Bologna Book Fair Review! from Janna’s 2024 Visit

What is the Bologna Book Fair?

The Bologna Book Fair is the largest children’s book fair in the world.

If you love children’s books, it’s heaven. It’s one giant lovefest for the art of illustrated storytelling. Everyone there is passionate about books and art and making the world a better place for kids.

This year there were an astounding 31,735 attendees, with 1523 exhibitors from more than 90 countries, and 386 events on the program.

It’s certainly one of the best places for illustrators to learn and network. A gigantic “Illustrators Wall” dominates the entrance hall to the fair.

The Illustrators Wall at Bologna Book Fair, covered with artists’ postcards and posters.

The Illustrators Wall is a place where any attending artists can pin their postcards or posters for viewing by all the fair’s attendees. Given the number of people involved, you can imagine how many artists put their work on display!

(To be honest, it really be called the “Illustrators Maze.”)

I spent a lot of time walking up and down the walls, getting inspired by all the talent on display.

Promo poster by Spanish illustrator Diego Estebo at the Bologna Book Fair.

Clever promo sticker by Latvian illustrator Elvira Bekere.

Postcard by UK-based Hong Kong illustrator Amber Aü.

Postcard by Canadian-German illustrator Joelle Gebhardt.

Postcard by German illustrator Anna Karina at the Bologna Book Fair.

Postcard by Singapore-based Burmese illustrator May Thu.

Postcard by Singaporean artist Claire Low, aka Coma Tomato.

One of the interesting changes at the Fair is that it is now expanding beyond children’s books into illustrated books of other types, most notably comics. In 2023, the Fair launched “Comics Corner,” a special section devoted to comics publishers.

A publisher stand at the Bologna Book Fair Comics Corner: Diabolo Edizioni from Italy.

In its first iteration last year, 40 comics publishers from around the world had their work on display there.

But this year, in 2024, Comics Corner almost doubled, with more than 70 publishers from France, Spain, Italy, the US, the Philippines, Belgium, the UK, Singapore, Greece, Canada, Norway, Germany, India, Slovenia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Colombia, Portugal, Taiwan, Brazil, and Ukraine.

It is so much fun to see graphic novels from so many different countries all in one place. And to meet the editors, artists, and publishers behind them! (I post examples of some of what I saw below!)

My Experience at the 2024 Bologna Book Fair

The Pre-Show!

The fair officially started on Monday, but I got a jumpstart on Sunday by attending a training, “How to Sell Rights and Understand Licensing in Children’s Books.”

The training included presentations by a number of European rights directors and agents I hadn’t met yet, including agents Debbie Bibo of The Debbie Bibo Agency and Valentina Colombo of The Phineas Fogg Agency.

Here’s Debbie Bibo, talking about how Japanese children’s book illustrator and publisher Katsumi Komagata (who died just a week before the fair began) inspired her to become a picture book agent:

Agent Debbie Bibo speaks at a rights training at Bologna Book Fair 2024.

One of the best things about attending a conference like this is the unexpected connections you make.

During the breaks at the training, I met Mary Malca Villa, a Peruvian doctor and writer who co-wrote an anthology of Incan folktales, translated from Quechua into Spanish. The story behind the book is fascinating — it is based on a manuscript originally written in the 1600s, but unknown until it was discovered in an archive in Spain in 1939. It includes many stories that had become lost, because the conquistadores worked so hard to stamp out native traditions.

Mary and her team of co-writers are working diligently to re-introduce these ancient stories to kids in Peru.

Chatting with Peruvian author Mary Malca Villa after the Bologna rights training.

A compilation of Quechua folktales, translated into Spanish for children, called “La Yacana y Otros Relatos,” illustrated by Peruvian artist Christian Ayuni.

In the evening, I attended the Penguin Random House party, where I ran into friends from the Gallt and Zacker Agency:

Hanging out with Ellen Greenberg, Efrat Lev, and Saribel Pages from Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency at the Penguin Random House 2024 Bologna Book Fair party.

And then I ran into Kids Comics Unite member and phenomenal author-illustrator Eliza Kinkz!

With Eliza Kinkz at the 2024 Bologna Book Fair PRH party.

The Fair!

The next day I arrived bright and early for a full day at the fair. The first thing that greeted me in Hall 25 (where a lot of publisher booths are located) was this graffiti wall where everyone is encouraged to doodle:

“Libera la tua Fantasia” (free your imagination) at the Bologna Book Fair.

The artists’ grafitti wall at the Bologna Book Fair.

And then, as I was walking to my first meeting, I saw KCU member Alexis Fajardo‘s work on the wall of the IBPA booth!

Artwork by Alexis Fajardo at the IBPA booth at the Bologna Book Fair.

My meetings started off, naturally, at the Comics Corner. 😊

Here’s me hanging out with Felicia and Claire from Singaporean comics publisher Difference Engine. Felicia is a KCU member! And I found out during the meeting that I had taken a photo of Claire’s postcard on the Illustrators Wall, without knowing that I would later meet her in person!

Claire Low and Felicia Low from Singapore comics publisher Difference Engine meeting in the Comics Corner at Bologna Book Fair.

While wandering the Comics Corner, I chatted with indie comics publisher Gautier Ducatez of The Hoochie Coochie, based in the French Alps, about this super cool comics picture book which teaches kids about visual narrative via game-like stories:

Detective Rollmops, a French picture book teaching how various narrative conventions work in sequential art.

I attended a number of events, including a panel about Slovenian comics, where I found out about longtime underground comics magazine Stripburger, which emerged out of hardcore music scene.

I was so inspired by the way Stripburger organizes innovative gallery exhibits of comics art and community workshops, not only with kids, but also with elderly people at nursing homes! Below is a picture of the screen from the panel discussion, showing a photo from one of their exhibits:

Two panelists discuss how Slovenian comics magazine Stripburger sponsors gallery shows of comics art (photo of an exhibit on the screen above them) in Ljubljana.

I don’t know if you can see in the picture above, but they hung the framed comics pages and also created black & white wall decals of the character. I really like this creative approach to the presentation of the art.

Many art and comics schools had booths at the fair, including the Cambridge School of Art, where all illustration students had print-on-demand editions of their final picture book projects on display, just like a publisher. Very cool!

The Cambridge School of Art booth at the Bologna Book Fair.

Dummy books by students at the Cambridge School of Art, in their booth at the Bologna Book Fair.

Here’s a spread from a catalog from Italian comics school Scuola Internationale di Comics:

Scuola Internationale di Comics catalog pages.

My Favorite Things About the Bologna Book Fair

Italy!

There’s a reason why the Bologna Fair is usually every publisher and agent’s favorite book fair. Why wouldn’t you want to experience la dolce vita in a beautiful Italian city while getting business done?

Hanging out on the church steps in the Piazza Maggiore in central Bologna.

I walked everywhere in downtown Bologna.

Moped parking on a typical street in central Bologna.

A spring evening in central Bologna.

Shopping for vegetables in central Bologna.

A bookstore in Bologna with an ancient brick wall and a cafe upstairs.

Dinnertime on the street in central Bologna.

Meeting Friends in Real Life

Zoom is nice and all, but seeing people face to face is totally better than seeing them on a video screen.

Coffee with Janelle deLuise, head of rights for Little Brown Books for Young Readers.

Running into Brooklyn-based Mexican author-illustrator Cecilia Ruiz at the show!

Dinner with Erinn Pascal, senior editor at Andrews McMeel.

Seeing Amazing Books and Art

Of course one of the coolest things about attending an international book fair is the opportunity to see books and art that you would never see in your own country.

Below is just a tiny sampling of what I saw in Bologna:

An illustration by Beijing-based artist Li Yao (sorry for the reflection in the image!).

Sample art by Slovenian illustrator Ivan Mitrevski.

Original art by Czech illustrator Katerina Illnerova.

Original art by German illustrator Lara Kaminski.

Illustrations by Romanian artist Oana Ispir in the Romanian publishers’ booth.

Sample art by Slovenian children’s comics artist David Krančan, who is also an editor at Stripburger magazine.

Bulgarian children’s comic by Alya Markova in the Bulgarian publisher booth at Bologna Book Fair.

Quirky picture book by Swedish artist Jonna Björnstjerna.

An interior spread from an award-winning Korean manga at the Bologna Book Fair.

“Zouk: the Witch with a Big Heart” French kids graphic novel by Serge Bloch and Nicolas Hubesch.

Poster of the “Jo Jo: Sweet Monster” book in the booth of publisher Gründ.

Getting New Ideas

I always get new ideas when I step out of my routine.

For example, I noticed at the Bologna Book Fair that a number of Italian publishers were selling beautiful prints of their illustrators’ work! This is something that American publishers rarely do.

Artist posters in an Italian publisher’s booth at the Bologna Book Fair.

I also saw a fairy tale graphic novel with art by Spanish illustrator Elena Odriozola which came with duotone colored viewing glasses. Looking through the viewer made you see different versions of the illustrations:

“Asi Me Lo Contaron, Asi Te Lo Cuento,” illustrated by Elena Odriozola, published by Ediciones Modernas El Embudo

Looking through the blue viewer, you see the characters wearing dresses.

If you look through the red viewer, the characters are naked.

And I thought this method for displaying books was quite fun and unusual:

Innovative ceiling-hung display of award-winning children’s books at the Bologna Book Fair.

How Much Does It Cost to Attend the Bologna Book Fair?

If you’re based in North America, it might seem financially unfeasible to attend a book fair across the ocean in Europe. But it’s actually not necessarily more expensive than attending a convention in the United States!

I will admit that I am very good at budget travel — not everyone likes to stay in hostels or shop for food at the supermarket instead of eating out at restaurants. But if you’re OK with that, it’s totally possible to keep your expenses very low.

So how much did it cost me to attend the fair?

• Airfare: $590
• Hostel: approx. $300 for 4 nights
• Hotel: $100 for 1 night (I had an overnight layover in Copenhagen)
• Food, transportation, and incidentals: approx $140
• Entrance to fair + training: $150

Total cost: about $1280

You’ll notice that my food and transportation costs were very, very low. That’s because:

a) Breakfast was included in my hostel, and I ate a big meal every morning

b) I attended some parties and got taken out to dinner where other people paid for my food (yay)

c) I walked almost everywhere and only took a taxi a couple of times

You’ll also notice that the entrance fee for the fair is extremely reasonable. And in fact, if you’re an illustrator, it’s even cheaper! A 4-day pass to the fair for illustrators is €56, or about $59.

How to Get There and Where to Stay

Bologna has an international airport with connections from most major hubs in Europe. So it’s not difficult to access.

In my case, I flew Scandinavian Airlines, which did require two layovers each way, first to Oslo, then Copenhagen, and finally Bologna. It was a long trip, but the airfare was less than $600!

I stayed at Il Nosadillo Hostel in central Bologna. It’s a small hostel and booked up months in advance of the Bologna Book Fair. I’m glad I snagged the last available room in January!

One of my favorite things about staying in hostels is meeting all the cool people there! While I was at Il Nosadillo, I met travelers from Costa Rica, Argentina, Turkey, Japan, Spain, France, England, Netherlands, and Germany.

Breakfast at Il Nosadillo Hostel in Bologna, Italy. Two of the people in this photo were artists attending the fair.

Many of the fairgoers I spoke with stayed at Airbnbs.

Everyone in Bologna knows how huge the fair is, and it seems like a lot of people head out of town for the week and rent out their apartments for some extra cash. So you can find a LOT of Airbnb options for the fair.

Additional Bologna Book Fair Tips

If you’re thinking about attending the fair next year, here are a few more tips:

• The website is confusing! You have to buy the ticket, get emailed a coupon code, and then input the code in order to download your ticket. Just a heads up that it’s a strange multi-step process.
• The show is huge – wear comfortable walking shoes and build extra time in between meetings.
• The show layout is super confusing, unless you have a compass in your head. Get a copy of the show catalog and consult the map!
• When deciding where to meet someone, I suggest at the entrance to the Rights Center or the Comics Center, or at a specific publisher booth.
• Wifi access is slow and spotty. If you need to access any files on your laptop or phone, make sure you download them just in case you don’t have Internet access.
• Consider attending supplemental industry training! The cost for the training I attended was very reasonable (€99) and it included a 2-day pass to the show. There were many authors and illustrators at the training.
• Research the many awards and competitions highlighted at the show — there might be some that you want to enter!

Entrance to the gallery display of the 2024 Silent Book Contest Awards.

Info mural about the Golden Pinwheel Illustrators Competition at the Bologna Book Fair.

Bittersweet Farewell

It was hard to leave Italy after having had so many great conversations and seen so much inspiring art. I felt like I learned a huge amount and made a lot of connections in a very short amount of time.

I ended the visit on a high note, though — a fior di latte and limone gelato at the Bologna Airport:

Ciao, bella!