Acclaimed author Francesca Cavallo, known for her groundbreaking Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls series, has chosen to publish her latest children's book Stellar Stories for Boys of the Future through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). This marks a new chapter in Cavallo's publishing journey and highlights the evolving landscape of modern publishing for established children’s book authors.
Reimagining masculinity through storytelling
Based in Rome, Cavallo has already seen phenomenal success with her previous work: Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls sold over 8 million copies worldwide, remained on the New York Times Bestsellers list for more than 100 weeks, and has been translated into 47 languages. Now, she's turning her thoughtful lens toward young boys with her new creation.
"The book stems from a deep reflection on masculinity, so it wouldn't have made sense to make it 'gender-neutral,'" Francesca Cavallo explains. "The stories are about reclaiming masculinity as a space full of care, honesty, and honor. As a space full of light, connection, and love."
The connection between her two works lies in how she expertly deconstructs gender stereotypes perpetuated through traditional fairy tales. "When I worked on Rebel Girls I analysed female characters in traditional stories, this time around, I analysed male characters and I realised that they were way less free [to be themselves] than I had imagined," she says.
Set across twelve imaginative planets in boundless space, her new book beautifully explores themes of vulnerability and empathy in boys. As Cavallo says, "The protagonists in these stories aren't just adventurers. They're survivors of rejection, learners from mistakes, seekers of help. They are vulnerable because they don't have to be heroes to be loved. They are honest because they don't have to conceal parts of themselves to be accepted."
Why KDP? Creative control meets sustainability
Cavallo's decision to self-publish through KDP was driven by several compelling factors, particularly sustainability. The print-on-demand model eliminates the guesswork of determining print run sizes and significantly reduces the environmental impact of book production.
As Cavallo herself notes, "KDP takes a lot of the painful work away; and it doesn't require the rather difficult math of predicting the size of your print runs; plus, it's environmentally more sustainable."
Beyond sustainability, KDP offers authors remarkable benefits, including a free and fast publishing process; global reach to readers worldwide; and impressive royalties of up to 70% for digital books and 60% for print. Above all, KDP grants authors complete creative control throughout the publishing journey.
Andrea Pasino, Head of Kindle Direct Publishing for France, Italy & Spain, welcomes Cavallo to the KDP community: "We are happy to have Francesca join Kindle Direct Publishing for her new release. KDP empowers authors with complete creative and commercial control of their work, whilst offering up to 70% royalties. Authors put so much love and effort into their books and deserve the recognition and reward for it."
Looking ahead, Cavallo is focused on promoting Boys of the Future and advocating internationally for reforming education for boys, with the book set to be released in nine languages.
“I am excited that the book is speaking to people from so many different countries,” Cavallo said.
