MIT Press Director Wins Italian Cultural Prize
By Michael Scharf -- Publishers Weekly, 6/19/2007 8:49:00 AM
MIT Press director Ellen W. Faran has won the 2007 Premio Grinzane Editoria--Giulio Bollati Prize. The honor, one of seven awarded yearly by the Italian cultural foundation Premio Grinzane Cavour, recognizes "outstanding ethics and civic commitment" in publishing. It commemorates the life and work of Italian publisher Giulio Bollati, and carries a cash award of 10,000 Euros (about $13,000 US). It has been in existence for seven years.
When Faran learned via e-mail that she’d won, she admitted she was uncertain as to what the award was, exactly. But when she saw the list of the six previous winners at the e-mail's end—including New Press founder André Schiffrin and Gallimard managing director Antoine Gallimard—she said "it was very apparent that it was a stunning group of publishers to be a part of."
Last month, Faran traveled to Turin, Italy, to receive the prize at the foundation's 13th-century castle. There, she took part in a roundtable discussion of MIT's publishing work with Italian academics, a journalist and Gian Arturo Ferrari, director of the book division of Gruppo Mondadori. To Faran, the panel—"Scientific Publishing and Humanistic Publishing"—underscored MIT's role in European publishing: "Almost everything we do is about science research and science technology, which can't be disentangled from their implications for society, for the human view of the world." MIT is known for this hybrid approach in the States, where it is more common. But in Italy, and often throughout Europe, said Faran, "there are science publishers, and there are humanities publishers. The programs are not as connected, and they are interested in what we do from that perspective."
The panelists were especially interested in MIT’s murder-mystery Radiant Cool, by neuroscientist Dan Lloyd. The novel features a neuroscience grad student, and in the course of the mystery, readers learn a theory of consciousness. For the panelists, said Faran, "it was a breakthrough way of making science accessible to a larger readership."
Since winning the prize, Faran has noted increased translation opportunities for the press.
Previous winners of the Premio Grinzane Editoria Prize:
Hans Magnus Enzensberger (2001)
German writer who edits the book series Die Andere Bibliothek [The Other Library], published in Frankfurt, which now numbers over 250 titles.
André Schiffrin (2002)
Franco-American founder of the New Press.
Antoine Gallimard (2003)
Managing director of Gallimard in Paris.
Odile Jacob (2004)
Publisher of Éditions Odile Jacob in Paris.
Jorge Herralde (2005)
Founder and director of Spanish publisher Anagrama, which has published over 2,500 titles since its founding in 1969.
Ulla Unseld Berkéwicz (2006)
Chair of Suhrkamp publishing in Frankfurt.
