Event Highlights

In the comprehensive programme of events that await you, we have selected for you those that you should not miss. 


Monday 06 March 2023

Event Highlights
Illustrators Café

Opening ceremony Bologna Children’s Book Fair, BolognaBookPlus and Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids

Services Centre
Illustrators Café
Event Highlights
BolognaBookPlus
Greece Market of Honour BBPlus 2023
Aldus Up

The Italian Book Market: Facts and Figures – with an insight on the Greek Book Market

HALL 29 MALL 1
BBPlus Theatre

The market focus will present the latest figures of the Italian publishing market to foreign operators, with an insight on the children’s book market. This year the seminar will also host a short in-depth look at the publishing market in Greece, the guest of honor at the Fair.

Panel

Bruno Giancarli, AIE Research Department; George Andrew Zannos, Managing Director OSDEL - Collective Management Organization for Literary Works.

Organized by

BBPlus, Greece Market of Honour BBPlus 2023

In cooperation with

AIE - Italian Publishers Association 

In the framework of

ALDUS UP the network of European book fairs, co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union

Event Highlights
Authors Café
Comics

Manga: A New Wave

HALL 30
Authors Café

Alongside their huge cultural impact, manga have recently become a global publishing phenomenon on a commercial level as well. This panel explores the specifics and potential of one of the fastest growing market segments.

Panel

Kuo-Yu Liang, president Publishing Ku Worldwide, USA; Asuka Ozumi, editorial manager Dynit, Italia; Kevin R. Harmic, Vice Pesident Publishing Sales VIZ Media; Moderator, Matteo Gaspari, Hamelin.

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair

In cooperation with

Ku Worldwide, Hamelin

Event Highlights
Greece Market of Honour BBPlus 2023

Opening Ceremony Greece Market of Honour BBPlus 2023

HALL 29 MALL 1
Greek Pavilion
Organized by

 Greece Market of Honour BBPlus 2023

Event Highlights
Illustrators Survival Corner
Artificial Intelligence
Aldus Up

The State of Artificial Intelligence - Friend or Foe? - Masterclass with Julien Palier

HALL 30
The Illustrators Survival Corner - Masterclass Area

The recent release of new powerful Artificial Intelligence models, with acclaimed tools like chatGPT, are forcing us to rethink how we work and create. But is AI a threat, or an opportunity?

Panel

Julien Palier, former journalist, entrepreneur in Tech and AI, in charge of Product Management at Aily Labs.

In the framework of

ALDUS UP the network of European book fairs, co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union

Event Highlights
Authors Café
Awards & Contests
Aldus Up

STORIES ON THE MOVE. BOLOGNARAGAZZI CROSSMEDIA AWARD 2023

HALL 30
Authors Café

In the digital space children and young adults experience news forms of reading and storytelling in complex narrative worlds in which books become webcomics and webnovels, podcasts and audiobooks, video and tv series, immersive and interactive stories. Now in its third edition, the BolognaRagazzi Crossmedia Award (BRCMA), organised in the framework of the European project Aldus Up and in collaboration with Mamamo', is an international award for excellence and innovation of publishing projects that expand their narrative universe through different media in a particularly effective way, identifying narratives that have been able to migrate from traditional forms of publishing to other platforms. Starting with this edition, the BRCMA dedicates a new category to digital libraries that are able to offer reading experiences on the screen in an effective way.

Moderator
Roberta Franceschetti, co-founder, contentmakers/Mamamo.it.
Panel

Warren Buckleitner, editor Children’s Technology Review; Kuo-Yu Liang, consultant in Pop-Culture & Publishing Ku Worldwide; Gareth Osborne, artistic director Wonderspun Researcher, University of Bristol.

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair

In cooperation with

Mamamò

In the framework of

ALDUS UP the network of European book fairs, co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union

Event Highlights
Illustrators Café

The Folio Book Society Illustration Award 2023 Launch

Services Centre
Illustrators Café

The Folio Society launches the second Folio Book Illustration Award, announcing the story, the judges, what they will be looking for in the artwork, and how to enter.

Panel

Sheri Gee, The Folio Society; Raquel Leis Allion, The Folio Society; Tom Walker, The Folio Society.

Organized by

The Folio Society

Event Highlights
BolognaBookPlus
Greece Market of Honour BBPlus 2023

Global Book Markets: How Data from Five Markets Compare and Contrast

HALL 29 MALL 1
BBPlus Theatre

Shining the spotlight on five key markets using Nielsen BookScan insights. This session will explore the leading trends for each market including the UK, Italy and Greece. It will also highlight common shared themes across the territories as well as what differentiates them. 

Panel

Andre Breedt, managing director Nielsen BookData.

Organized by

BBPlus

In cooperation with

Nielsen BookData

Event Highlights
Illustrators Café

IBBY-International Board on Books for Young People: Annual Press Conference

Services Centre
Illustrators Café

The IBBY Press Conference features premium information about IBBY's prominent activities and events: announcement of the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award candidates; presentation of the 2023 selection of Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities; presentation of the 2024 IBBY World Congress in Trieste (Italy) and much more.

Organized by

IBBY-International Board on Books for Young People

Event Highlights
BolognaBookPlus
Aldus Up

Tales of EUkraine: Sharing Stories

HALL 29 MALL 1
BBPlus Theatre

Tales of EUkraine (TEUk) is an opportunity for European publishers to support their Ukrainian counterparts and to display their solidarity to the most vulnerable victims of the conflict by doing what they do best: publishing books. This project will bring together European and Ukrainian publishers to deliver bilingual children’s books to several communities hosting Ukrainian refugees, fostering integration and mutual understanding. TEUk has built a catalogue of Ukrainian children’s books available for publishers to acquire the rights to and publish in bilingual editions. The project partners will purchase the part of the print run to be distributed to displaced children and organise its distribution to the Ukrainian refugee communities, whilst publishers will be invited to promote the book to their national communities. TEUk will facilitate the integration of Ukrainian children in their host countries, increase the knowledge of Ukrainian culture across the Union, and support the Ukrainian publishing sector in a time of dire need. TEUk is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

Panel

Olena Odynoka, coordinator Ukrainian Book Institute; Enrico Turrin, deputy director FEP; Paola Malgrati, press office Il Castoro.

Organized by

BBPlus

In cooperation with

FEP - Federation of European Publishers

In the framework of

TEUk

Event Highlights
Illustrators Café

The origins of Gallimard Jeunesse: Pierre Marchand, a revolutionary creator of books, a great friend of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair

Services Centre
Illustrators Café

To celebrate its 60! Candles, BCBF dedicates an event to Pierre Marchand, who started Gallimard Jeunesse 50 years ago and was a key figure for the Bologna Children's Book Fair. Over the years, Gallimard Jeunesse has acquired a worldwide reputation for excellence and creativity. Pierre Marchand was one of the first captains of this great adventure. Discover the incredible story of this man of genius, creator at heart, his links with Bologna and more generally the story of Gallimard Jeunesse, which created hundreds of collections, revealed thousands of French and foreign authors and illustrators.

Panel

François Place, illustrator; Marie Lallouet, author; Gianni Stavro, typographer and publisher; Elena Pasoli, Bologna Children's Book Fair; Hedwige Pasquet, President Gallimard Jeunesse.

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair

In cooperation with

Gallimard Jeunesse

Event Highlights
Bologna Licensing Trade Fair
Awards & Contests

Announcement of the Bologna Licensing Awards winners

HALL 29 MALL 2
LICENSING CONFERENCE ROOM

For the 6th edition, the Bologna Licensing Awards will be announced at a dedicated event at the heart of the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids. The award is a unique achievement, as it rewards the most innovative projects based on children and teen brands and products at an international level.

Panel

Laura Carusino, author and TV presenter.

Organized by

Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids

Event Highlights
BolognaBookPlus
Artificial Intelligence

How Artificial Intelligence Technology Can Change The Publishing Industry

HALL 29 MALL 1
BBPlus Theatre

In the field of education, edtech companies are competing to launch AI services. But is Artificial Intelligence able to write full-length novels? Not yet. However, AI can reverse this industry with ‘AI drawing platforms’ that change creative original sentences to imaginary paintings automatically. In this way books, turned into images, can become more accessible. This means that any talented storyteller could become a bookmaker and a publisher if they adapt their writing to the needs of these platforms. A new era full of opportunities is coming, let’s wait and see!

Panel

Jaesung Jung, I-Scream Arts.

Organized by

BBPlus

Event Highlights
Authors Café
Awards & Contests

BolognaRagazzi Award Opera Prima Prize 2009-2023: 15 years of extraordinary debuts

HALL 30
Authors Café

On the occasion of the 15th edition of the BolognaRagazzi Award Opera Prima, an event aimed at celebrating the success of the award established to highlight and provide a stage for the finest illustrated children’s books by young talents. Together with two of the past editions winners, we will retrace the steps that led to the birth of this section and which has grown since 2009 exceeding 200 first works in competition. An international success that this year sees the winners of each edition and twenty debut books selected from the entries to the Prize, presented to the world's publishing elite in the Amazing Bookshelf exhibition.

Moderator
Grazia Gotti, Accademia Drosselmeier/Cooperativa Giannino Stoppani.
Panel

Suzanne Carnell, Two Hoots; Isabel Minhós, Planeta Tangerina.

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair

Tuesday 07 March 2023

Event Highlights
PublisHer

PublisHer Conference

HALL 29
PublisHer Area

This year the International Women’s Day falls during the Book Fair. To celebrate this lucky coincidence, a special programme of events is presented by BCBF in partnership with PublisHer, an informal networking body – founded by Bodour Al Qasimi (Kalimat Publishing Group) - that seeks to increase the number of women in leadership roles within the publishing industry.

PublisHer Conference

10.10 – 11.10 The Role of Women in Challenging the Status Quo in Children’s Books

11.10 – 12.10 Women Helping Women in Reaching the Heights of Global Publishing Governance Institutions

12.10 – 13.10 The Role of Mentorship in Developing Emerging Publishing Markets

Panel

Welcome Address

Bodour Al Qasimi, Founder of PublisHer and CEO of Kalimat Group

Elena Pasoli, PublisHer Advisory Board Member, Director, Bologna Children’s Book Fair


Panel 1

Moderator

Emma House, PublisHer Advisory Board Member and Managing Consultant of Oreham Group

Panelists

Beatrice Masini, Editorial Director of Bompiani (Giunti Group); Mariagrazia Mazzitelli, Editorial Director of Salani; Monica Martinelli, Editorial Director, Settenove Edizioni.


Panel 2

Moderator

Nopi Chatzigeorgio, Thessaloniki Book Fair Coordinator (Hellenic Foundation for Culture)

Panelists

Tuula Père, Ph.D. in Law, Author and Publisher of Wickwick, Inc; Lina Chebaro, Rights Director and Chief Editor Arab Scientific Publishers, Inc; Maria Amélia Jannarelli, Publisher of Amelì.


Panel 3

Moderator 

Dr Wafa Thabet Mezghani, University Lecturer, Cultural Advisor and Publishing Consultant

Panelists

Fatimah Abbas, CEO and Founder of Fatimah Abbas Literary Agency and MENA business development manager for Gigaaa Innovation; Mitia Osman, CEO and Owner of Mayurpankhi Publishing House; Silvia Milano, CEO and Founder of Silvia Milano publishing consultancy.


 

Organized by

 PublisHer

Event Highlights

Censorship of Books: what is the state of children’s book banning around the world and what is being done?

Sala Bolero
Services Centre - Wing B

Censorship is an ancient practice. Whether it be Cato the Censor, or later Popes to blacklist certain books, the goal is always the same: to control, redact and censor, in other words, to stop disclosure. Censorship takes place in many sectors – the press, communications, politics and cinema. Totalitarian regimes exert strict controls. But why is there censorship in more democratic countries? And why, around the world, are some children’s books banned? Long-debated, this issue will be a discussion focus at Bologna Children’s Book Fair, following up on David Levithan’s troubling and visionary article in the New York Times of 23 September 2022 entitled Standing up to the new censorship. In his article, Levithan - America’s 11th most censored author according to PEN America - talks about how censorship today has become a tool used to attempt to deprive communities of their voices and erase their history. A panel of experts, including publishers and scholars from around the world, will give their views of the state of children’s book banning around the world and of what is being done.

Moderator
Barbara Marcus, President Penguin Random House, USA.
Panel

Jon Anderson, President and publisher of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division and on the Board of the National Coalition Against Censorship, USA; Dora Batalim SottoMayor, Member of Instituto Emilia, Brasil, and Coordinator of the Postgraduate Course in Children's Books at the Catholic University of Lisbon, Portugal; Doris Breitmoser, Managing Director of the Association for Children’s Literature/Arbeitskreis für Jugendliteratur AKJ, Germany; Giorgia Grilli, professor of children's literature and co-founder of the Center for Research in Children's Literature in the Department of Education, University of Bologna, Italy; David Levithan, author, USA.

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair

Event Highlights

Transatlantic Connections: Literature, Childhood and Youth

Sala Suite
Services Centre - Wing D

This round table starts a conversation between African productions and those from Latin and North America. Authors, mediators, and editors will exchange ideas from a common source that will spread with more or less ease according to region. The recognition today of a black literature, aimed at an Afro-descendant community is on the agenda. Understanding what place this occupies in the market, and among the majority of readers, is a central theme.

Moderator
Dolores Prades, Director of the Instituto Emilia, Brazil.
Panel

Anel Perez, Director of Literature and Reading Promotion in the Coordination of Cultural Diffusion of the UNAM, Mexico; Bel Santos Mayer, project coordinator at the Queiroz Filho Brazilian Institute of Studies and Community Support and manager of the LiteraSampa Reading Network, Brazil; Vélia Vidal, Director at Corporación Educativa y Cultural Motete, Colombia; William Adjété Wilson, illustrator, Togo and France. 

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair, Instituto Emilia

Event Highlights
Illustrators Café

Announcement of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2023

Services Centre
Illustrators Café

Announcement of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2023, broadcast live from Stockholm.

Panel

Åsa Bergman, Head of Office ALMA; Kajsa Ravin, Director general Swedish Arts Council; Mrs Maria Åkerlund De Francisco, Counsellor Swedish Embassy in Italy; Katarina Eriksson Barajas, jurymember ALMA; Per Gustafsson, jurymember ALMA; Mårten Sandén, Jurymember ALMA.

Organized by

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award

Event Highlights
BolognaBookPlus

Loyd Grossman, BBPlus Author Ambassador in conversation

HALL 29 MALL 1
BBPlus Theatre

BBPlus' author Author Ambassador Loyd Grossman, in conversation with Richard Charkin about his work.

Panel

Loyd Grossman, historian, author and broadcaster; Richard Charkin, CEO, Mensch Publishing.

Organized by

BBPlus

Event Highlights
Illustrators Café
Aldus Up

Children's Laureates in Conversation

Services Centre
Illustrators Café

A panel discussion with seven Children’s Laureates and reading ambassadors from around the world.

Moderator
Julia Eccleshare.
Panel

Áine Ní Ghlinn, Laureate na nÓg, Ireland; Joseph Coehlo, Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate, UK; Casi Wyn, Bardd Plant Cymru, Wales; Gabrielle Wang, Children’s Laureate, Australia; Tialda Hoogeveen, Berneboeke ambassadeur Fryslân, Friesland; Nioosha Shams, Sveriges läsambassadör, Sweden; Susanna Mattiangeli, Children’s Laureate, Italy.

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair

In the framework of

ALDUS UP the network of European book fairs, co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union

Event Highlights
Illustrators Café

Mapping – Introducing the Illustrated Map

Services Centre
Illustrators Café
Panel

Katsumi Komagata, Japan; Manuel Marsol, Spain; Fabian Negrin, Italy and Argentina; Klaas Verplancke, Belgium.

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair, Teatro Testoni Ragazzi-Theater for Young Audiences

Event Highlights
Meetings & Presentations

Sense and Sensitivity - Should publishers edit the work of authors who are deceased, creators of popular classics or not change and leave as pieces representative of their original era – with or without appropriate warnings?

Sala Bolero
Services Centre - Wing B

Literary experts debate the global challenge of how to make the past and its literature palatable.

Panel

Pierdomenico Baccalario, author; Simona Mambrini, traslator; Beverly Horowitz, Senior Vice-President & Publisher Delacorte Press / Random House Children’s Books; Maria Grazia Mazzitelli, Editorial Director Salani; Davide Morosinotto, author.

Event Highlights
Authors Café
Spotlight on Africa

Spotlight on Africa - Readers of the Future

HALL 30
Authors Café

Based on its current population growth, the African continent will be the home to some of the most populous nations on earth in the next 50 years. How can African and international publishers seize the opportunities presented by this population growth to create generations of readers of the future?

Panel

Elena Pasoli, Exhibition Manager Bologna Children's Book Fair; Karine Pansa, President IPA; Lawrence Njagi, Chairman African Publishers Network; Anges Félix N’Dakpri, publisher & Director Abidjan International Book Fair, GAD Editions; Asare Konadu Yamoah, CEO & President Ghana Publishers Association, Adaex Educational Publications Ltd; Julia Claire Norrish, Executive Director Book Dash; Sandra Tamele, Founder and editor Editora Trinta Zero Nove.

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair

In cooperation with

IPA - International Publisher Association

With the support of

ITA - Italian Trade Agency, MAECI - Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

Event Highlights
Illustrators Café

Beyond Sight: Seeing the Illustrators Exhibition with the Sense of Touch

Services Centre
Illustrators Café

The translation into tactile wooden panels of 5 works by 5 selected artists in the Illustrators Exhibition for visually impaired and blind visitors.

Panel

Kiyoko Matsuoka, Itabashi Art Museum; Michela Tonelli and Antonella Veracchi, Palaexpo Art Workshop, Rome.

Organized by

Itabashi Art Museum, Azienda Speciale Palaexpo Rome

In cooperation with

Bologna Children's Book Fair

Wednesday 08 March 2023

Event Highlights
BolognaBookPlus
Greece Market of Honour BBPlus 2023

Literary Translation Forum Part 1: The Power of Prizes and Grants

HALL 29 MALL 1
BBPlus Theatre

Prizes for books in translation can have a real impact on the author's and the writer’s careers, publishing sales, and gaining visibility for books of this kind. Grants for translation are also very important to allow this lingual adaptation to happen. These subjects will be discussed by a panel of experts.

Panel

Will Forrester, International Manager of English PEN; Tom Walker, Publishing Director of the Folio Society; Beatrice Masini, Divisione Director Bompiani, Giunti Editore; Nikos Bakounakis, Chairman of the GreekLit translation program committee.

Organized by

BBPlus, Greece Market of Honour BBPlus 2023

Event Highlights

Born to Read: Childhood and Readings on the Borders

Sala Bolero
Services Centre - Wing B

Encouraging reading from early childhood, especially in under-privileged communities, is a proven way of forming life-long readers and reading families. Based on the experience of the Nati per leggere Project and its transfer to Parelheiros, a peripheral neighborhood in São Paulo, Brazil, passing through the peripheral communities of Capetown, and the project promoted by the Ministry of Culture of Croatia, this session reflects on the importance of promoting reading in disadvantaged children. Identifying, and publishing for, specific target audiences such as these is very important.

Moderator
Dolores Prades, director of the Instituto Emilia, Brazil.
Panel

Bel Santos Mayer, project coordinator at the Queiroz Filho Brazilian Institute of Studies and Community Support (IBEAC) and manager of the LiteraSampa Reading Network, Brazil; Giorgio Tamburlini, managing diretor of the Centro per la salute del bambino, Italy; Lynne Murray, co-director of the charity, The Mikhulu Trust, UK; Marija Radonić, MD, pediatritian, Croatia. 

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair, Instituto Emilia

Event Highlights
BolognaBookPlus
Greece Market of Honour BBPlus 2023

Literary Translation Forum Part 2: Scouting for Books in Translation

HALL 29 MALL 1
BBPlus Theatre
Panel

Porter Anderson, publishing perspectives;  Lawrence Schimel, translator; Serena Daniele, founder and managing editor,  NN Editore; Gvantsa Jobava, Intelekti Publishing; Nikos Argyris, publisher Ikaros.

Organized by

BBPlus, Greece Market of Honour BBPlus 2023

Event Highlights
Awards & Contests

Premio Carla Poesio per la migliore tesi di laurea in letteratura per l'infanzia

Sala Melodia
Services Centre - Wing B

Incontro con la giuria e la vincitrice del Premio Poesio 2023 Caterina Foglieri con la tesi "Tra voli e cadute. Gli atterraggi di fortuna nella letteratura per l’infanzia" (Università di Bologna).

Panel

Caterina Foglieri, vincitrice Premio Poesio 2023; Emma Beseghi, Università di Bologna; Pino Boero, Università di Genova; Lorenzo Cantatore, Università Roma Tre.

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair

Event Highlights
Illustrators Café
Awards & Contests

Announcement of the winner of the International Award for Illustration BCBF - Fundación SM 2023; Announcement of the winner of the Ars in Fabula Grant Award 2023; Prize giving ceremony of the artists selected for the 2023 Illustrators Exhibition

Services Centre
Illustrators Café
Moderator
Marcella Terrusi, PhD. University of Bologna.
Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair

Event Highlights
Illustrators Café

“Join the Revolution! Giving every child good books” - Presentation of the IBBY International Congress 2024, Trieste (Italy)

Services Centre
Illustrators Café

Official presentation of IBBY's 39th International Congress. Chiara Carminati, author, and Roberto Piumini, author and honorary chairman of the Scientific Committee of the 2024 Congress, talk about what it means to "make a revolution" with quality books for children. This is the leading theme of the IBBY International Congress to be held in Trieste on August 30, 31 and September 1, 2024, in which Italy, returns as host country after 66 years. In Trieste, an enchanting city where cultures, languages, literature, music, science and history intertwine.

Panel

Chiara Carminati, author; Roberto Piumini, author; Franco Fornaroli, Vice President Ibby Italia; Elisabetta Lippolis, scientific and technical committee Congress 2024, Board Member Ibby Italia.

Organized by

IBBY Italia

Event Highlights
BolognaBookPlus

A Greener Publishing Industry: How to Become Environmentally Neutral

HALL 29 MALL 1
BBPlus Theatre

As the race to carbon net zero is upon us, how do we as a publishing industry become much more environmentally neutral? Everyone in the supply chain has a role to play, action to take and education to spread, in our book production, our distribution and the responsibility we hold in what content we publish. 

Panel

Lisa Lyons, President and Publisher at Kids Can Press; Julie Belgrado, Director of the European and International Booksellers Federation; Tom Tivnan, The Bookseller.

Organized by

BBPlus

Event Highlights
Illustrators Survival Corner

Ukrainian Illustration: Experiencing the War

HALL 30
The Illustrators Survival Corner - Masterclass Area

Art has always been a medium for communicating ideas, self-expression, protest, and solidarity. Amidst Russia’s war in Ukraine, illustration became a powerful tool that helps Ukrainians to spread the truth about what’s happening in their country, to share their emotions and stories with the world. So what it’s like to live through war? How can artwork become an instrument or even a weapon? How to keep working while in danger? What is the role of creators today? And what it’s like to be Ukrainian? These are the questions the panel, made up offamous prize-winning Ukrainian illustrators, will answer.

Moderator
Yuliia Kozlovets, Director of International Book Arsenal Festival.
Panel

Oleg Gryshchenko, artist, illustrator and Co-Founder of Pictoric illustrators club; Anna Sarvira illustrator, curator and Co-Founder of Pictoric illustrators club; collaborative duo Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv, Art Studio “Agrafka”.

Organized by

International Book Arsenal Festival

Event Highlights
Illustrators Café
Awards & Contests

Premio Strega Ragazzi e Ragazze 2023: annuncio del libro vincitore nella categoria "Narrazione per immagini"

Services Centre
Illustrators Café
Moderator
Marcella Terrusi, PhD. Università di Bologna.
Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair

In cooperation with

Fondazione Bellonci

Event Highlights
BolognaBookPlus
Greece Market of Honour BBPlus 2023
Awards & Contests

Book Jacket Design: Best of the Best from Greece, Market of Honour 2023, and winner announcement

HALL 29 MALL 1
BBPlus Theatre

Six finalist Greek jacket covers are reviewed and discussed, and the winner is announced.

Organized by

BBPlus, Greece Market of Honour BBPlus 2023

Event Highlights
Illustrators Café

A talk with Suzy Lee. Winner of the 2022 H.C. Andersen Award and Author of 2023 Illustrators Annual Cover

Services Centre
Illustrators Café

BCBF hosts every other year the winners of two prestigious children’s book awards in the arts, the BIB – Biennial of Illustration Bratislava and the Hans Christian Andersen Award, to create the cover of the Illustrators Annual: the catalogue collecting all the works of the artists selected for the Illustrators Exhibition. The 2023 Illustrators Annual cover has been created by Suzy Lee (Korea), winner of the 2022 H.C. Andersen Award.

Panel

Suzy Lee, illustrator, Korea; Marcella Terrusi, PhD. Università di Bologna.

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair

Event Highlights
Authors Café
Spotlight on Africa

Book Dash: making books in 12 hours at BCBF 2023!

HALL 30
Authors Café

Book Dash works with creative professionals to make beautiful picture books in just 12 hours. 2023 will see the BCBF host the inaugural Book Dash outside of Africa. Join us in a reading of the two books created on the first two days of the Fair and meet the talented African writers, illustrators and designers who made them. Hear from Book Dash about their grand vision that "Every child should own a hundred books by the age of five".

Panel

Jess Jardim-Wedepohl, South Africa, illustrator; Alex Latimer, South Africa, illustrator; Job Mwanga, Kenya, designer; Thokozani Mkhize, South Africa, designer; Fiske Nyirongo, Zambia, writer; Sope Martins, Nigeria, writer; Zanri Kritzinger, South Africa, editor; Dorette Louw & Julia Norrish, South Africa, Book Dash facilitators and moderators.

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair

In cooperation with

Book Dash

With the support of

ITA - Italian Trade Agency, MAECI - Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

Event Highlights
Meetings & Presentations

Children's books from Ukraine: working during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine

Sala Suite
Services Center

Last year, at the Bologna Book Fair, Ukraine's stand was empty because the fair was held a month after the start of the full-scale invasion. There was a promise at the booth to return. What was the year like for Ukrainian publishers and illustrators, whether children's books were published in Ukraine and whether new stories were created.

Moderator
Yuliia Kozlovets, general coordinator of the International Book Arsenal Festival
Panel

Art studio Agrafka; Mariana Savka, ukrainian writer and Editor-in-chief of the The Old Lion Publishing House; Olena Odynoka, Deputy Director for International Cooperation at Ukrainian Book Institute; Tetiana Stus, Editor-in-chief of the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

 

Organized by

Ukrainian Book Institute


Event Highlights
Women's Day
Book Lovers' Bistrot

Susanna Mattiangeli, Italian Children's Laureate 2022-2024

HALL 26
BOOK LOVERS' BISTROT

Barbara Ferraro e Silvana Sola, Alir, presentano l'autrice che racconterà i suoi programmi come ambasciatrice della lettura.

Panel

Barbara Ferraro, Alir; Silvana Sola, Libreria Giannino Stoppani; Susanna Mattiangeli, autrice.

Organized by

Accademia Drosselmeier, Alir

Event Highlights
Illustrators Café
Awards & Contests

Illustrations for Italo Calvino. Published and unpublished masterpieces for young readers' books

Services Centre
Illustrators Café

Italo Calvino loved and knew very well the history of Italian illustration. He would certainly have been pleased with BCBF's tribute to him one hundred years after his birth with the exhibition and contest "Eccellenze Italiane. Figures for Italo Calvino". Visual culture is an important aspect of cultural, aesthetic, imaginative education. Promoting it, stimulating it, making it accessible to children is a commitment. 

BCBF dedicates a meeting to the great author and Italian illustration, together with established artists who have interpreted his texts, and some of the contest winners, who have offered their personal vision of the characters, places and suggestions of Calvino's novels.
Moderator
Silvana Sola, Accademia Drosselmeier
Panel

Alessandro Sanna, illustrator, Italy; Rotraut Susanne Berner, illustrator, Germany; Vera Gereke, illustrator, Germany; Sara Colaone, illustrator, Italy; Patrizia Guidi, Director of Biblioteca Comunale Castiglione della Pescaia, Grosseto; Silvana Rocco, Councillor for Culture and school policy, Comune di Battipaglia, Salerno.

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair

In cooperation with

Cooperativa Giannino Stoppani/ Accademia Drosselmeier

Thursday 09 March 2023

Event Highlights
Meetings & Presentations

IBBY European Regional Conference: "Finding a safe home in books"

Sala Notturno
Services Centre - Wing D

Every child has the right to a safe home. Yet, children all over the world often face moments of doubt, insecurity, fear, loss or threat. This is where the power of stories comes in, because books can offer shelter, give hope and create awareness. Stories have the potential to show you that you are not alone, and that others are in the same situation. Books can offer ideas and scenarios that are beyond our own imagination, showing us a different and, perhaps, a better world. Because IBBY is committed to the right of every child to become a reader – we want our third European Regional Conference to send out a signal of hope in these challenging times. Our keynote speaker, the child and youth psychiatrist Winny Ang, will highlight the importance of stories for a child’s development and personal happiness. Furthermore, successful projects from France, Germany, Ireland and Slovenia will provide inspiration for all professionals in children's literature. And, of course, the programme will feature enthusiastic creators of books: Fabio Geda, Andriy Lesiv and Romana Romanyshin, Margaret Anne Suggs and Edward van de Vendel. The broad range and potential of children's literature is waiting for you!

Find out the programme and the speakers: https://www.ibby-europe.org/

Organized by

IBBY Europe, International Board on Books for Young People

In cooperation with

Bologna Children's Book Fair

Event Highlights
Translators Café
Awards & Contests

Cerimonia di premiazione del concorso IN ALTRE PAROLE

HALL 30
Translators Café
Panel

Federica Lippi, traduttrice Francesco Vitucci, Università di Bologna.

Organized by

Bologna Children's Book Fair