(written from a Production point of view)
Fanucci Editore is an Italian book publisher of fiction books, founded and based in Rome, Italy. The company was the officially licensed Italian language publisher for the Star Trek novels as published by Pocket Books from 1995 until 2003.
Founded in 1971 by its namesake, Renato Fanucci, the publisher started out in specializing in the publications of fiction books in the area of science fiction, fantasy and horror. In this regard the company has gained nation-wide attention for its Italian language publication of the works of renowned science fiction author Philip K. Dick. Over the years the publisher has added thrillers, detectives, movie tie-ins and novels aimed at teenagers to its book line-ups.
The Star Trek license[]
Original (t, and as used on their Star Trek publications) and intermediate (b) company logos
In 1994 the Italian language market experienced a dry spell for over a year after firstly Editoriale Garden and subsequently Armenia Editore lost their licenses (a very short-lived one in the latter's case) to publish Star Trek novels in the Italian language. It was then that Fanucci, who had by then attained a solid reputation as a science fiction publisher, stepped in and more than made up for the dry spell by becoming a prolific publisher of translated Star Trek novels over the next five years, starting in 1995. [1]
In that period of time, Fanucci did not limit itself to publishing the novels, but also expanded its Star Trek line with reference books as published by Pocket Books, adding a few that were not published by the latter, most notably the biographies of Captain James T. Kirk performer William Shatner and Spock performer Leonard Nimoy. However, it appeared that the translations of the Pocket Books reference books were released in relative limited numbers, as these are particularly hard to come by for new Italian readers in used-book markets, such as eBay or AbeBooks where they command premium prices, especially the 2001 translation of the Star Trek Encyclopedia.
First issue Star Trek: La Rivista Ufficiale cover, December 1997
Aside from the novels and reference books, Fanucci further capitalized on the considerable popularity Star Trek enjoyed in Italy at the time (exemplified by the fact that they released a translation of The Klingon Dictionary) by publishing the bi-monthly magazine Star Trek: La Rivista Ufficiale between 1997 and 2000. That magazine was in effect a translated and edited Italian language variant of Star Trek: Communicator, from which the vast majority of its contents originated, and is to date one of only two known international variants of that magazine, the other one being a German-language version. However, from 2000 onward, publication of the magazine was taken over by the official Italian Star Trek fanclub, STIC, with a restarted numbering as "(Inside) Star Trek magazine".
For unknown reasons Fanucci seemed to have lost its Star Trek license to Ultimo Avamposto Editore in 2002. [2]
Translated Star Trek titles[]
- Note: this list is currently incomplete.
- Magazine
- Star Trek: La Rivista Ufficiale, 1997-1999, 18 issues
- Novels
- Reference books
- Guida a Star Trek: The Next Generation, January 1997
- Guida ufficiale a Star Trek Serie Classica, January 1998
- Il dizionario Klingon, 1998
- Io sono Spock, May 1998
- Star Trek The Next Generation: Il manuale tecnico, January 1999
- Diario del Capitano, December 1999
- Diario del Capitano: I Film, December 1999
- Enciclopedia ufficiale di Star Trek, February 2001
Star Trek editorial staff[]
- Massimiliano Antonioli – Translator
- Paola Cartoceti – Translator
- Alberto Lisiero – Editor
- Anna Parovel – Editor
- Gloria Pastorino – Translator
External links[]
- Fanucci Editore – official web site
- Seguendo la pista delle stelle – List of in Italian translated Star Trek novels, including those from publishers other than Fanucci