Onomastic fantasies in the Sciascia-Laterza correspondence

Abstract

Among the various relationships Leonardo Sciascia cultivated with Italian publishers, his connection with the Laterza publishing house in Bari stands out, notably due to its association with the publication of his initial venture into prose writing: Le parrocchie di Regalpetra. Drawing from this relationship, which has been recently documented through the publication of correspondence between Vito Laterza and Sciascia, my paper delves into the meticulous exchange between author and publisher. Specifically, it focuses on the editorial evolution of the work, examining various paratextual elements, ranging from the toponym chosen to signify the title, to the alignment of the title with the cover’s iconography, and the overall layout of the mise en page.