Elisabetta Dami, creator of Geronimo Stilton: "Today, I am a mother of millions of children around the world"
We chatted with the author on the 25th anniversary of the literary character and discussed his origins, his future, and his life story as an inspiration.
Working in a field you love is a luxury we know all too well here. It keeps us grounded because we realise that our loved ones around us aren't always so lucky. But it's rare to hear a testimony of true passion for one's work, especially when you've been conveying that same passion for no less than 25 years (and counting). That is what the writer Elisabetta Dami, famous worldwide as the creator of the Geronimo Stilton books, conveyed to Gamereactor. We had the opportunity to meet her face to face and chat with her during Comicon Napoli 26, in an interview which you can watch with subtitles below.
Let me say straight away that the meeting was filled with a special energy, because from the very first moment Dami exuded that aura of connecting and communicating warmly with people of all ages. Now that she is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the start of the series, which has been translated into 53 languages, we asked her about the origins of the character, 'her son', and the story has, of course, very personal roots.
"I consider Geronimo my son, so I'm very fond of him. He came from my heart many, many years ago; he was born in a children's hospital, as you may know, and since then many things have changed because our readers are changing. The new generations are moving towards new goals, but we remain with them to accompany them on the wonderful discovery of life, which is the greatest adventure."
When we asked her to tell us about that birth, Elisabetta recounted it to us as follows:
"Many, many years ago, I discovered that I couldn't have children. It was a difficult time for me, but at that moment I also realised that I wanted to express my maternal instinct in another way, so I started volunteering at a children's hospital, to give them hope and courage, but also a smile, because smiling together is important; it helps us get through the difficult times."
From those days as a volunteer, the idea for the character of Geronimo Stilton took root, a worldwide literary and social phenomenon, with over a hundred books in the main series, and just as many special novels, spin-off series, and comics.
"I never would have imagined it would be so successful (...) but it all came from my heart, so the heart is very important, and my fable, my story, had a happy ending, because today I am the mother of millions of children all over the world."
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Elisabetta Dami once again for her warmth and her words.