This year the Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF) – the biggest fair in the world for children’s literature since it was launched 61 years ago – opened in Bologna, Italy, on Monday, April 8. It lasted four days, drawing 1,523 exhibitors from 100 countries, with Slovenia as the guest of honor. It was successful as always, but this time it felt different from last year like it had reached a real turning point.
That the Fair was a resounding success is confirmed by the number of trade visitors: 31735 according to the BolognaFiere Group, an increase of 10 percent over 2023. New countries included Angola, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Cameroon, Colombia, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Monaco, Moldova, Paraguay, the Philippines, Togo, and Uganda.
Attendance was also boosted by the Fair’s unique “brand extension” feature coming in parallel presentations at Bologna Book Plus and the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids—bringing together promoters and showcasing content across the book publishing supply chain.
Also the Fair was amply covered by the international press with more than 40 journalists attending, including extensive reporting of all trade aspects by Publishing Perspectives.
There were 386 events at the Fair itself and more than 220 additional events on and off-site, in other parts of the city – more than any single visitor could ever manage to attend. There was something for everyone.
Bologna has a long tradition of welcoming artists and illustrators and numerous libraries featuring children’s books – not to mention the magnificent public library, the Sala Borsa in the center of the old town open to everyone, but especially attentive to children’s and young people:
And China was back in full force, with over 100 Chinese exhibitors, including events like “Data Release and Case Analysis of the Chinese Children’s Book Market” which provided insights into the booming Chinese market that services over 360 million children and young people with over 40,000 titles published each year.
China also has its own major children’s book fair, the China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF), that will take place in November.
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair: Looking for new ideas, from romantasy to graphic novels
The pandemic that had caused a sudden boost in children’s book sales and a concerning drop in attendance at public events is now definitively behind us. That pandemic peak in sales is a distant memory and the world of children’s book publishing is back to normal, with book fairs around the world – notably the London Book Fair just over and the Frankfurt Book Fair coming up in October – acting as a thermometer to figure out what’s hot and as a crucible for new ideas and trends. Publishers, editors, and agents are realizing they may have gaps in their lists, and the middle grade category (books for ages 8-12) is the most affected.
As reported by Publishers’ Weekly, the current craze is for a new crossover genre termed “romantasy”, combining fantasy with romance. And the other large emerging trend that has (depending on the viewpoint) “taken over” the middle grade category (books for ages 8 to 12) or “saved” it from collapse is graphic novels.
And the Bologna Book Fair could not fail to have a large section dedicated to comics with publishers coming from every corner of the world:
This said, the focus at the Fair remained firmly on illustrations and the world of author-illustrators, from picture books ranging for early readers to graphic novels for YA (young adults, ages from 14 to 18). At the core Illustrators Exhibition with its 58th competition, over 3,500 artists from 81 countries made 17,600 submissions. In the end, there were 344 finalists and fully 79 artists from 31 countries made the most coveted list.
The winners of the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award given at IBBY for recognition for lifelong contributions were announced on the first day at the Fair and drew a large gathering:
The winners were Heinz Janisch from Austria, a master of short-form stories that leave room for readers’ imagination; and Sydney Smith from Canada, recognized for his illustrations characterized by authentic characters and a focus on emotions.
The Fair featured a new theme for children: Sustainability
Through both an exhibition of some 70 titles focused on sustainability as well as a debate aptly titled “Reading For A Healthy Planet”, the objective was to interest trade visitors, publishers, editors and literary agents in “children’s books to help achieve a sustainable future”.
The book exhibition ranged across all ages and genres, from fiction to non-fiction:
The debate, held in the Authors’ Café on April 8, was organized by both the BCBF and the United Nations with Irina Lumelsky, acting Head of UN Publications, and in cooperation with the International Publishers Association (IPA) President Karine Pansa.
Ably moderated by Ed Nawotka, Senior Editor at Publishers Weekly, the debate panel included Ferdinando Boero President of the Dohrn Foundation, Inès Castel-Branco Publisher of Akiara Books and Elisa Palazzi, children’s books author and Professor of Climate Physics at the University of Torino.
All this happened in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals Book Club activities which, as its website indicates:
“aims to use books as a tool to encourage children ages 6-12 to interact with the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a curated reading list of books from around the world related to each of the 17 SDGs in all six official UN languages—Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.”
The Club brings together all the publishers who are signatories of the SDG publishers compact, an important event reported here on Impakter when it was launched in 2020. They come from across the world and as a quick perusal of the list of signatories shows, many major publishers have joined.
The debate, however, unlike the SDG Club which covers all 17 SDGs – including the social goals, human rights, fighting poverty and hunger – was largely focused on climate change and how to sensitize a young public to the issue. Undoubtedly, this is a major issue and perhaps the one that speaks most strongly to children as it directly affects their future. Something a slightly older youth, Greta Thunberg, never tires of repeating.
The panel, composed of at least two very active environmentalists (President Boero and Professor Palazzi) was enthusiastic and, guided by Nawotka’s pointed questions, successfully conveyed its high level of passion and dedication. At one point, publisher Castel-Branco unfolded one of its lovely Akaria picture books drawing applause from the audience (a very long book once unfolded):
About next year’s Children’s Book Fair
The 62nd edition of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair is scheduled from March 31 to April 3 next year, with Estonia as the guest of honor.
It will be interesting to see if the emerging trends at this book fair – a focus on more and better illustrations and graphic novels – will be confirmed next year. And whether some new ideas beyond romantasy will emerge.
It would be comforting to see publishers enlarging the concept of sustainability beyond environmental concerns and the fight against climate change to embrace social justice, equity, and more and better democracy.
Or to put it another way, using the ESG terms commonly used by business people and investors, the publishing industry will need to move on from E (environmental) themes to cover S (social) and G (governance). It will have to systematically address such key issues as poverty, hunger, diversity, respect for gender and race. In short, human rights.
Without cultivating this respect for human rights in children, our future is bleak: Humanity won’t be able to muster the necessary degree of collaboration to address climate change, the ultimate cross-border challenge.
Featured Image: Entrance to the Children’s Bologna Book Fair, photo taken by the author (April 8, 2024)
