Farewell to Massimo Canalini, the publisher who discovered Enrico Brizzi and published ‘Jack Frusciante’, dead at 66

The publisher Max Canalinione of the most influential and visionary figures in contemporary Italian publishing, founder of the publishing house Transeuropa, he died at the age of 66. The announcement of his passing was given by Transeuropa itself. The funeral will be held tomorrow, Tuesday 17 September, at 10:30 am, at the church of Santa Maria dei Servi in ​​via del Conero in Ancona.

Canalini revolutionized the world of narrative, bringing to the fore authors who would mark an era. Thanks to his extraordinary ability to discover new talents, has given voice to writers such as Enrico Brizziwho with “Jack Frusciante è uscita dal gruppo” (1994) became a classic of Italian youth literature, and Silvia Ballestraauthor of memorable works such as “The Birthday of the Iguana” (1991) and “The Days of the Roundabout”, but Angelo Ferracuti and the already elderly Joyce Lussu also published which he helped to rediscover.

Born in Ancona in 1956Canalini founded the publishing house Il lavoro editoriale in his city in 1979 and Transeuropa in 1987, also in Ancona, with a precise vision of moral, intellectual and civil commitment. Canalini transformed Transeuropa into a hotbed of experimentation and creativity, offering a platform to over 600 works and launching more than 40 authors. Together with his friend and intellectual accomplice Pier Vittorio Tondelli, he created a narrative laboratory, Under 25, which not only discovered new talents, but also pushed the boundaries of Italian writing and culture in the 80s and 90s.

“Canalini was not only an editor, but a teacher for many, who shared his passion and his infallible flair for stories – writes Transeuropa in the commemorative statement – At the Turin Book Fair, aspiring writers lined up to talk to himto seek that precious advice that could have opened the door to the publishing world for them. Today we lose a visionary, an innovator who changed Italian narrative forever. His contribution to literature, his dedication and his indomitable spirit will always accompany us. On behalf of all of us at Transeuropa, we want to say thank you, Massimo, for everything you have given us. Your legacy will live on in the pages you have published and in the hearts you have touched. Goodbye, Massimo. Thank you for everything.”

Many social messages of condolence. “Massimo Canalini was a brilliant editor, very funny, punk, completely crazy, very cultured, unpredictable, subversive. Great is the sadness”, writes the writer Silvia Ballestra. “We all owe him a lot. Italian literature owes him a lot”, underlines Paolo Repetti of Einaudi Stile Libero.

Enrico Brizzi, who after 30 years has decided to write the sequel to his cult debut (“Due”, forthcoming from HarperCollins Italia), wrote on Facebook: “I received the shocking news that Massimo Canalini, the first editor of ‘Jack Frusciante’ and a unique figure in the Italian publishing scene, had passed away. I met Max in February ’92 when he was twice my age; he taught me to take writing seriously and to enjoy experimenting.. We took my first novel around together, to high schools, conferences and fairly crazy audiences like the Maurizio Costanzo Show, and for another ten years he was my editor. Neither he nor I are easy people, I presume, if after having shared priceless adventures and having seen the sun rise over the Adriatic many times, we kept away from each other for twenty years. After a long time, I saw him for the last time two weeks ago in Ancona, tired but determined to expose me to new projects (…) It will take time to understand what struck us; then it will be the case that all of us, not only the former Under 25s and hardcore Tondellians who passed through the rooms of Transeuropa, but all of us who have to do with books, begin to seriously come to terms with Max’s legacy. A man, let it be said in passing, who in the office received guests under a poster-sized enlargement of an article that defined him as ‘the best talent scout in Italy’, but at the same time never stopped proudly defining himself as ‘a small publisher’. He also added a hint of complacency, as the leading actor he was, but there is one fact I have never heard him joke about. I am thinking precisely of when he defined his work with a solemn and adventurous term, which much of today’s publishing would do well to reevaluate: ‘research'”.