The Illustrators Café

Meeting with the jury and the awards ceremony of "Chinese Excellence in Children's Illustration 2026," an exhibition presenting the best contemporary Chinese illustrators selected each year by a different jury composed of Chinese and international experts, to present them to the international publishing community of the Bologna Children's Book Fair. The 2026 exhibition (Hall 30 B46-C45) and the catalog feature the 20 artists selected by the jury, including 2 winners.

Who is Marie Neurath? A trailblazing graphic designer and visionary, she, together with her husband Otto Neurath, was the architect of the Isotype language, laying the foundations of modern information graphics. But the heart of her work lies in the vast output of children's science-education books, a genuine design lab for actively shaping understanding through the magic of visual storytelling, which by its nature is immediate and universal. On the occasion of the launch of this internationally oriented cultural project, Quinto Quarto presents the return to the world stage of iconic works such as Piccolissimo, anzi invisibile , and E se potessi guardare dentro? , restored with respect for the original aesthetics but reproposed with a contemporary graphical relaunch.

The IBBY Press Conference presents the work of IBBY throughout the year and highlights its most important activities and events, including the 40th World Congress (Ottawa, Canada, 6–9 August 2026) and 2026 International Children's Book Day. It is also the much-expected occasion to discover the winners of the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award and the IBBY Reading Promotions Awards.

A panel of publishers and reading experts will present some of the most successful projects currently underway around the world, including #ioleggoperché in Italy, the Quart d’heure de lecture in France, the UK’s The National Year of Reading, and other projects still being finalized. The second part of the conference focuses on proposals from trade associations, with contributions from representatives of FEP, IPA, and IBBY, fostering a shared discussion on current initiatives, future challenges, and the strategic priorities emerging from dialogue with European and international institutions.

Welcoming regards: Elena Pasoli, Director, Bologna Children's Book Fair, Italy.

In a year celebrating literature from Northern Europe, Beatrice Alemagna and Emma Adbåge guide us on a journey of discovery through the poetic universe of Eva Lindström. With subtle irony, melancholy, and unparalleled freedom of expression, two of the most innovative contemporary illustrators explore the legacy of a true master of illustrated books.

Insights on how to inspire and strengthen reading engagement from early childhood through the school years.

Announcement of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2026, broadcast live from Stockholm.

Praised around the world for her resonant, poetic stories of “resilient young people fighting to find a place where their lives can take root”, Jacqueline Woodson is the author of many books for children, adolescents, and adults, including her U.S. National Book Award-winning memoir Brown Girl Dreaming and best-selling picture books including The Day You Begin and The Year We Learned to Fly. She has served as the U.S. Young People’s Poet Laureate as well as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2018. In 2020 she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal and was named a MacArthur Fellow. Jacqueline will join editor and critic Maria Russo for a wide-ranging conversation about her journey from debut novelist to winner of the world’s most prestigious literary and cultural awards; the struggles writers of the Global Majority have getting their work into the world, and why awards matter so much; and what we can all do to combat the forces of distraction, censorship, and authoritarian propaganda and sustain the culture of reading and books for young people across the globe.

In 1989, world leaders made a historic commitment to children by adopting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child—the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. While this agreement has helped improve the lives of millions, many children around the world are still denied their fundamental rights. To highlight the importance of protecting and promoting these rights, Bologna Children’s Book Fair hosts - in collaboration with the United Nations - a multilingual reading of the Convention, featuring 42 distinguished authors, illustrators, and publishers from across the globe. Each participant will read one of the 42 articles of the Convention in their native language, creating a powerful, collective voice for children’s rights.

Following the reading of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, this chorus in defense of childhood from the world of children’s literature stands as a response to the conflicts taking place around the world in which children are so often involved.

The event is inspired by a recent incident: during an Italian television programme, a guest, confronted with data about children killed in a conflict, replied, “Please, define child.” The remark sparked widespread outrage and, in the days that followed, many people joined peaceful demonstrations, holding up Beatrice Alemagna’s children’s book What Is a Child? as a powerful, implicit answer.

That same response will resonate here, as authors and publishers from around the world read excerpts from their books, affirming the urgent need to protect and safeguard childhood—beyond any definition.

In the framework of the cycle of three talks on children’s literature, fashion, and costume, connected to the international exhibition The Fabulous Wardrobe and The Never-Ending Twist, this event is dedicated to the artistic universe of Albertine, exploring fashion, illustration, design and imagination. The Swiss artist, multi award winning and recipient of the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration, is illustrator, animator and author. Her work often centres on clothing, offering an ironic and cross-cutting reflection on fashion and the creation of unexpected, imaginative designs. Among her projects is a fashion show featuring garments brought to life from her illustrations. Joining the discussion are Giulia Rossi, fashion semiologist and university lecturer, and Marcella Terrusi, curator, author of The Fabulous Wardrobe (Carocci, 2025), and lecturer at the University of Bologna.

A dialogue between Lorenzo Mattotti, master of Italian illustration, and Nicole Tecchio, a young artist selected among the 24 winning works of the international competition dedicated to The Adventures of Pinocchio. A meeting that celebrates Carlo Collodi’s bicentennial and the ongoing reinvention of the famous puppet through the eyes of illustrators past and present.

Annuncio del libro vincitore nella categoria "Narrazione per immagini" e per il primo anno a BCBF, annuncio del premio" Libro d'esordio". Con la partecipazione di Jacqueline Woodson.

To celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Illustrators Exhibition, we meet some of the protagonists of this incredible story that has lived in the heart of the BCBF since 1967 and is one of the most anticipated events by publishers, artists, and professionals in children’s publishing. Over the years, the Exhibition becomes a privileged observatory with a continually evolving view of the trends in contemporary visual language and, together, a place of discovery, comparison, and dialogue between cultures. In Bologna, illustration proves to be not only a protagonist of children’s books but a form of art capable of telling stories, crossing languages, and building bridges between generations and countries. This Exhibition, with its Annual, is nothing but the Family Album of the great Family of children’s books in the world.

Ogni giorno ciascuno di noi si trova di fronte a una scelta. Accettare la realtà così com’è o chiedersi se c’è qualcosa che può essere cambiato. Vivere nell’indifferenza e nell’apatia o farci animare dalla passione e partecipare, metterci in gioco. Rimanere in silenzio o dire ad alta voce “non sono d’accordo”. Per praticare i nostri diritti di cittadine e cittadini dobbiamo porci le domande giuste. Cos’è il potere e chi lo esercita davvero? Perché la libertà non è fare tutto quello che vogliamo? Quando comunichiamo, siamo consapevoli di avere tra le mani uno strumento potentissimo, capace di ferire ma anche di accogliere? Storie, idee, passioni per cambiare il mondo: per la prima volta alla BCBF, Gianrico Carofiglio racconta la forza delle parole e delle azioni, a partire dal suo manuale di lotta e gentilezza rivolto alle ragazze e ai ragazzi (ma in realtà anche agli adulti).

Cosa leggeva da bambino un grande narratore della storia? Un viaggio a ritroso tra i volumi che hanno segnato la formazione di Alessandro Barbero. In conversazione con Giacomo Benelli e Ivan Canu, il professor Barbero intreccerà memorie personali e radici letterarie alle pagine di Pinocchio , Cuore , i romanzi di Salgari e altri classici dell’infanzia.