The Next Chapter Café

In this talk, we will explore the creative universe of Ivar Da Coll through his Chigüiro series, examining how a nearly wordless character has transformed storytelling for children in Latin America. We will review Da Coll's work as an author-illustrator, the graphic and narrative choices that make Chigüiro a unique work, and how his books engage with early readers and reading mediators. From the perspective of a university research group, we will offer critical readings of his work and reflect on its place in the international landscape of children's and young adult literature, in light of his nomination for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

Aria Ungerer leads a conversation with the teams behind two new children’s play museums—La Maison des Histoires in Paris and The Rabbit Hole Museum of Children’s Books in Kansas City. The session explores how picture books can become physical spaces of play and discovery at a time when digital distractions dominate children’s attention. The panel examines the pressures facing publishers and booksellers and shows how immersive, story driven environments can renew children’s connection to reading books.

Discussion explores how different cultures and education systems shape children's reading habits and which successful practices we can learn from and adapt. We will examine the roles of families, schools, and communities in fostering a love of reading and consider how international perspectives help us better understand children's motivation and reading engagement. The conversation offers inspiring examples and practical ideas that can be applied within our own educational and cultural contexts.

The picture book has always been at the heart of Bologna and defines the world of children’s publishing. This session looks at how it is changing. Whether you are creating a visual poem, an educational series, or a fact-based book, the picture book remains one of the most inventive forms around. Panelist will discuss the challenge of finding fresh, surprising stories for the youngest readers and talk about their own experience and definitions of the picture book. If you are an illustrator or an artist looking to connect with publishers and peers to discuss the future of the form, this is a must attend event.

Bulgarian illustrators working across different media share their insights, artistic journeys, and challenges around creating art for picture books. The discussion brings together four contemporary illustrators who shape new directions in children's book publishing in Bulgaria. Their original artwork reflects major international trajectories while maintaining a distinctive and authentic visual expression.

Una panoramica sulla scrittura, l'illustrazione e l'editoria in Italia oggi. La prima parte dell’evento sarà condotta da Javier Sobrino, coordinatore di PEONZA, e analizzerà lo stato attuale della letteratura per bambini e giovani lettori in Italia, includendo contributi di specialisti, scrittori, illustratori ed editori.

Dal conduttore di Report Sigfrido Ranucci, Navigare senza paura , la prima guida per giovani esploratori del web, uno strumento unico per orientare i giovani nella complessità del mondo digitale: intelligenza artificiale e le fake news, il nuovo gioco online e la condivisione di informazioni personali. Perché la sicurezza dei ragazzi passa soprattutto da una buona informazione.

Across Europe (and globally), boys consistently score lower than girls on reading assessments such as PIRLS and PISA. The reasons aren’t simple—but research points to a combination of factors. For instance, reading is stereotyped (and promoted) as a quiet hobby, that helps you develop your empathy skills. Does this give girls an advantage? Or is this issue an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy, in which boys lack male reading roll models at home or school, reinforcing the idea that reading is 'not for them'? And do we, the reading promoters, design our literacy and reading interventions with boys in mind? This panel discussion brings together reading promoters from across Europe to discuss effective strategies for engaging boys in reading.

Established in 1967 by IBBY, International Children’s Book Day is celebrated annually on or around Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, April 2nd. Every year it is sponsored by a different IBBY Section, which crafts a poster and message and inspires reading activities, both locally and worldwide. 2026 is sponsored by IBBY Cyprus under the inspiring motto “Plant Stories and the World will Bloom”. From the creative process to the organization of reading campaigns, this roundtable brings together IBBY members from across Europe to discuss the importance of ICBD and the many festive ways to instil the love of reading to children.

This panel brings together illustrators from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, offering a Central Asian perspective on how children’s book illustration reclaims cultural identity through visual storytelling.
Drawing on rich ornamental and manuscript traditions, shaped by the legacy of the Silk Road, their practices reflect a deep and layered heritage.
Based on their professional experience, the illustrators engage with this legacy in distinct ways: some reinterpret historical narratives through contemporary comics, while others modernize traditional motifs within children’s book design. Together, they demonstrate how cultural heritage can be thoughtfully reimagined to resonate with today’s global audiences.
How can Central Asian illustration preserve identity while shaping how future generations see the world?

As women in publishing across Africa, we are passionately creating children’s books, often in contexts where writers, illustrators, and publishers cannot rely solely on children's literature for their livelihood. However, we come from extraordinarily rich storytelling traditions that deserve broader and more diverse visual and narrative expression. In this conversation, we will share our experiences as publishers and ecosystem builders, reflecting on how we nurture readers at home while leveraging platforms such as the Bologna Children’s Book Fair to expand opportunities for African children’s stories, creators, and markets.

The session will also feature the announcement of the shortlist for the second edition of the Prix de l’édition jeunesse africaine, launched by eKitabu, which aims to boost the visibility and reach of French-language books by African publishers across the continent and beyond.

The banning and challenging of children’s and young adult books have been rising dramatically in various parts of the world. Not just in USA, similar things are also unfolding all over the world. What is at stake when stories for young readers are restricted and who gets to decide? This panel brings together editors, literary scholars, and librarians to examine contemporary book bans in a broader historical and cultural context. We will explore how today’s challenges, often driven by well-organized advocacy groups, echo longer histories of censorship, while also highlighting the vibrant resistance movement defending the freedom to read. The discussion will showcase initiatives such as international banned book networks and libraries specializing in banned books. Simultaneously, the panel will also address more complex questions such as: How do we distinguish between censorship and the re-editing of older texts to remove stereotypes? And how can we support young readers’ access to diverse, challenging, and empowering stories in an increasingly polarised climate?

Giunto alla sua X edizione, il Premio Luigi Malerba per l'albo illustrato si conferma punto di riferimento nazionale per la segnalazione di opere pensate per l'infanzia e l'adolescenza di particolare rilievo dal punto di vista letterario, artistico e formativo. La crescita - qualitativa e quantitativa - del settore editoriale dei picture book è confermata dalle opere giunte al concorso, i cui vincitori saranno resi noti nel corso di questo incontro presso BCBF, e dalla loro forma “ibrida”, che le rende adatte a un pubblico assai più ampio di quello dei bambini e delle bambine.