Chinese Excellence - the jury

Debbie Bibo is a literary agent and editorial producer of children’s picture books and illustrated books. A native of Northern California, she moved to Milan in 1992 and worked for years in art publishing before founding Debbie Bibo Agency in 2011. The Agency represents and promotes an eclectic selection of debut and best-selling authors and illustrators from around the world. Many of the books the Agency  represents have received multiple awards and a handful of titles have been published in more than 25 languages. Debbie is also an editorial consultant for museum and  independent publishers, and she teaches courses on picturebook making, the  children’s book market, and rights and the role of agents at Mimaster, the European Institute of Design, the Cattolica del Sacro Cuore University, Milan, and ISIA, Urbino.

Loïc Boyer is graduated in Arts Plastiques from Sorbonne’s UFR and has been a freelance graphic designer since 2005, working mainly in the field of art and culture. A research associate at the InTRu laboratory of Tours University, Loïc began looking into the history of forms in 2013. He shares the results of his work through articles but also with training courses and lectures in several European countries. Loïc has taught History of Art and Design in preparatory classes at the École Supérieure d'Art et de Design d'Orléans since 2020. Director of Didier Jeunesse’s Cligne Cligne collection for ten years, he is a member of the editorial board of the Revue des livres pour enfants and founder of Cligne Cligne Magazine, a webzine on illustration for children and young adults. Loïc is active on Instagram, Flickr, Mixcloud, Facebook, and Pinterest.

 Anna Castagnoli, graduated in Philosophy, becoming an author, illustrator, researcher and collector of children’s books, which she finds an inexhaustible source of cultural, aesthetic and social interest. Her books have been published in Italy (Einaudi Ragazzi, Topipittori, Bohem Press), France (Seuil Jeunesse, Grasset), Spain (OQO, A Buen Paso, Los cuatro azules, Barbara Fiore), Belgium (De Eenhoorn), UK (Book Island), and China (Beijing Yutian Hanfeng Books Co.).
The author of Il manuale dell’illustratore, a complete guide to the profession of illustration, Anna also writes a blog, LeFiguredeiLibri.com, dealing with research and general-interest topics around children’s literature. She has served on the juries of many prestigious international contests such as the Illustrators Exhibition of Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Tapirulan (Italy), Ilustrarte, Serpa (Portugal), and CICLA (China). She lectures at Turin’s IED, MiMaster in Milan, the Complutense University of Madrid, and on the Master’s course in Children's books & Co. of Milan’s Università Cattolica.
Anna lives with her family in Barcelona.

Hai Fei is a publisher and a writer. He is also Expert with special government allowances of the State Council an former President and editor-in-chief of the China Children's Press & Publishing Group. He also served as Vice President of The Publishers Association of China and President of the China Branch of the International Board on Books for Young People. Hai Fei has created many famous books among those On the Sea of ​​Children's Books, The Great Era of Children's Books, The Great Era of Children's Reading, The Quintessence of Chinese Drama Picture Book Series, The Magpie's Nest, and he won many awards, among which the China Book Award, the China Outstanding Publication Award, the China Taofen Publishing Award and the Achievement Award of UNICEF for China Region.

Wang Lijun, cartoon Art Committee of China Artists Association. Wang Lijun is a  tireless advocate for advancing the creation, teaching, and publishing of original Chinese picture books. Curator and initiator of China Picture Book Fair and Zhang Leping Picture Book Award. He is Authorised Principal of the Chinese region of Silent Book Contest, Mentor at the Wang Lijvn Studio, Animation School, Beijing Film Academy. He conceived and orchestrated the China Central Television's inaugural Chinese Original Picture Book series program, The Most Beautiful Chinese Stories. He created and published works such as Clever Little Monkey, Journey to the West: Defeating Demons, and Li Bing Fights the Dragon among other comic and picture book titles.

Zhang Mingzhou is founding Director of Lifetree Culture Promotion Center, Executive Director of the Publishers Association of China and the former President of the International Board on Books for Young (IBBY,2018-2022). He has attended IBBY's biennial world congresses consecutively since 2002 and he participated in the Bologna Children's Book Fair every year since 2003 except for 2020, 2021, 2022 due to the Pandemic. Since 2005, he has organized the participation of illustrators from China in the Bratislava Illustration Biennial Award (BIB) consecutively and he served as a member of the BIB International Jury in 2013, as President of the BIB International Jury in 2021 and as member of the WIA International Jury in 2022.

Yang Zhong is graduated from Tokyo Gakugei University with a Master's Degree in Fine Arts Education. She is currently a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Ph. D, Director of the Department of Culture and Urbanism at the School of Urban Design, Director of the Picture Book Creation Workshop and Master's Degree Tutor, engaged in picture book research and education, promotion and planning. Yang Zhong is a pioneer of picture book research and education in universities nationwide; one of the initiators of Xinyi Picture Book Award; she served as a judge of the BIB Golden Apple Prix Award, Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award, and the Golden Windmill International Youth Illustration competition. Over the years, the works of students tutored by her have won many important picture book awards at the international and national levels, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts Picture Book Creation Workshop has become a major town for the cultivation of original picture book talents in China.