Foreshore Publishing announces acquisition of Petra F. Bagnardi novel

Foreshore has acquired world rights to a book from acclaimed writer Petra F. Bagnardi.

It will be published by the Foreshore imprint RiverRun next Spring. The book was acquired by Phil M. Shirley, publisher-in-chief.

“Petra F. Bagnardi is among the most exciting and interesting writers today and we are thrilled to be publishing her book,” said Shirley. “This book is coming out at the perfect time and will be one of the most read and talked about books of 2026.”

Teach me how to fly is a multicultural contemporary novel set in the fictitious small Italian town, Orvello. The story centres around a teacher’s move from the bustling New York to the quiet town of Orvello. A splintered community and a challenging class are just the start of his problems. Blending New York and Italy, this story is for the enjoyers of ‘Stoner’ (John Edward Williams) and ‘Dead Poets Society’ (N.H. Kleinbaum).

Petra F. Bagnardi is a writer, screenwriter, and poet. Her writing has received awards and notable mentions: The Literary Classics Seal of Approval; Library Journal Self-e Selection; The Royal Dragonfly Book Award, and more. Her poetry has been published by various literary journals and magazines including, Masque & Spectacle Literary Journal, Punk Noir Magazine, Poetica Review, Drawn to the Light Press, and more. Petra was short-listed in the Enfield Poets’ 20th Anniversary Poetry Competition and won second place in the Wax Poetry and Art Magazine’s Poetry Contest. She has also worked for the Italian TV network, RAI.