Verso, Francesco
Entry updated 26 February 2024. Tagged: Author, Editor, Publisher.
(1973- ) Italian editor, publisher and author, a whirlwind force behind World SF, in the service of which he established the Future Fiction publishing house. As both an sf writer and editor, Verso is deeply committed to extrapolatory explorations of Near-Future Earth. An early notable novel is Livido (2013; trans Sally McCorry as Nexhuman 2014), for which he won the Premio Italia. It follows the travails of a half-Cyborg junk collector in a world overrun with trash as he seeks to reassemble an untenable love, in a novel that draws in equal parts on Cyberpunk and the works of Philip K Dick. Bloodbusters (2013; trans Sally McCorry 2015), which won the Urania Award (see Italy), is set in a Near-Future Rome where taxes are paid literally in blood. Solarpunk: Come ho imparato ad amare il futuro ["Solarpunk: How I Learned to Love the Future"] (coll 2020 ebook) with Fabio Fernandes makes a concerted case for that emergent category. Futurespotting (coll 2021 ebook) collects much of his short fiction output in an English edition.
In 2014, Verso established the Future Fiction imprint as a driver for political change in genre. Dedicated to international science fiction, the press is active in both the Italian language and in English, focusing on small short story collections and themed Anthologies. Notable authors published include Liu Cixin, James Patrick Kelly, Ken Liu, Ian McDonald, Vandana Singh and Lavie Tidhar. His own anthologies have focused on original translations from several countries. Examples include Avatar: Contemporary Indian Science Fiction (anth 2020) with Tarun K Saint, and Nova Hellas: Stories from Future Science (anth 2021) with Francesca T Barbini, which collects Greek science fiction. Verso's connection with the world of Chinese science fiction (see China) led to a long and fruitful collaboration and several titles of note, with Future Fiction introducing works in Italian by Xia Jia, Han Song, Chen Qiufan and others.
Verso's editorial vision for a globalized twenty-first century is central to the future success of the field; his tireless efforts on behalf of others, however, have meant that his own literary output has dropped significantly, which is to be lamented. His brand of sf, which seems to both synthesize and, at times, rail against such recent movements as cyberpunk or "Mundane SF", has much to offer, were it paid the attention it deserves. [LTi]
Francesco Verso
born Bologna, Italy: 29 March 1973
works (selected)
- Antidoti umani (Edizioni Diversa Sintonia, 2009) [pb/]
- e-Doll (Milan, Italy: Mondadori, 2009) [pb/]
- Livido (Milan. Italy: Delos Books, 2013) [pb/]
- Nexhuman (Sydney, New South Wales: Xoum Publishing, 2014) [trans by Sally McCorry of the above: pb/]
- Bloodbusters (Milan, Italy: Mondadori, 2015) [pb/]
- Bloodbusters (Edinburgh, Scotland: Luna Press, 2020) [trans by Sally McCorry of the above: pb/]
- I Pulldogs (Rome, Italy: Future Fiction 2018) [pb/]
- The Roamers ( London: Flame Tree Press, 2023) [trans by Jennifer Delare of the above: pb/]
collections and stories
- Solarpunk: Come ho imparato ad amare il futuro ["Solarpunk: How I Learned to Love the Future"] (no place given: future Fiction, 2020) with Fabio fernandes [coll: ebook: na/]
- Futurespotting (no place given: no publisher given, 2021) [coll: ebook: trans of stories by various hands: na/]
works as editor
- Future Fiction: New Dimensions in International Science Fiction (Greenbelt, Maryland: Rosarium Publishing, 2018) with Bill Campbell [anth: pb/Nick Russell]
- Avatar: Contemporary Indian Science Fiction (Rome, Italy: Future Fiction, 2020) with Tarun K Saint [anth: pb/]
- Nova Hellas: Stories from Future Science (Edinburgh, Scotland: Luna Press, 2021) with Francesca T. Barbini [anth: pb/]
links
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