellence of BookCity Milano, books will  populate the city with meetings and dialogues, presentations with authors, giving space to different forms and genres: from novels to comics, from non-fiction to young adult fiction, from detective stories to romance, from poetry to collections of short stories, from children's literature to fantasy. Among the guests of the thirteenth edition are: the writer Silvia Ballestra, on Sunday 17 November at 12.00 noon at  the Triennale, Lab; the French author Jean-Baptiste Andrea, winner of the Goncourt Prize thanks to the novel Watch over her on Saturday 16 November at 5.30  pm at the Piccolo Teatro Grassi, Chiostro Nina Vinchi; the Spanish writer winner of the European Strega Prize Fernando Aramburu in dialogue with the best-selling writer Stefania Auci, Saturday 16 November at 2.30  pm at the Castello Sforzesco, in Sala Viscontea; the writer Premio Campiello Marco Balzano, Saturday 16 November at 5.30 p.m. at Triennale Milano, Sala Agorà; the writer and journalist Daria Bignardi, in dialogue with the cartoonist Zerocalcare, Sunday 17 November at 4.00 p.m. at the Stefano Cerri Auditorium; the chemist and science popularizer Dario Bressanini, with Boris Battaglia, Sunday 17 November at 2.00  pm at the National Museum of Science and Technology, in the Auditorium; Matteo Caccia, who tells why in the stories of others there is always something interesting for us too, Saturday 16 November at 3.30  pm at the Humanitarian Society; the writer, former magistrate Gianrico Carofiglio, Saturday 16 November at 11.00 am at the Piccolo Teatro Grassi, in  the Sala Grande; the Romanian writer Mircea Cărtărescu, in dialogue with his translator Bruno Mazzoni, Saturday 16 November at 6.30  pm at the Castello Sforzesco, Weil Weiss room; the journalist and writer Aldo Cazzullo, Thursday 14 November at 6.00 pm at the Corriere della Sera Foundation, in Sala Buzzati; the British bestselling author Jonathan Coe, Sunday 17 November at 12.30 pm at the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation, in the Multipurpose Hall; the writer Mauro Corona will be at the Teatro Gerolamo, Sunday 17 November at 2.00 pm; the writer and journalist Erri De Luca, Saturday 16 November at 10.30  am at the Castello Sforzesco, Sala Viscontea; the journalist and analyst Dario Fabbri, Saturday 16 November at 3.00  pm at the Circolo Filologico Milanese, in Sala Liberty; the author and graphic designer Riccardo Falcinelli, Sunday 17 November at 6.00 pm in  the Triennale, Salone d'Onore; the writer Chiara Gamberale, Saturday 16 November at 2.30  pm at the Piccolo Teatro Grassi, in  the Sala Grande;the writer Paolo Giordano with his podcast In viaggio non pregare, Saturday 16 November at 12.00 at Casa Emergency; the essayist and botanist Stefano Mancuso, Sunday 17 November at 18.00 at the Auditorium of the National Museum Science and Technology; the poet and writer Daniele Mencarelli, Wednesday 15 November at 6.30 pm at  the Feltrinelli Bookshop in Piazza Piemonte; the writer Laura Imai Messina, Sunday 17 November at 12.30 pm at the Triennale, Salone d'Onore; the author and translator Paolo Nori, Sunday 17 November at 5.00  pm at the Monterosa91 Auditorium; the Strega Prize writer Walter Siti, in dialogue with the literary critic Alberto Casadei, Sunday 17 November at 4.30  pm at  the Poldi Pezzoli Museum; the Nobel Prize for Economics Michael Spence, together with the economist Mario Monti, on Thursday 14 November at 6.30  pm at the Libreria Egea; the American cartoonist Craig Thompson, in dialogue with the journalist Luca Sofri, on Sunday 17 November at 7.00 pm at the Castello Sforzesco in Sala Bertarelli; the writer Hans Tuzzi, Saturday 16 November at 3.30  pm at  the Triennale, Lab; the author and reporter Pablo Trincia, Saturday 16 November at 7.00 pm at PIME - Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions; the Spanish writer Clara Usòn, in dialogue with Ana Vázquez Barrado, coordinated by Iaia Caputo, in collaboration with Istituto Cervantes, on Thursday 14 November at 6.00 pm at IULM in Sala dei 146. Marina Brambilla, rector of the University of Milan, talks with Michela Minesso and Mauro Moretti, Wednesday 13 November at 10.30  am at the University of Milan. The writer Andrea Vitali, Saturday 16 November at 4.00  pm in the Triennale Milano, Sala Agorà.

The protagonist of the final evening of BookCity Milano 2024 will be the French writer Daniel Pennac, an eclectic author, with a versatile pen and a multifaceted form, who will accompany the audience behind the scenes of writing: how is a character born? Where does the inspiration come from? How do you become a writer? In dialogue with Stefano Bartezzaghi, Sunday 17 November at 8.00  pm at the Franco Parenti Theatre.

The thematic hubs of BCM24

BookCity Milano will give space to many other themes and topics, scattered in different locations throughout the city: traditionally widespread and inclusive, the event involves the places of the city, even those that are not usually responsible for reading, in a single large book festival. Many venues become real thematic poles, where you can find meetings and authors who deepen a specific topic; among others, the Castello Sforzesco, which has always been the beating heart of the event, will host many foreign authors, such as Fernando Aramburu, Mircea Cărtărescu, Josep Maria Esquirol, Marina Garcés, Terézia Mora, Michel Jean and Anya Niewierra, and Italians, including Milena Gabanelli, Beppe Severgnini and Vittorio Sgarbi. At the Triennale Milano a great narrative pole: Donato Carrisi, Cristina Cassar Scalia with Giancarlo De Cataldo, Riccardo Falcinelli, Francesca Giannone and Piergiorgio Pulixi together with Stefano Nazzi, as well as many others. At the Piccolo Teatro, a focus dedicated to Rereading the theater, as well as meetings with Fabio Volo and Claudio Bisio, and much more. At the National Museum of Science and Technology, space will be given to science, health and events dedicated to the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the birth of Guglielmo Marconi, among the guests also Adrian Fartade, Giuseppe Cruciani and Iginio Massari. At the MUDEC - Museum of Cultures Encounters between cultures: stories of escapes, sea and citizenship, among the guests also Giuseppe Catozzella, in addition to the traditional exhibition Writings from the World City. At the Franco Parenti Theater there will be space for various meetings from sport to politics, from current affairs, to identity, from orientation to sexism. The Society for the Encouragement of Arts and Crafts will host a focus on artificial intelligence; at the Humanitarian Society there will be meetings with Italian noir, with Paola Barbato, Beatrice Ciapponi, Marco Vichi, Luca Crovi and many others. At the Casa della Memoria there will be several meetings on the Second World War; at the Sormani Library there will be a focus on school and education. At the Casa della Psicologi dialogues and presentations of books on the mind and psyche; at the ADI Design Museum space for design that has made history, geographies beyond design and much more; at the Chamber of Labor a focus on the economy and meetings on the world of work. At the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana a focus dedicated to the world of art with, among others, Antonio Pappano.

And again: at the Cerri Auditorium we will talk about prisons and mafias on Sunday 17 November at 12 noon, with Nicola Gratteri and Cesare Giuzzi; the Municipal Attorney  devotes a lot of attention to the issue of law;on law also Phenomenology of norms. Tribute to Franco Cordero, with Gherardo Colombo and Piergaetano Marchetti, Tuesday 12 November at 6.30 pm at the Brera International Center; the State Archives will host meetings on history and archival sources; at the Circolo Filologico Milanese there will be space for philosophy and spirituality, with a focus on interior, metaphorical and real journeys; the San Fedele Cultural Foundation hosts many meetings to investigate contemporaneity, between rights and geopolitics; at Palazzo Moriggia a lot of space is left to history and the theme of memory; at the PIME will talk about conflicts and current affairs; at the Demetrio Stratos Auditorium, Radio Popolare hosts a focus on feminism, radio, indie, science and artificial intelligence. Among the thematic poles there are also several LIM bookstores - Association of Independent Bookstores of Milan which, in their bibliodiversity, have always been partners of the event. And so on, for a great collective event, attended by the whole city.

Author's paths

The Percorsi d'autore are also back. Among the novelties of 2024, the meetings of the Progetto cycle, BCM's new format  dedicated to architecture: a series of meetings set in some of the city's best-known studios, organized in collaboration with Silvia Botti, director of the One Works Foundation. Wednesday 6 November at 6.30 pm  at Beretta Associati; at Baolab on Friday 15 November, from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm, Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November, from 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm;  Thursday 14 November at 6.30 pm at MCA – Mario Cucinella Architects; Wednesday and Thursday 13 November at 6.00 pm at Park Associati; at One Works on Wednesday 13 November at 6.30 pm; finally, at ATELIER URBANO, Thursday 21 November at 7.00 pm.

On Thursday 14 November at 7.30 pm, the anthropologist and writer Andrea Staid will lead an exploratory journey inside the MUDEC – Museum of Cultures, entitled Objects that speak: traces of colonialism and cultures in the present. On Saturday 16 November at 11.00 a.m.,  the Museum of Natural History will host the itinerary created in collaboration with Dialoghi di Pistoia, curated by the director of the festival Giulia Cogoli and entitled Are we what we eat?tag.

Adolescenza, which takes its cue from the book The Age of the High by Laura Pigozzi, is a three-voice dialogue with Fiorenza Menni and Giorgia Antonelli. Moderated by Anna Stefi, curator of the course, which will be held on Sunday 17 November at 3.30  pm at the Casa della Psicologia.

Curated and conducted by journalist Eliana Liotta, the path The words of care is now in its third edition, which aims to tell the values, culture and progress of life and health sciences starting from five key words: Evolution, DNA, Microbiota, Progress and Stories. To dialogue with the curator will be: Telmo Pievani on Evolution, Thursday 14 November at 6.30 pm. Sunday 17 November: at 4.00 p.m. Gianvito Martino and Valter Tucci, on DNA; at 5.00 p.m. Maria Rescigno, Carlo Selmi and Stefano Vendrame on Microbiota; at 6.00 p.m. Giulia Marchetti and Giuseppe Remuzzi on Progress; at 7.00 p.m. Rosanna D'Antona and others testimonial on Racconti. As per tradition, the itinerary is created with the non-conditioning contribution of Recordati and will be held at the National Museum of Science and Technology.

The courses of ISPI – Institute for International Political Studies are also back, offering a course curated and conducted by Aldo Ferrari, head of ISPI's Russia-Caucasus and Central Asia Observatory, entitled Reading Russia. History, art and politics of a country that is moving away. The meetings will be held at ISPI - Palazzo Clerici, in  Sala Corte, on Sunday 17 November: at 5.00  pm with Eleonora Tafuro Ambrosetti and Giulia Lami; at 6.00 pm with Marzio Mian and Antonella Scott; at 7.00 pm with Paolo Nori.

Among the Itineraries there is also a new appointment in the Words in the Garden cycle, in collaboration with Gardenia: on Sunday 17 November at 11.30 a.m. at the Monterosa91 Auditorium a dialogue between Emanuela Rosa-Clot and Olivia Laing, with readings aloud by the volunteer readers of the Milan Pact for Reading – Libraries Area of the Municipality of Milantag. 

The readings of the Poetry Menu are  also back in Esselunga's Atlantic Bars: actors and actresses, in the guise of elegant waiters, will recite verses from a real poetic menu; demonstrating how culture can reach the widest and most varied audience, even to the point of being brought to the table; Friday 15 September at 5.00 pm, Saturday 16 November at 12.00 pm and 5.00 pm  and Sunday 17 November at 12.00 pm, in 9 stores.

BookCity Milan – A city that reads

BCM24 will also be the occasion for the screening of BookCity Milano – A city that reads, a film by 3D Produzioni, main sponsor Intesa Sanpaolo, written by Matteo Moneta and Didi Gnocchi, directed by Simona Risi and narrated by Toni Servillo. The film tells the story of the event that for over 12 years, every November, has animated the Italian capital of publishing, populating it with meetings, readings, dialogues, workshops and shows, spread throughout the city. To tell the story  of BookCity, which has always been participatory and inclusive, the voices of the organizers, writers, booksellers, readers, guests and all those who make possible what over time has consolidated as a real festival of books, reading and readers. The full version of the film will be screened on Sunday 17 November at 5.30 pm at the Brera International Centre.

Human body

On Monday 11 November at 9.00  pm at  the Piccolo Teatro Studio Melato,  the first evening of BCM24 will be a special event, entitled Body, human. The body, today, is at the center of a thousand attentions, but of no cure: medicine breaks it down, online life takes it away from touching relationships, politics exploits it, Vittorio Lingiardisensitively brings it back to the center of the scene. With the dramaturgy of Gianni Forte and Vittorio Lingiardi, directed by Gianni Forte, with Federica Fracassi and Vittorio Lingiardi. A co-production of Intesa Sanpaolo and The Italian Literary Agency.

The Million

Peppe Servillo, singer, actor, composer and screenwriter who, 700 years after Marco Polo's death, will also return to the stage of  the Teatro Gerolamo  and will read aloud some excerpts from Il Milione, a travel diary and, at the same time, a compendium of social, cultural, political and geographical knowledge of Asia at the time. Servillo will also be the protagonist of An afternoon aloud, for those who want to try their hand at the art of reading aloud, offering an essay of various readings taken from some of the texts he has brought to BCM over the years: Marcovaldo, Pinocchio, Il Milione.

Book Crafts

The appointments of the Book Professions category are also back, one of BCM's most characteristic strands, dedicated to insights into the world of publishing and behind-the-scenes of the book supply chain. Cultural festivals between live and online: the state of the art is the title of the presentation meeting of a wide-ranging research, promoted by Intesa Sanpaolo, divided into two parts: one, curated by BVA DOXA, entitled Cultural Festivals: use of digital channels and state of the art of official research; the other, curated by Giulia Cogoli and Guido Guerzoni, entitled Effetto festival 2024. There is no live without online. With Giulia Cogoli, Guido Guerzoni, Piergaetano Marchetti, Stefano Mauri and Fabrizio Paschina. Moderated by Luca de Biase. Wednesday 13 November at 11.00 am  at the Brera International Centre.

Organized by the Italian Publishers Association, the presentation of the survey Cultural consumption and library consumption in Milan in its fourth edition with an enrichment on consumption data from Milanese libraries. Speakers will include the Councillor for Culture of the Municipality of Milan Tommaso Sacchi, the President of AIE Innocenzo Cipolletta, the Head of the AIE Studies Office Giovanni Peresson, the Director of the Libraries Areas of the Municipality of Milan Stefano Parise, the President of the BookCity Milano Association Piergaetano Marchetti and Stefano Mauri, who is entrusted with the coordination of BCM24. Moderated by Alessandra Tedesco. Wednesday 6 November at 10.00  am at the Castello Sforzesco in Sala Weil Weiss.

Widespread festivals: a tool for a new cultural policy is the dialogue between Ricciarda Belgiojoso, Luca Formenton, Andrea Minetto, Fabrizio Paschina, Nicola Ricciardi, the Councillor for Culture of the Municipality of Milan Tommaso Sacchi and Silvia Tarassi. Tuesday 12 November at 6.00 pm at the Sforza Castle in the Sala della Balla.

Also on the Milanese scene is the event of the LETMI platform, entitled Milan is literature: a meeting, in collaboration with the Arnoldo Foundation and Alberto Mondadori, to discover stories, anecdotes, places and oddities that will make us breathe Literary Milan; with Zita Dazzi, Andrea Kerbaker and Giacomo Papi. Saturday 16 November at 2.30 pm  at the Brera International Centre.

In the Trades section of the book there will also be the meeting The importance of memory in the time of artificial intelligence, promoted by Intesa Sanpaolo; a round table on the theme of publishing archives, with Ambrogio Borsani, Roberta Cesana, Ada Gigli Marchetti, Annalisa Rossi, Pierluigi Vercesi; introduced  by Piergaetano Marchetti. Wednesday 15 November at 6.30 pm at the Castello Sforzesco, in the Weil Weiss Hall.

At the Arnoldo and Alberto Mondadori Foundation/Laboratory: an instant writing lesson by Giacomo Papi, Sunday 17 November at 11.00 am; an activity to test the knowledge of Italian with the Accademia della Crusca, together with Giuseppe Sergio and Gian Antonio Stella, on Sunday 17 November at 2.00 pm; Franca Cavagnoli, Sara Sullam and Franco Nasi talk about why We are what we translate, Sunday 17 November at 5.00 pm; Camilla Riccadonna talks about influencer marketing in the world of books, Saturday 16 November at 12.30 pm.

Communication is also the subject of the meeting La banca immaginata, presentation of the book of the same name by the writer and critic Aldo Grasso, with a screening of La Banca immaginata, a spot from  the Intesa Sanpaolo Historical Archives; with the participation  of Barbara Costa, Aldo Grasso, Fabrizio Paschina and Dario Romano; Saturday 16 November at 4.00  pm at the Corriere della Sera Foundation, in Sala Buzzati.

At the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation: the meeting Under the volcano, with Marino Sinibaldi, Massimo Cirriand the authors who have accepted the magazine's invitation to write stories about the hardships and vulnerability of our times, on Sunday 17 November at 11.00 am, in  the Reading Room; Women's bodies, peace bodies, presentation of the volume that collects the winning investigations of the Inge Feltrinelli Award - Telling the world, defending rights, with Elena Pasquini, Widad Tamimi, Youpress and Caterina Croce, moderated by Carlo Verdelli, Saturday 16 November at 6.00 pm, Multipurpose Hall. The meeting will be an opportunity to present a memory dedicated to the sociologist Bianca Beccalli.

In the Trades section of the book also: Publishing promotion, a meeting aimed at booksellers and organized by the Umberto and Elisabetta Mauri School for Booksellers. Curated by Luca Domeniconi, it will be held on Monday 11 November, from 9.30 am to 1.00 pm, at the Brera International Centre. On the National Plan for the promotion of reading and the enhancement of reading on paper: ideas and projects, a meeting with Carlo Emanuele Bona, Councillor of the Paper and Graphics Federation, Ferruccio De Bortoli, Director of the Corriere della Sera Foundation, Carlo Montalbetti, General Manager of Comieco, and Adriano Monti Buzzetti, President of the Center for Books and Reading, starting with an appeal to limit the use of smartphones in order to enhance reading on paper and handwriting; Thursday 14 November, at 3.00 pm, at the Corriere della Sera Foundation, in Sala Buzzati.

The thirteenth edition of BookCity Milano will also be an opportunity to deliver several literary prizes that, by tradition, are awarded during the event, such as the IoScrittore literary tournament  and the iODonna "Literary Heroines" award.

The Unesco Creative Cities of Literature

The traditional exchange with the UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature also continues. This year Milan dialogues with Bremen, home of the Crime Time Festival, through two meetings: on Sunday 17 November at 11.00 am at the Società Umanitaria, two voices of the Bremen noir scene, Jutta Günther and Alexa Stein, will meet Rosa Teruzziand Paola Varalli, pens of the Milanese detective story, in a dialogue moderated by Cristina Aicardi, to compare how the places and peculiarities of the city emerge in the narrative of our society; on Friday 15 November at 5.30  pm the director of the Crime Time Festival Perdita Krämer will dialogue with Marina Fabbri of Noir in Festival and Paolo Roversi of NebbiaGialla Suzzara Noir Festival, moderated by Ferdinando Pastori. The event is hosted by the Laboratory of the Arnoldo and Alberto Mondadori Foundation, home to the activities related to the UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature network.

BookCity University

The schedules of BookCity for the Social, BookCity for Schools and BookCity University are also back, the latter full of events dedicated to the theme of the year. With the participation of over 13 Milanese universities and academies, BookCity Università offers a reflection on the dialogues for peace on the borders of Ukraine at IULM, Wednesday 13 November at 11 am; and a dialogue on Franz Kafka at  the Catholic University between Gabrio Forti, Andreina Lavagetto and Antonio Salvati, on Thursday 14 November  at 11 a.m. 15.30. The schedule of theUniversity of Milan  is full of events on the subject, from a historical perspective (for example in the analysis of the Matteotti case with Massimo Baioni, Claudia Baldoli, Pompeo Leonardo D'Alessandro, Mirko Grasso, Jacopo Perazzoli and Irene Piazzoni, Tuesday 12 November at 2.30 pm) and contemporary: words and metaphors to tell the story of wars, Tuesday 12 November at 2.30 p.m. with Manuela Barban, Carlotta Borasio, Andrea Malabaila, Chiara Meluzzi and Gianluca Mercadante; meeting on conflict with Silvia Ballestra, Antonio Franchini and Marco Missiroli Thursday 14 November at 4.30 pm; the theme is addressed with reference to different disciplines: New generations and organized crime: the charm of tradition or dissociation? at the Bicocca University on Thursday 14 November at 4.30 pm. Democracies in the face of war and the crisis of international law, again at the Bicocca University, on Tuesday 12 November at 12.30 pm. UniSR Vita-Salute San Raffaele University recalls Zavattini's commitment to peace on Saturday 16 November at 3.00 pm.

There is no shortage of references to the role of culture: Paolo Nori reflects on the risk of reading Russian authors at the Collegio di Milano on Friday 15 November at 6.30 pm;  Egea bookshop hosts a discussion between Paola Dubini, Fiorenzo Galli, Alessandra Quarto and Roberta Scorranese on everyone's culture starting from a conversation with Christian Greco, Friday 15 November at 6.30 pm.

A thread that binds the proposal of the Milanese universities is the attention to female figures as voices for peace and their ability to propose original ways of observing and intervening on reality: stories of peace of new Italians in  the State University (Sesto S.Giovanni) with Michela Dota, Daniela Finocchi, Andrea Groppaldi, Michela Marocco, Giuseppe Sergio and Maral Shams on Tuesday 12 November at 4.30 pm;  Università Cattolica proposes a dialogue between Lucia Capuzzi, Viviana Daloiso, Raffaella Iafrate, Antonella Mariani and Claudia Mazzucato on the commitment of women for a dialogue against wars, Monday 11 November at 5.30 pm. Tommaso Nannicini, Alessandra Minello, Letizia Mencarini and Clarissa Marchese reflect on parenthood in  the Egea bookshop, Friday 15 November at 5.00 pm. Humanitas presents the story of Virdimura, the first documented woman doctor in Sicily, on Saturday 16 November at 3.30 pm.

Great attention is paid to relations with the territory and the involvement of the student community: Bicocca University offers a walk through the places and history of the Bicocca district, highlighting stories of social and political conflicts that have affected the area and the city, on Thursday 14 November at 12.30 pm. Università Cattolica offers its usual second-hand book lounge starting from 11 November at 10.00 am. Bocconi University offers a conversation between the Bocconi d'Inchiostro  association and Michele Masneri in the  Egea bookstore on Thursday, November 14 at 5.00 pm. The School of Design of the Politecnico di Milano exhibits several projects on communicative accessibility on Thursday 14 November at 3.00 pm. The Conservatory offers performances by singing students.

As always, in the universities there will be space for reflections on authors and anniversaries: Puccini at the Conservatory, Sunday 17 November at 5.30 pm; For Ottiero Ottieri, with Marco Belpoliti, Carla Benedetti, Silvio Perrella and Giuseppe Lupo, Thursday 14 November at 4.00  pm at the  Catholic University. Finally, a space is dedicated to AI and the impact on personal life and work, at NABA on Thursday 14 November at 6.30 pm, at Brera on Tuesday 12 November at 5.00 pm and at SAE institute on Thursday 14 November at 5.00 pm.

BookCity for Social

BookCity per il Sociale offers several meetings in city prisons, all by reservation: Wednesday 15 November at 2.30 pm at the San Vittore Prison a dialogue with Silvia Avallone, starting with Black Heart, with inmates and inmates of the various wards. At the Bollate Prison the presentation of Il Brigantino di Bollate, an artisanal series of prison literature, on Wednesday 15 November at 4.30 pm. At the  Opera Founded on Work Detention House: a narrative journey on the Constitution, curated by the Reading Workshop curated by the inmates of the High Security section. Several appointments at the Puntozero Beccaria Theater: Saturday 16 November, at 3.00 p.m. CURAE Festival, dedicated to juvenile justice and listening, a project that brings together directors, magistrates, mediators, professors of Italian universities on the theme of "the other"; at 4.30 p.m. Paths of reparation, roads to freedom: how to build a path of restorative justice; at 6.00 p.m. The hypocrisy of prison: from juvenile to prison for adults, by Francesco Costanzo, edited  by Paolo Bellati and Laura Alemagna.

Like every year, BookCity for Social initiatives also reach Milanese hospitals and their wards: on Monday 12 November at 2.00  pm at the San Donato Polyclinic, a meeting on Writing & Therapeutic Photography. La creatività che cura, with Alessia Spina, Riccardo Musacchi and Nathasha Udugampolage, to explore the use of writing and photography in clinical practice, with an overview of the characteristics of expressive writing; followed by a guided exercise in therapeutic writing and photography. Thursday 14 November at 4.00  pm at the Niguarda Hospital, thanks to the MEDICINEMA Association, the screening of the film At war for love and the presentation of the book Malati di libertà; at the Department of Mental Health of Niguarda Presidium of Corso Plebisciti, Saturday 16 November at 10.00 am, a meeting with Giuseppe Di Chiara and his Il dono dell'altro. Towards the psychoanalytic narrator. In addition, in the hospital wards, many readings aloud by the volunteer readers of the Milan Pact for Reading - Library Area of the Municipality of Milan at the Hospitals of the San Donato Group, Policlinico San Donato, San Raffaele Hospital, Galeazzi-Sant'Ambrogio Hospital and in the San Carlo and San Paolo Hospitals. At the Tog Foundation, which offers specialized care to children and young people with serious neurological diseases,  on Saturday 16 November, book presentations with Ivan Scalfarotto, Daria Bignardi and Emanuele Bezzecchi.

Several appointments also in the places of reception: at Casa Jannacci, on Wednesday 15 November at 6.00 pm, we will talk about Inequality and freedom: Nelson Mandela and his dream of a more inclusive Africa, starting from the latest reflections of the leader of Russian dissidence, Aleksej Naval'nyj. On Sunday, November 17 at 4:30 p.m., at the Ronda Carità e Solidarietà, the presentation of the book I Sopravviventi, by Girolamo Grammatico, which traces his experience as an educator in a shelter for homeless people in Rome. On Wednesday 15 November at 3.00  pm at the Martinitt and Stelline Museum a meeting on the figures that Milan has chosen to remember by naming parks and gardens after them, organized by the Amici del Trivulzio Martinitt Foundation and Stelline Onlus. There will also be several meetings at the Castello Sforzesco, Art Library: Wednesday 15 November at 5.00 pm, The right words make people feel good, with Cristina Caboni, Lorenza Gentile and the moderation of Christian Mascheroni, curated by IEO Book Club - Il Circolo delle Storie; Saturday 16 November at 2.00 pm, Milan is still a city to be praised?, a dialogue between Francesca Ambrosoli, Alberto Belli Paci, don Serafino Marazzini, Elena Buscemi, Massimiliano Finazzer Flory, Anna Scavuzzo and Cristiana Bonzi. At the IBVA Foundation: Tuesday 12 November at 6.30 pm, Niccolò Zancan, author of Antologia degli Sconfitti, with journalist Alessandro Gilioli; and Saturday 16 November at 5.00 pm  a dialogue between Moni Ovadia and Lello Naso, on the dignity of those who are judged starting from Tzimtzum. On November 13 at 6.00 pm, at the Bar Girevole of the San Fedele Center, scenic reading from the book Apeirogon, edited by the readers Readings aloud. At Caritas Ambrosiana, on Saturday 16 November, at 10.00 a.m., a scenic reading curated by some inmates inside the San Vittore Prison, together with the students of the Scuola del Fare in Naples. At the Casa della Carità, on Wednesday 13 November at 5.30 pm, restitution of the work done by the students of the Luigi Cremona High School together with the inmates of San Vittore. The Houses of Associations and Volunteering of Municipality 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 and 9 also participate.

BCZ and BookCity for Schools

For the third consecutive year, as part of the BookCity for Schools program, the appointment with BCZeta, instructions for the self-management of cultural events, is back: how difficult is it to design a cultural schedule? What topics are worth investigating? What is the best way to communicate them? There are 20 students from three Milanese high schools and one in Piedmont who accepted the invitation of BCM and the Milan Library System and curated the schedule of events of the Oglio Library during the days of the event. Friday 15 November: at 10.30What is artistic freedom?, with Enrico Rassu and Francesco Zendri; at 5.00 p.m. Videogames: is it wasted time?, with Luca Zorloni, Cesare Alemanni and Annella Bartolomeo; at 6.00 p.m. Shadow of crime: what no one talks about, with Adolfo Ceretti. Saturday 16 November: at 12.30 Good premiere?, with Germano Lanzoni, to discover what it feels like to be on a stage, behind a camera or a screen, in collaboration with the Luchino Visconti Civic School of Cinema; at 3.00 p.m. Mental health in young people: behind the scenes, with Jessica M. Masucci and Daniele Mencarelli.

For over ten years, BookCity for Schools has been connecting the world of publishing and that of schools, to promote books and reading in the classrooms; there are 150 projects dedicated to over 1000 classes in Milan and the Metropolitan City. The 2024 edition involves numerous authors: from Paolo Roversi to Lodovica Cima to Bianca Chiabrando. Among the many proposals accepted, in addition to humanistic and literary paths, particular attention is paid to STEM disciplines, with laboratories of mathematics, chemistry, neurobiology, physics and sustainability in its triple environmental, economic and social declination, as well as moments of in-depth study on current issues. 

Boys and girls, boys and girls

The meeting "Staying well in the classroom with illustrated books!", reserved for two classes of lower secondary school, is also aimed at schools, to understand how to deal with guided bibliotherapeutic reading in the classroom using illustrated books; with Maria Greco, Sabrina Brunetti and Marilia Fresi. The event is organized by the Center for Books and Reading.

The collaboration between the Umberto and Elisabetta Mauri School for Booksellers and the Giosuè Carducci Classical High School  in Milan is also renewed, which offers courses to bring students closer to the bookseller's profession.

Among the projects dedicated to young people is also the new format Books Friends Forever, a two-day event of meetings, activities and dialogues in collaboration with ilLibraio.it, which will be held at BASE Milano, Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November. The protagonist of BFF will be an audience that in recent years has had a strong impact on the publishing market, reading habits and communication related to books, especially online. There will be: Karim B., Jonathan Bazzi, Megi Bulla (@labibliotecadidaphne), Francesca Crescentini (Tegamini), Daniel Cuello, Erin Doom, Fumettibrutti, Ribes Halley, Enrico Galiano, Felicia Kingsley, Massimo Osanna, Valeria Parrella, Teresa Radice, Hazel Riley, Carmelo Romano (@timidalibreriadelriccio), Stefano Turconi, Yi Yang, Zerocalcare and Ilenia Zodiaco.

The schedule of La lettura intorno – BookCity tutto l'anno, the BookCity Milano project  conceived with Fondazione Cariplo that promotes reading through two lines of action, Proximity Readings and Growth Readings, is also aimed at girls and boys, boys and girls , in all 9 Milanese municipalities. The thirteenth edition of BookCity Milano, which coincides with the sixth edition of the quarterly schedule of La lettura intorno, will bring many readings and workshops, participatory activities and presentations, meetings with authors and shows, in all the locations of the project, in harmony with the spirit of the event, spread throughout the city.

Among the initiatives for the new generations, there is also Page Z – Culture pages for Generation Z, a project aimed at Generation Z, conceived by Fondazione Cariplo for BookCity, developed in collaboration with Teen Social Radio, the first Italian web radio created and managed by young people. The initiative aims to involve young people in an open dialogue on the value of culture, reading and community regeneration: at the Sforza Castle, in the Elephant Courtyard, there will be a real web radio station.

And much more

BCM24 will be an opportunity for several literary walks, to discover the districts of Milan that have inspired works of literature: Naviglio che succorri la mia carne is the title of a guided itinerary dedicated to Alda Merini, to discover the canals that so often appear in her work; Saturday 16 November at 11.00 am. Following in the footsteps of Giovanni Testori it will instead be possible to explore the areas of the city in which Il ponte della Ghisolfa and La Gilda del Mac Mahon are set, today much changed since then; Sunday 17 November at 11.00 am. The two visits, organized in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce of Milan Monza Brianza Lodi, will be held in English, by reservation, and the two meeting points will be communicated to members by email.

On Thursday 14 November at 5.00  pm at the Campari Gallery the meeting Stories of books (and characters): talking about them at the bar, on the occasion of the exhibition BOLD! Campari typographic declinations: Munari, Depero and beyond, curated by Marta Sironi; a dialogue between the curator, Livia Satriano and Anna Frabotta. Followed by an aperitif and a visit to the exhibition, in collaboration with Galleria Campari.

On Thursday 14 November at 6.45 pm at the ADI Design Museum, Gianni Biondillo leads the public in an unpublished urban story, dedicated to the city and its sports architecture, from the Scintille to the Vigorelli, from the Palazzone to the Palazzo del Ghiaccio; with a speech by Francesco Moser and the legendary bicycle with which he created the Hour Record. The meeting is organized in collaboration with Fondazione Fiera Milano.

On Sunday 17 November at 4.00 p.m. at  the Triennale, Salone d'Onore, the meeting Cartaceo #06, Playing your own cards, with Federico Buffa and Igort, who lead the public to discover idioms and images that testify to the relationship between knowledge and paper. In collaboration with Burgo Group.

On Saturday 16 November at 6.00 pm, the AEM Foundation offers a meeting on women. The floor to men, to explore the male point of view on gender equality: why is female inclusion still difficult? How to achieve balance in the coexistence between genders? How long will the pay difference last? Ilaria Li Vigni, Giampietro Borghini and Nino Sunseri will talk about it.

On Friday 15 November at 6.00  pm at the Teatro alla Scala there will be the meeting Puccini '900. The seduction of modernity: Filippo Del Corno presents his essay dedicated to the Tuscan composer one hundred years after his death, with Riccardo Chailly. Moderated by Gaia Varon.

This year, BookCity Milano takes place in conjunction with #ioleggoperché, the national project of the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) for the creation and enhancement of school libraries. Thanks to the synergy between the two initiatives, BookCity's bookstores will also become an ideal meeting point for those who want to donate a book to participating kindergartens and schools, from 9 to 17 November.

On Wednesday 13 November at 6.00  pm at Gio Ponti's Palazzo Assolombarda the meeting Barilla, Ferrari and Prada: the great brands of Made in Italy in the series curated by Annarita Briganti, from food and beverage to automotive to the world of fashion and luxury, a tribute to Italian quality in various sectors, with the curator, Nicola Corradi and Roberto Pagliari.

BookCity in Lombardy

After the two editions in Cremona and Lodi in 2023, BookCity continues to grow and also reaches Como, Monzaand Pavia, fueled by the desire to encourage the connections, which already exist, between these centers, according to the same practice that has been implemented for years in the city, which is transposed on a regional scale, in an osmotic relationship of mutual exchange.

For the first edition of BookCity Milano also in Como, a program dedicated to War and Peace: Nello Scavo will tell the true story of the Ukrainian 'Schindler'; Lucia Valcepina narrates the life of the artist Carla Badiali, in search of 'primordial beauty' among the horrors of fascism. Mario Schiani will bring the story of Ibu, a young man originally from Guinea. Siegmund Ginzberg will reread the past in the light of current events, between atrocious wars and ambiguous peaces. Marzio G. Mian will present a report from Russia. These and many other meetings in the schedule of BookCity Milano also in Como, created in collaboration with the Parolario association and the Teatro Sociale di Como.

The second  edition  of BCM in Cremona brings Matteo Caccia and Stefano Bartezzaghi back to the city, who this year will address the theme of Maps, with Luigi Farrauto, Giovanni Diamanti and Lina Bolzoni. Among the guests also Elena Cappellini and the Re-readings of Roland Barthes, Eva Cantarella and her Antigone, Carlo Cottarelli and the background of politics, Stefano Jacini and Radetzky's cook, Giulia Marchetti on the effects of antibiotics with Eliana Liotta; these and many others, including comics and children's readings, for a schedule created in collaboration with Giovani in centro, thanks to the PAF - Open Doors Festival and the Pact for Reading of the Municipality of Cremona.

The second of BookCity Milano also in Lodi offers an articulated schedule, including fiction, classics, a section dedicated to AI and digital, another aimed at cuisine and table traditions and a series of meetings that draw inspiration from War and Peace to focus attention on landscapes of peace through poetry: this is how the tribute to Umberto Fiori was born,  the original translations of Spoon River Anthology by Alberto Cristofori, and the rewriting in Roman by Graziano Graziani. For fiction, among others also Sandro Veronesi and Paolo Di Paolo, for the double critical reading of Giovanni Comisso's war writings, together with Alessandro Gnocchi.

BookCity Milano also in Monza reflects on the theme of War and Peace in collaboration with the Festival of Storiesof BRIANZABIBLIOTECHE: a schedule of over 40 meetings, presentations with authors, readings, theatrical performances, exhibitions, conferences, animated readings, workshops for all ages in the libraries of the Library System, including the library of the Prison and the Historical Archive, in bookstores, at the Capitol Cinema, at the Binario 7 Theater and in the city's cultural places, bringing books and reading even to unusual locations, in collaboration with the city's bookstores and associations, in the spirit that has always animated.

The first edition of BookCity Milano also in Pavia is organized in collaboration with the Collegio Ghislieri and the Municipality of Pavia, from Friday 15 November to Sunday 17 November. Among the guests on the program are the writer Alessandro Piperno, who will retrace his career and the link with the classics; Andrea Moro and the encounter with Homer, through the rewriting of the Iliad; Gabriele Datati will tell the true story that inspired the writing of The Little Prince; Sandro Veronesi will talk about his Black September; the writer Donatella Di Pietrantonio will present the novel that earned her the 2024 Strega Prize, The Fragile Age.