Patricia Borlenghi's Career in Publishing and Patrician Press
- David Salariya
- Oct 21, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: May 13
There was a time when publishing had curious people rather than “content strategists.” , :Metadata Evangelist:, "Conversion Optimisation Wrangler", "Content Discovery Manager", "Ambassador of Buzz", or whatever new job title might have been let loose from the HR department
Back then, publishing was held together by stranger and far more interesting working titles.
They were multilingual rights people, editors, scouts, packagers, translators and wandering emissaries of books - individuals who drifted between countries, fairs, printers, libraries, translations, trains and paper catalogues thick enough to be classified as a weapon. They lived half their lives in transit lounges and the other half in conversations, deals were made over dinners in Bologna, Frankfurt hotel bars, espresso counters and smoke-filled rights centres where entire publishing programmes could pivot on a chance encounter or a whispered recommendation.
Rights departments, in particular, attracted a certain species of person: culturally omnivorous, linguistically agile, capable of discussing Slovenian poetry at breakfast and novelty dinosaur books by lunch. Their real task was not simply selling books abroad but translating sensibilities between cultures - understanding why one story travelled while another stubbornly remained rooted in its own soil.
Patricia Borlenghi emerged from precisely this older publishing world.
Patricia Borlenghi and the Patrician Press belongs
unmistakably to that older tradition.
Her career moves through several worlds at once: the bustling international rights floors of children’s publishing, the intimate ecosystem of the independent literary press, the increasingly endangered territory occupied by publishers willing to take risks on unknown writers, translated fiction and ideas unlikely to survive a modern marketing meeting.
Born into an Italian family in London with roots in Emilia Romagna, Patricia’s life seems stitched together by books and borders, from studying Italian at University of Reading and spending her year abroad at University of Bologna, to working at Usborne Publishing during the golden age of children’s publishing and later founding Patrician Press at the age of sixty-one.
In an age increasingly obsessed with scale, algorithms and celebrity authorship, Patrician Press quietly did something rather unfashionable: it published books because somebody believed in them.
That, in itself, now feels almost radical.
Here is a conversation about publishing, translation, Italy, women writers, refugees, literary risk, and the peculiar truth that some of the most important cultural work is often done far away from the glare of the mainstream.
Patricia Borlenghi and the Story Behind Patrician Press
David:
Can you share with us some insights into your background, including the origins of your name and your journey in education and career in publishing before the founding Patrician Press?
Patricia
I grew up in Islington, London in an Italian extended-family house. My parents were also born in London but both their families originate from the region of Emilia Romagna in Italy.
The quite rare surname ‘Borlenghi’ comes from there (but also has origins in Lombardy). Many Italians from this area, including members of my own family, started emigrating to England, Canada, the USA, Argentina and Brazil in the late 19th century.
I started visiting Italy regularly in my teens, visiting my maternal grandmother’s village and then Florence which inspired me to study Italian. I gained O-level and A-level in Italian and then a degree in Italian Studies at Reading University. My year abroad was spent at Bologna University. After I graduated, I wanted to go into publishing. I have always loved books and libraries (as did my father) so it seemed to be a natural progression.
My first job was at Usborne Publishing where I worked in Foreign Rights and Production. And fortuitously I returned to Bologna every year for the Children’s Book Fair. It gave me great pleasure introducing Peter Usborne and my other colleagues to some of my old haunts. I spent eleven years at Usborne and then decided to go freelance. I worked for various children’s publishers such as Belitha, Templar, Aladdin, Franklin Watts, Orchard and Two Can, mainly as a foreign rights consultant. I did however build up quite a good knowledge about editing, design and illustration and children’s book creation in general. It made me realise that I too wanted to write children’s books.
My first endeavour was to create an animal alphabet that would work in more than one language. Something not normally possible in my experience of foreign rights. After about two years’ research, including at the Natural History Museum, my first book was published - From Albatross to Zoo - an animal alphabet in five languages. I then went on to write or package several children’s books, including for Bloomsbury. My favourite being Chaucer the Cat and the Animal Pilgrims - a take on the Canterbury Tales. I also continued working as a consultant for The Salariya Book Company.
I then moved to Italy for six years. During this time I worked on my first book for adults, an historical novel set in Italy and entitled Zaira. This led me to enrol on a part-time MA Creative Writing course at the University of Essex, quite close to where we started to live half the year, dividing our time between Essex and Italy.
At the end of the course I decided to set up Patrician Press to publish my own work and that of the students or professors I had met on my course. At this time I was aged 61, so it’s never too late!
David:
What were the main motivations behind the decision to cease accepting submissions at Patrician Press and your decision to retire?
Patricia:
At one point I was receiving hundreds of submissions from all over the world. At first I took time to respond to them all but it just proved too time-consuming. And when I hit 70, thoughts of retirement did start surfacing so I stopped accepting submissions.
David:
How do you reflect on the legacy of Patrician Press, considering its unique focus on high-quality fiction, poetry, and charitable contributions?
Patricia:
I tried to be innovative and take risks rather than publish mainstream commercial titles. I started my press because of my passion for books, not because I was interested in profit. And I wanted to give authors a new opportunity and nurture the new authors.
David:
What have been some of the most memorable moments or achievements during your time at the helm of Patrician Press?
Patricia:
In the early days we ran a poetry and short story competition on the subject of refugees which was very rewarding. I am also proud of how many wide-ranged books, a small press such as mine, managed to publish in ten years. I also very much enjoyed holding our various book events in so many different places. And I also discovered I liked editing the books, although I did have others to help with this.
David:
Could you elaborate on the impact that Patrician Press has had on the literary landscape, particularly in terms of promoting diverse voices and genres?
Patricia:
Because it is a very small press I really don’t think I have had much impact on the literary landscape. Even though we have had umpteen book events both in the UK and in Italy, I didn’t spend much on promotion or advertising. As far as promoting diverse voices and genres, I did try to publish as many books as I could by women writers. Going back to the subject of submissions, I was actually quite surprised that at least 80% were from men. I got the impression that women were too unconfident to submit their work so I tried to address this. And because of my family background I was keen to promote books with an Italian theme. I am also interested in minority languages.
For the above reasons, I am very pleased that we published the bestselling: Northern Alchemy - Shetlandic poems with versions in English by Christine De Luca and The Unseen - a detective novel by Valerio Varesi which we translated into English from Italian.
David:
With the changing dynamics of the publishing industry, what do you see as the future role and significance of independent presses like Patrician Press?
Patricia:
Some independent small presses are doing incredibly well. They are the ones challenging the mainstream and taking risks. Small presses encourage new writers rather than publishing established authors or books by celebrities.
There is now much more recognition of small presses by The Bookseller and indeed the wonderful ‘Republic of Consciousness’ Prize. There also seems to be more translated literature by small presses than ever before.
David:
The charitable donations from book proceeds have been a distinctive aspect of Patrician Press. Could you discuss the charities supported and the broader social impact of these contributions?
Patricia:
For the Refugees anthology, I donated regularly to Help Refugees (now Choose Love), Care4Calais and Safe Passage and one or two others on a one-off basis. The refugee problem will never go away but it is imperative not to lose sight of our humanity and compassion when organising living accommodation and defining refugee status. For the My European thology, this was more difficult, for instance I couldn’t donate to Erasmus, but we did donate to Europaeum, based in Oxford. It is a 'university without walls' for students to come together in multidisciplinary groups to discuss European issues. I was then kindly invited to give a talk on publishing to a group of students at the Charles University in Prague. Then for the Tempest anthology we donate to Amnesty International.
David:
"Now This – Reflections on our Arts and Cultures" stands out as a significant publication from Patrician Press. What inspired this collection of essays, and what message do you hope it conveys to readers?
Patricia:
It was actually an idea of an artist acquaintance. The fact that we’d had the Brexit referendum and then the Covid pandemic led to reflections on what was happening in the arts. The brief however for contributing fine artists was quite wide, in that they could write about their personal experiences during Covid; or the decline of arts education; or their working processes. For this book, we donated to the Helen Bamber Foundation.
David:
Looking back on your career, what advice would you give to aspiring publishers or writers based on your experiences with Patrician Press?
Patricia:
I look back at my publishing career and mainly I think I enjoyed it very much and had great fun. I’ve met so many wonderful people. When you stop enjoying your work or you’re growing tired, then it’s time to make a change in direction. For writers: never give up, keep writing every day, keep researching, keep experimenting…
David:
As you embark on retirement, what are your plans and aspirations for the future, and do you foresee any continued involvement in the literary or publishing world?
Patricia:
I still have to administer accounts for the sales and six-monthly royalties of existing titles. And I do try to help and advise my authors about finding new publishers or agents. I have also contributed to MA students’ dissertations or to their research about publishing.
So to close, I suspect that the history of publishing will not ultimately be written through bestseller charts or corporate acquisition announcements, but through the quieter stories of people like Patricia Borlenghi - those who carried books across borders, encouraged uncertain writers, translated overlooked voices, and kept literary culture alive through stubborn enthusiasm rather than commercial certainty.
There is something profoundly European about her story.
Not “European” in the bureaucratic sense currently loved by conference panels and lanyarded cultural consultants, but European in the older meaning: multilingual, bookish, argumentative, humane, impractical, fuelled by translations and long conversations about writing and books.
Patrician Press may have been small, but small presses have always functioned rather like mycelium beneath a forest floor - silently connecting things the larger organisms barely notice.
Perhaps that is their real legacy,
they publish the books that corporate publishers often cannot justify, taking chances before a Tik-Tok trend exists to jump on, preserving regional voices, writing in translation, minority languages and difficult ideas.They allow literature to remain gloriously untidy.
In an age increasingly dominated by visibility metrics, algorithms and celebrity branding,
Patricia’s career offers a useful reminder that publishing was once - and perhaps still can be - a profoundly human business.
Not scalable, not frictionless, not optimised...human.
Patricia Borlenghi would be happy to talk about her publishing experiences and Patrician Press
Email: patriciaborlenghi@gmail.com
After spending decades in publishing - from foreign rights and children’s books to founding Patrician Press - Patricia Borlenghi has now turned her attention to something more elusive: coincidence itself.
Her latest work, A Book of Coincidences, explores the strange intersections, patterns, near-impossible encounters and uncanny moments that quietly shape our lives - those curious events that logic struggles to file neatly away.
Given Patricia’s own life between England and Italy, publishing and books, memory and migration, the subject feels oddly fitting. Publishing itself, after all, is built on coincidence: the right manuscript arriving at the right desk at the right time; a chance meeting at Bologna; a forgotten book rediscovered decades later.
Perhaps literature has always been coincidence organised into narrative.
You can read more about Patricia’s remarkable publishing journey, foreign rights career, and the story behind Patrician Press in the full interview above - and discover why her new book may leave readers wondering whether coincidence is ever really accidental at all.
Patricia talks about her new book A Book of Coincidences here:
David Salariya
David Salariya is a writer, artist, publisher and observer of the strange machinery of books. Founder of The Salariya Book Company, he has spent more than forty years working across children’s publishing, creating projects, design, editorial packaging, illustration and international rights.
His work often explores the hidden histories behind publishing, visual storytelling, literacy, memory and cultural change. Through essays, interviews and the developing Pulp History projects, he writes about the worlds that exist behind books - and the people who quietly shape them.
He lives and works in Brighton.
Patricia Borlenghi
Patricia Borlenghi is a British-Italian author, publisher and former foreign rights specialist whose career has spanned children’s publishing, translation, independent literary publishing and historical fiction.
After studying Italian at University of Reading and spending a year at University of Bologna, she began her publishing career at Usborne Publishing, working in foreign rights and production before becoming a freelance consultant for numerous children’s publishers.
She later founded Patrician Press, an independent press dedicated to literary fiction, poetry, translation and emerging voices, with a particular interest in women writers, Italian culture and charitable publishing initiatives.
Her published works include children’s books, anthologies and the historical novel Zaira.
Her latest work, A Book of Coincidences, explores the strange intersections and unexpected patterns that shape human lives.
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