Seminars @BolognaBookPlus

The 2025 BolognaBookPlus Seminars Programme

Monday 31 March

10:30-11:45 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
Bringing Stories to Life: Inclusive Strategies for Accessible Illustrations in Children's Books and More.
Text and images each contribute in their own way to the experience of a story in children's books and more. Making images accessible to readers with visual impairments is essential for a complete and inclusive reading experience. Image description is a means of accessibility, as is the choice of inherently accessible illustrations. How do I tackle both challenges as a publisher, author, or illustrator? In this seminar you will experience what it means when you miss out on illustrations, and you will learn the art of doing justice to the richness of images through image description.
The event is organized in the framework APACE, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union
Giorgia Spadoni, Translator; Gergana Pancheva, Poet and Translator; Moderator, Neva Micheva

11:30-12:20 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
The Italian General Book Market including a focus on the children’s books
Bruno Giancarli, AIE Research Department

11:30-12:15 AIE Theatre
Understanding what an Agent does and How to Become one
Louise Lamont, LBA Agency, UK;
Jacks Thomas, BolognaBookPlus;
Koukla Maclehose, Scout, UK;
Literary Agents are at the core of the industry, yet it is not clear how to become one, nor the full range of activities that agents can carrry out. Hear more about the role of the agent, and some tips on getting started.

12:30-13:15 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
The Global English Language Market with a Spotlight on Italy
Andre Breedt, Nielsen BookData

13:30-14:15 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
Physical Books in a Digital World: Finding the Sweetspot
Joanna Reynolds, The Folio Society; Nadim Sadek, Shimmr AI; Victoria Sutherland, Foreword, Sonia Draga.
Moderator, Jacks Thomas, Guest Director, BolognaBookPlus

13:30-14:15 The Illustrators Café
The Folio Book Illustration Awards 2025
Tom Walker the Folio Society, Zack Rock, previous winner; Sophia Schoepfer, the Folio Society. Moderator Steven Guarnaccia

13:30-14:15 AIE Theatre
D2C Community Building - Publishers Working Collaboratively with their Suppliers and Authors Drives Success
Sarah Arbuthnot, Chief Commercial Officer, Supadu. 

14:30-15:15 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
What Buyers Want: New Research on Film & TV Rights
Margaret Harrison, VP Digital Services at Ingram Content Group, Shares new research into what slows down sales of film and TV rights, what buyers want, and why INgram i slaunching Media Scout, a gook to schreen rights information service.

15:30-16:15 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
Creative Europe: EU funding Opportunities for Literature and the Publishing Sector
Are you a publisher or part of an organisation in the book and publishing sector? The Creative Europe programme offers dedicated funding to support your work. Its mission is to enhance the translation, circulation and linguistic diversity of literary works across Europe and beyond, expand audiences for European literature, and boost the sector’s competitiveness through cooperation and networking between organisations in Europe.
Arnaud Pasquali, European Commission, Directorate-General Education, Youth, Sport and Culture 

16:00-17:20 Illustrators Café
Sustainability Summit: Taking Stock and Reviewing the Roadmap to a Sustainable Future in the Book Industry.
Leonardo Aldegheri, Grafiche AZ; Rachel Martin, Elsevier; Helena Mansell Stopher Products of Change Anne Bergman Tahon, Federation of European Publishers, Iroo Joo, Korean Publishers Association; Gvantsa Jobava, International Publishers Association, Nicolas Roche, BIEF. Moderator Porter Anderson.

16:30-17:15 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
The Art of Publishing: The Beauty of Curating a List for the Perfect Bookshelf
Design is at the heart of this seminar. It will discuss the enduring success of physical books, against the backdrop of the digital age and how books are collectable items. What makes a book beautiful? What is good design - is it objective or are there general accepted standards?
Tom Walker, The Folio Society; Sara Saorin, Camelozampa; Ms Yuan Nan, Phoenix Publishing: Christopher Maclehose, Maclehose Press. Moderator Jacks Thomas, Guest Director, BolognaBookPlus

16:30-17:15 AIE Theatre
ThinkPub.eu: Tailored training for publishers
Building an Online Library with Educational Resources focused on Innovation
The traditional concept of a book has transformed significantly. What was once solely a physical collection of printed pages has diversified into various forms: affordable paperbacks, e-books and digital audiobooks included in multimedia subscription packages, and comprehensive educational resources that merge text with interactive media such as graphics, photos, and video.
This digital evolution presents unique challenges and opportunities, especially for small to mid-sized publishers operating in niche or fragmented markets. These publishers are compelled to reinvent their business strategies, adopting new workflows and hybrid production models to directly engage with and compete in the consumer market. For more details, see www.ThinkPub.eu
Supported by the European Commission under the Creative Europe programme.
Alma Čaušević Klemenčič, Beletrina, Marko Hercog, Beletrina, Carlo Carrenho, Aline Global Collective, Nathan Hull, Beat Technology, and Rüdiger Wischenbart, Content and Consulting, Aljaž Koprivnikar. Moderator, Beletrina.

17:30 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
Launch of the 35th IPA Congress and Reception

Tuesday 1 April

09:30-11:55 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
AI Summit
09:30 Welcome, Jacks Thomas, Guest Director, BolognaBookPlus, and moderator Brook Dobson
09:35 Living and Thriving in the World of AI Nadim Sadek, CEO Shimmr AI
09:50 The Power in Your Hands: Defining the Future of Publishing
Chantal Restivo-Alessi, Chief Digital Officer, HarperCollins
10:05 The Brand Advantage: Using AI to Find Your Edge in a Content-Rich World
Nancy Traversy, Barfoot Books; Tom Benjamin, Author; Kelly Garner, Treefort Media. Moderator Nadim Sadek, Shimmr AI
10:35 AI Discovery: When Every Book Finds its Reader
Gaurav Sabharwal, Prakash Books; Raul Perez, Grupo Planeta; Sarah Arbuthnot, Supadu. Moderator Searsha Sadek, Shimmr AI
11:05 Recognition and reward: How to make money from LLMs
Giacomo D’Angelo, StreetLib; Giulia Marangoni, AIE. Moderator Edward Nawotka, Publishers Weekly
11:35 Audience Town Hall: Q and A
11:55 End

11.30-12.15 AIE Theatre
Bringing the World to Tamil and Taking Tamil to the World
Dr. T. S. Saravanan, Co-Director, Chennai International Book Fair (CIBF)

12:00-12:45 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
Illustrators Annuals: Discovering Talent, Showcasing Art, Empowering Publishers
Steve Compton, Society of Illustrators, Director of Exhibitions & Collections; Eugenia Mello, Society of Illustrators NYC Board Member and Illustrator.

12:30-13:15 AIE Theatre
Teaching Philosophical Thinking in Saudi Arabia
Study of philosophical thinking in Saudi curriculum is a step towards building critical minds capable of overcoming the major challenges of life. Such thinking helps them develop analytical and logical skills that enhance their ability to face their challenges in life.
In addition, the philosophical thought contributes to broadening their cultural horizons and enhancing their understanding of ethical and societal concepts, so that they are able to make informed decisions that contribute to the progress of Saudi society towards the future.
Mawadda Al-Hamid

13:00-13:30 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
Author Ambassador Tom Benjamin in- conversation with Natasha Poliszczuk, BookBrunch

13:30-13:45 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
An Aperitivo: Celebrating the European Union Prize for Literature 

13:30-14:15 AIE Theatre
Design According to your own Rules: Stand out with High Quality Local Design

13:45-14:30 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
Talking Pictures: Estonia
Steven Guarnaccia

14:15-15:00 Illustrators Survival Corner
The Art of Illustration: Learning with The Folio Society
James Rose, the Folio Society, Sophia Schoepfer, the Folio Society, Ivan Canu, Mimaster

14:45-15:30 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
Overview of the Taiwan Children’s Book Market
Sheryl Ho, Supervisor, CommonWealth Education Media and Publishing Co. Ltd; Rhea Lin, Marketing Editor, PaPa Publishing House
Taiwan's most influential education & parenting media, as the credible information resource for parents of children aged up to 15 that combines current issues on education, parenting and family lifestyle. We offer reading experience of the highest quality through various categories for children and teenagers, successfully built up a strong following of parents, educators, scholars and education policy makers.

15:45-16:30 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
The Content Revolution: CETERA and ImagiBook for Visionary Publishers
Sam Minelli, Gruppo Meta

16:45-17:30 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
Illustrator Ambassador Joanna Karpowicz in Conversation with Steven Guarnaccia

Wednesday 2 April

10:00-10:45 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
Going Global: Trends and Undiscovered Voices in Contemporary Bulgarian Literature
Unlike the Western European or American approaches to publishing literature in translation, the Balkans have been significantly underdeveloped in terms of agenting traditions, copyright management and local strategies in promoting national literatures. However, there is an uprising in publishing titles in translation from the region in the last few years as curiosity has been aroused towards Bulgarian authors for sure. Georgi Gospodinov and the International Booker Prize for the best-selling novel Time Shelter in 2023 shed a different light on contemporary Bulgarian literature and its newly emerged or already well-established voices. More and more Bulgarian titles reveal authentic voices that discuss modern topics like domestic violence, life right after the end of the Cold War, feminist issues or global warming. A lot of titles published build anti-utopian worlds and discuss universal themes through local voices. What is the very reason for these titles to arouse more interest and what makes them appealing for the international literary scene.
Giorgia Spadoni, Gergana Pancheva. Moderator, Neva Micheva

10:30-11:15 AIE Theatre
International Award-Winning Children's Authors from Taiwan
Chang Yeou-Yu, Author; Liu Hsu-Kung, Author

Translation Forum
11:00 Translation Forum 1: Opportunities in Poland, Estonia and Norway
Publishing & Translation Trends: Opportunities in the Polish, Estonian, and Norwegian Markets. Bestseller Trends & Translation Rights: What’s Selling and What’s Next. A snapshot of literature trends in the market -
what is selling well in original language. What publishers wish to sell in terms of translation rights (what's hot from each market).
Agnieszka Rasińska-Bóbr Polish Book Institute; Ilvi Liive-Roosipuu, Director, Estonian Literature Centre.

11:30 Translation Forum 2: Inside the Market: What Polish, Estonian, and Norwegian Publishers Are Buying and How to Sell Translation Rights to them.
Snapshot of the market for what Polish/Estonian/Norwegian publishers are buying rights for - what genres, what languages - how should rights sellers approach publishers. 
Anna Nowacka-Devillard, Member of the Board of the Polish Chamber of Books, Co-owner of Widnokrąg Publishing House; Kadri Rahusaar, Managing editor and member of the board, Koolibri Publishers, Member of the Board, Estonian Publishers’ Association

11:30-12:10 Licensing conference room Hall 29 Mall2
From Books to Screen and all In-between: How to Ensure your Talent Travels Across Geographies and Media. 
Cristina Angelucci, BLTF/Kids; Jenna Brown, Penguin Random House; Colin Williams, Sixteen South, Penny Smith Doodle Productions. Moderator, Jacks Thomas, Guest Director BolognaBookPlus

12:25-12:55 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
Jackets Off!: Considering Cultural Interpretations of ‘The Great Gatsby’
Steven Guarnaccia

13:00 Audio Forum Introduction
Jack Thomas, Guest Director BolognaBookPlus
Nathan Hull, Chief Strategy Officer, Beat Technology

13:10 In Conversation with …
Kelly Garner, Founder & CEO, TreeFort Media (USA) and Nathan Hull, Chief Strategy Officer, Beat Technology

13:40 Serialized Content in Audiobooks, Books and Podcasts
Tina Jürgens, co-CEO, Zebralution

13:50 Beyond the Basic Audiobook
Lance Fitzgerald, Senior Vice President, Content and Business Development, PRH; Ann Scantlebury, Publisher, Pottermore; Søren Brinch Vestergaard, Audio publisher, Politiken. Moderator, Nathan Hull

13:30-16:15 AIE Theatre
Navigating the UAE Publishing Landscape: Trends, Innovations and Opportunities

14:15:14:40 Illustrators Survival Corner
Indie Authors Book Jacket Design presentation 

14:25- 15:30 BolognaBookPlus Theatre
Overview of the Taiwan Children’s Book Market
Taiwan's most influential education & parenting media, as the credible information resource for parents of children aged up to 15 that combines current issues on education, parenting and family lifestyle. We offer reading experience of the highest quality through various categories for children and teenagers, successfully built up a strong following of parents, educators, scholars and education policy makers.

Sheryl Ho, Supervisor, CommonWealth Education Media and Publishing Co. Ltd; Rhea Lin, Marketing Editor, PaPa Publishing House13:00-17:30 Audio Forum 2025 BolognaBookPlus Theatre

14:40 Audio rights: A New Frontier
Colin Hauer, CEO, Hörbuch Hamburg; Sonia Draga, CEO, Draga Heather Alexander, Audible. Moderator, Ed Nawotka Publishing Perspectives

15:20 400 Million+ speakers – the Arabic opportunity
Ahmed Riwehel, co-founder, Arabookverse

15:40 AI’s Role in Audio
Laure Saget, MD Audiolib, Hachette ; Ani Attamian, Founder, LEM; Hugo Rayne, General Manager Europe, ElevenLabs. Moderator, Jon Watt, Head of Commercial and Audio, Bonnier Books.

16:20 Where Next: New Players, Models and How to Grow Markets
Mariana Feged, VP Audio, Bookwire 

16:30 Finding New Readers: The Power of Partnerships
Clara Ferrari, Chief Content Officer, YouScribe; Miriam Spinnato, Commercial Director, Mondadori; Fabio Uehera, AYA; Moderator, Emma House, Oreham Group

17:10 Final remarks