wetlands

wetlands is an editorial project dedicated to social and environmental justice and to the challenges of the Anthropocene. wetlands proposes a new vision of contemporary society, emerging from the ecosystem of the Venetian Lagoon and then expanding to all those places in the world that share its fragility and potential. Moving amphibiously between fiction and non-fiction, wetlands explores environmental, urban, social, anthropological, and cultural issues, weaving together local and international perspectives.

wetlands does not simply publish books; it creates them. The ideas of the publishers’ authors develop through a rich residency program in Venice. The books are produced in close collaboration with the wetlands team, and each one helps shape a rhizomatic yet cohesive and recognisable editorial identity.

wetlands is a carbon-neutral project with a local supply chain: all books are conceived, produced, and printed in Venice, on eco-sustainable paper and by local workers.

wetlands is a non-profit social enterprise and a space for encounter and exchange. Its path is inspired by the principles of equality, participation, diversity, respect for the environment, and cultural pluralism.

How it started

Founded in Venice in 2021 within the civic project ReActiVe, wetlands was created with the aim of helping free the city from tourism monoculture and revealing its inexhaustible vitality and creativity.

Alongside producing ideas and representations of the city capable of deconstructing dominant clichés, wetlands promotes alternative visions and projects for inhabiting and living on a global scale, grounded in respect for the environment, social justice, peace, and intercultural dialogue.

Our spaces

Le Turchette

Inaugurated in September 2025, wetlands’ operational headquarters is located in Calle de le Turchette, at the foot of the same-named bridge. It is a workspace and meeting place, open to authors and readers alike, where our projects and the collaborative synergies that define them are developed.

The warehouse

Designed by Nunzia Carbone, wetlands’ warehouse in San Trovaso opened in May 2024 to house all our books.

Team

Editorial Manager: 
Clara Zanardi

Editorial Team: 
Luca Cosentino, Francesco Danesi della Sala, Maaza Mengiste

Digital Communication Manager: 
Elisa Gyssels

Local Press & Events: 
Elena Scarpa

National Press: 
Roberta De Marchis

Editorial Board:
Shaul Bassi, Enrico Bettinello, Lucio De Capitani, Luca Cosentino, Serenella Iovino, Alice Ongaro Sartori, Giacomo-Maria Salerno, Livia Senic-Matuglia, Arianna Silvestrini

Editorial Director: 
Luca Cosentino

Editorial Design: 
Sebastiano Girardi Studio

Graphic Design: 
Francesco Zennaro

All the photographs featured on the website are from the series Barene and Laguna by photographer Anna Zemella.