Posted at 09:01h
in
alfabetoeng
A production of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and storielibere.fm, in collaboration with cultural association Monteverdelegge
What does the “Fourth cover or back cover” mean? How do the short texts that we read on the back of a book and its flaps induce readers to buy it?
Is this, as some argue, a minor literary form or are we dealing with a vehicle, albeit subtle, of commercial promotion? And, in this regard, do flaps and back covers actually have any impact on the sales of new books?
Leafing through the letters of Alfabeto italiano, the page opens at the letter Q: Q as in Quarta di copertina, the “fourth” or back cover in English, the term on which we alight on this stage of our journey into Italian publishing – a term little used by the public perhaps but to which publishing houses pay great attention.
With Ena Marchi (Adelphi) and Vincenzo Ostuni (Ponte alle Grazie)
