Call for Papers: The Ferrante Effect: Screen Adaptations of Italian Women’s Writing
The last decade has witnessed a remarkable increase in film and television adaptations inspired by novels written by Italian women authors. Interest in these writers and their texts has undoubtedly intensified following the well-known “Ferrante effect,” whereby both Italian readers—and, even more significantly, international audiences who discovered Elena Ferrante through translation—developed an appreciation or a renewed admiration of Italian literature authored by women, both contemporary and historical.
It should be emphasized, however, that the cinematic adaptation of novels by Italian women long predates the Ferrante phenomenon. Throughout the twentieth century, several important works by Italian women writers were successfully translated to the screen. Nevertheless, Ferrante’s unprecedented international success has undeniably contributed to the rediscovery, reinterpretation, and adaptation of the works of many other women authors whose literary production has gained new global visibility.
A brief look at the early decades of the twentieth century reveals that novels by Italian women writers who had already achieved considerable readership were being adapted for the screen. Nobel Prize laureate Grazia Deledda’s Cenere (1904) was transformed into a landmark silent film in 1916, directed by and starring Febo Mari. Carolina Invernizio’s Nina la poliziotta dilettante likewise became the silent comedy-drama Nina la poliziotta (1920), directed by Giuseppe Guarino. Marion (1920), directed by Roberto Roberti and starring Francesca Bertini, was also inspired by Anglo-Italian writer Annie Vivanti’s Marion artista di caffè-concerto (1891).
The second half of the twentieth century witnessed further important adaptations. Sibilla Aleramo’s foundational feminist novel Una donna (1906) became a televised miniseries in 1977, directed by Gianni Bongiovanni and starring Giuliana De Sio as the protagonist, Lina. Elsa Morante’s La storia (1974) became a celebrated television miniseries in 1986 under the direction of Luigi Comencini, featuring Claudia Cardinale in the leading role—a production that has recently found new audiences through digital streaming platforms. Morante’s L’isola di Arturo (1957) was successfully adapted for the screen by Damiano Damiani in 1962 and received the Nastro d’Argento the following year. Natalia Ginzburg’s Caro Michele (1973) was also adapted successfully to film three years after publication under the direction of Mario Monicelli.
The late 1980s and 1990s continued this trend with adaptations of works by some of Italy’s most influential women writers. Dacia Maraini’s Premio Campiello-winning novel La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa (1990) was adapted by Roberto Faenza and released internationally in 1997 as The Silent Duchess. Similarly, Susanna Tamaro’s bestselling novel Va’ dove ti porta il cuore became a major box-office success through Cristina Comencini’s 1996 adaptation starring Virna Lisi and Margherita Buy. Entering the twenty-first century, Margaret Mazzantini’s novels—including Non ti muovere (adapted in 2004), Venuto al mondo (shot in 2012), and Nessuno si salva da solo (adapted to film in 2015)—continued to attract considerable cinematic interest. In 2002, Sibilla Aleramo’s real life love affair with poet Dino Campana became the film Un viaggio chiamato amore, directed by Michele Placido. Silvia Avallone’s acclaimed debut novel Acciaio (2010) was also adapted into a feature film directed by Stefano Mordini in 2012, as was Noi credevamo (2010), directed by Mario Martone and Giancarlo De Cataldo, based on the homonymous novel published by Anna Banti in 1967.
The past decade, however, has marked a particularly significant turning point. Following the extraordinary relationship established between Ferrante’s novels and their screen adaptations, virtually all of Ferrante’s published novels have been transformed into acclaimed films or television series by both Italian and international directors, including Mario Martone, Edoardo De Angelis, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. This success has fostered a renewed interest in republishing, reinterpreting, and adapting the works of other Italian women writers.
The past five years have been especially noteworthy. Donatella Di Pietrantonio’s L’Arminuta (2017) was made into film in 2021, directed by Giuseppe Bonito. Morante’s La storia received a new eight-episode television adaptation in 2024 under the direction of Francesca Archibugi. Also in 2024, Viola Ardone’s Il treno dei bambini was adapted to film under the direction of Cristina Comencini. Even more significant has been the remarkable rediscovery of Goliarda Sapienza. Mario Martone’s Fuori (2025), inspired by Sapienza’s autobiographical work L’università di Rebibbia (1983), together with The Art of Joy, the six-part television adaptation of L’arte della gioia directed by Valeria Golino and Nicolangelo Gelormini, have brought Sapienza’s work to an unprecedented international audience. The demand for Sapienza’s writings is currently at an all-time high, as is Alba de Céspedes’ work, whose 1952 novel Forbidden Notebook will be adapted to a TV series by Italian distribution and Production company “Notorious Pictures.” Also in 2026, Alina Marazzi has directed La ragazza con la leica, a new film inspired by the 2018 Strega prize winner written by Helena Janeczek.
Furthermore, various TV series in the last decade have also been inspired by Italian women writers’ work. Suffice to mention the series Imma Tataranni (2019-2026), inspired by the novels of Mariolina Venezia, and the series on Lolita Lobosco, starring Luisa Ranieri, inspired by the novels of Gabriella Genisi, as well as the period series I Leoni di Sicilia (2023), based on the novels by Stefania Auci.
These adaptation projects demonstrate how the post-Ferrante landscape continues to reshape the canon of Italian women’s literature.
This Call for Papers follows our recently co-edited volume Framing Ferrante: Adaptation and Intermediality in the Works of Elena Ferrante (SEF, 2026). While we continue to welcome contributions examining adaptations of Ferrante’s works, we are equally interested in essays exploring adaptations of other Italian women writers’ works, particularly those produced during the period 2016–2026. This decade represents a pivotal moment in which global literary and cinematic attention has increasingly turned toward Italian women authors, prompting renewed critical engagement with both canonical and previously overlooked figures through a wide range of trans-medial adaptations.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
– New approaches to the relationship between Ferrante’s novels and their screen adaptations.
– The “Ferrante effect” and its impact on the reception of Italian women writers.
– The influence of Ferrante on recent films and television series directed by Italian women.
– Film and television adaptations and re-adaptations of works by Italian women writers.
– Intermediality, translation, and transnational circulation of Italian women’s writing.
– Canon formation and the rediscovery of overlooked women authors through adaptation.
– Streaming platforms and the internationalization of Italian women’s literature.
– Gender, authorship, and adaptation in contemporary Italian cinema and television.
– Comparative perspectives on literary adaptations
Interested contributors are invited to kindly send a 500-word abstract and a brief bio blurb to Roberta Cauchi-Santoro rcauchis@uwaterloo.ca and Russell Kilbourn rkilbourn@wlu.ca by September 15th, 2026. Full articles of accepted abstracts will be expected by November 30th, 2026.