A 2026 BCBF Preview

GUEST OF HONOUR COUNTRY 

The Guest of Honour Country for 2026 is Norway. Publishers from around the world will have the opportunity to explore the rich and varied publishing landscape of this Scandinavian country, presented at the fair through the What if? programme. This motto lies at the very heart of Norwegian literature and illustration for children and young adults: two simple words that open up a whole world of possibilities, inviting us to ask questions. The country’s creative tradition is, in fact, shaped by freedom, imagination and audacity, and is based on the belief that children are autonomous individuals deserving of artistic expression that takes them seriously. As Guest of Honour Country, Norway is presenting the works of 49 selected illustrators at the fair. The exhibition What if? will showcase the high quality of Norwegian figurative production, accompanied by a rich programme of conferences and meetings with authors and artists, both at the fair and around the city.

GUESTS AND ANNIVERSARIES

Once again this year, over four days Bologna will become the world capital of illustration and publishing for children and young people. The numerous guests due to take part include: Albertine, Beatrice Alemagna, Pablo Amargo, Isabelle Arsenault, Anna and Elena Balbusso, Alessandro Barbero, Sophie Blackall, Gianrico Carofiglio, Catia Chien, Kitty Crowther, DJ Stout, Timothée de Fombelle, Armando Fonseca, Matthew Forsythe, Cai Gao, Jon Gray, Stian Hole, Anna Llenas, Mari Kanstad Johnsen, Lorenzo Mattotti, Leonard Marcus, Roger Mello, Bianca Pitzorno, Michael Rosen, Kristin Roskifte, Sergio Ruzzier, Felicita Sala, Sydney Smith, Øyvind Torseter, Hervé Tullet and Jacqueline Woodson.

There are also anniversaries to celebrate: the Illustrators Exhibition, one of BCBF’s most historic initiatives, marks its 60th anniversary. Created to provide visibility, recognition and career opportunities to the world’s best illustrators, both emerging and established, the selection for the Exhibition is documented each year in the Illustrators Annual, which, on the occasion of its sixtieth anniversary, will feature an original insert by Paola Vassalli and an interview to great Australian illustrator Shaun Tan.

Passing the ten-year mark is the Visual Identity Workshop, a project born from a collaboration with the Chialab Design studio, which each year selects a young artist from the Illustrators Exhibition, entrusting them with, and guiding them in, the task of creating the visual identity of the next edition of the fair. At BCBF, an exhibition will be exploring these first ten years of the Visual Identity Workshop, retracing the careers of the young illustrators it has supported over the years. The young Korean artist Bumi Cha has created the look for the 2026 edition of the fair, an image permeated with lines and portraits, a tribute to the diversity of faces that fill the halls of the Bologna Exhibition Centre for BCBF.

Other anniversaries include: the 200th anniversary of the birth of Carlo Collodi; the 50th anniversary of the death of Agatha Christie; the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mitsumasa Anno; and the 80th anniversary of the Italian Republic.

THE MAIN THEMES

Among the major themes featuring at the exhibitions, meetings and content at this year’s fair, Collodi’s anniversary plays a prominent role: the exhibition dedicated to Pinocchio, Eccellenze Italiane. I Vestiti Nuovi di Pinocchio (Italian Excellence: Pinocchio’s New Clothes), includes 50 illustrations by emerging and established illustrators and will be accompanied by a series of meetings on Wednesday 14 April, marking a real “Pinocchio Day”. Bringing both the fair and this day entirely dedicated to the most famous puppet in literary history to a close will be a special event scheduled for Thursday the 16th. Alessandro Barbero, in conversation with Ivan Canu, will offer a ‘sentimental’ journey through children’s literature: from Pinocchio to the book Cuore and the series La Biblioteca dei Ragazzi.

Following on from the exhibitions and in-depth analysis dedicated to the theme of sustainability in 2025, BCBF continues its collaboration with UN Publications. In 2026, research will focus on Fables and Fairy Tales, the 2026 special category of the BolognaRagazzi Awards. Fables and Fairy Tales are, in fact, genuine tools for communicating cultural foundations. In the words of Swiss scholar Marie-Louise von Franz, an expert in the psychology of fairy tales: “Fairy tales spread so easily because they transcend cultural and racial differences. The language of fairy tales seems to be the language of all humanity, of all eras, races and civilisations”. This choice of this particular theme stems from a desire to promote and investigate a publishing trend that has been growing in recent years, revealing perhaps a desire to find refuge in dark times by reviving tradition. Fairy tales, fables and myths represent a type of story that appeals to the deepest aspects of humanity. They are tools for interpreting the world that, in troubled times, are able to deploy all their strength and potential.

The collaboration with the UN is expanding to include UN Women, which is focusing on the representation of gender in books for children and young adults at the fair, continuing its work to promote the 17 sustainable development goals, for which BCBF has become a true promoter worldwide. The programme includes the following meetings: “Who Gets to Be the Hero? Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Books” and “Stories that Change us: Gender Equality through Children’s Literature”.

This year as well, on Tuesday, April 14, the fair will host a reading of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, presented in the version rewritten by UNICEF in language suitable for children and young people. Authors, illustrators and publishers attending the fair will each read in their own language, creating an event as rich as the many languages and cultures that fill the halls of BCBF. Alongside it, the event “How do you Define 'Child'?: A Multilingual Reading of International Picture Books”, in collaboration with Topipittori, will feature Beatrice Alemagna and leading voices in contemporary children’s literature.

Ample space is also devoted to one of the hottest topics in publishing today: in light of the discouraging data on reading at international level, BCBF and AIE, in collaboration with the French Syndicat National de l'Édition (SNE), the Federation of European Publishers (FEP), the International Publishers Association (IPA) and the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), have organised the event “Building the Future Generation of Readers: Best Practices and Policies for Reading Promotion” on Monday 13 April. An international conference to discuss and encourage the spread of best practices worldwide to promote reading among children and young people and to reflect on the role of European and international policies.

Alongside this event will be a focus on the new ways of reading that are redefining young people’s relationship with the act of reading, including illustrated books. The fair will feature two days to explore digital narrative ecosystems and reading practices in the age of artificial intelligence. The first Report of the Observatory on Digital Narratives will also be previewed, offering guidance on how to navigate this rapidly evolving sector.

Once again at this edition, artificial intelligence will be at the centre of the debate, at the BBPlus AI Summit, and also through the search for a different, open and more proactive perspective on the possibilities offered by this new tool. Anna Castagnoli will participate in an analysis that welcomes AI as a new design resource and strongly reaffirms the centrality of the author in a creative process that, despite the evolution of this technology, continues to be guided by a unique artistic vision. 

The comics sector reconfirms its central role, having experienced a boom in recent years: several discussion panels at the fair will explore all aspects of the industry, from careers to new comic book series for children and the specifics of regional productions: from Asia to Poland, from Norway to the United States.

The fair will also focus on indigenous languages and publishing in Latin America, as a lively space for cultural innovation and the redefinition of standards. In a context marked by political and economic instability, Latin American publishing is undergoing a phase of profound renewal, thanks to the emergence of small independent publishers and a new generation of authors and illustrators capable of giving voice to indigenous, Afro-descendant and minority perspectives and placing them at the forefront of the discourse. This change has already been visible in recent years at BCBF, and in 2026 it will be explored in depth through dedicated meetings and discussion panels: from the focus on indigenous languages at the Translators Café, promoted by IBBY and UNESCO, with the participation – in addition to the promoters – of the United Nations and CEATL, to highlight a publishing landscape in transformation and the challenges it faces today, to the discussion panel “Children’s Publishing in Latin America: Landscape and Key Challenges”.

BCBF IN THE CITY

As happens every year, the streams of creativity, ideas and content that converge at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair from all over the world are set to overflow from the exhibition halls out into cultural venues, libraries, schools and buildings all across the city of Bologna in a genuine widespread celebration.
BOOM! - Growing up in books, the title of the programme of initiatives in the city, is promoted by the Municipality of Bologna and BolognaFiere, curated by the Libraries and Cultural Welfare Sector together with Hamelin Cultural Association as part of the Bologna Reading Pact, and enjoys the patronage of IBBY - International Board on Books for Young People Italy. For almost two months, a rich and diverse line-up dedicated to the general public of adults and children will see the city taken over by 49 exhibitions and more than 150 events, including workshops and meetings, guest appearances, performances, screenings, shows, book presentations, activities for schools and guided tours.

This year, BCBF is present in the city in person with an expanded and visually striking edition of an exhibition that achieved extraordinary success in Shanghai — within the framework of the China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair.  Il guardaroba favoloso e il filo che non ha fine (The Fabulous Wardrobe and the Endless Thread) is presented at eXtraBO in Piazza Re Enzo and features 150 picture books inviting visitors to wander through enchanted ateliers, artist biographies and childhood stories, blending fairy-tale elegance with educational responsibility, and offering children the chance to read and experience firsthand the great masterpieces of the most recent global picture-book production. The exhibition is curated by Marcella Terrusi, Silvana Sola and Mariaelena Schiavo.

The in-depth events commemorating significant milestones in the history of illustration and illustrated books include the work of Marie Neurath (1898-1986), presented in Designing knowledge: Marie Neurath's Isotype Books for Children. A site-specific exhibition is hosted by the Padiglione de l'Esprit Nouveau and organized by Quinto Quarto Edizioni in collaboration with BCBF, curated by Sue Walker and University of Reading, with the support of Regione Emilia-Romagna. It will showcase her work in popularising science for children: rather than shy away from the multiplicity and complexity of the world, she “transformed” it into an immediate, democratic and universal visual language.

Furthermore, Japanese master Mitsumasa Anno is the focus of Mitsumasa Anno 100, an exhibition at Palazzo Pepoli where visitors will be able to lose themselves in the universe of details, quotations, discoveries and games orchestrated by Anno, thanks to more than 70 works from the Sergio Silva Fund, the Emme Edizioni Fund and the Passerini Parma Collection. The exhibition is organized by Bibliomondo APS in collaboration with Bologna Children’s Book Fair, thanks to Comune di Bologna | Settore Cultura e creatività, Fondazione Carisbo and Fondazione Bologna Welcome.