I've just returned from the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy!! I arrived in the evening to the loveliest Airbnb picked out by my two roommates, Elisabeth Norton (SCBWI Assistant International Advisor from Switzerland) and Melanie Welfing (SCBWI Global Regions Coordinator-International from the Netherlands). Traveling with friends makes complicated travel so much easier!
Here was the view from our
lovely flat on the west end of the city.
We went to a wonderful restaurant, Casa Alta Bella, where I had my
first pasta ragu of the trip.
I wanted to get to bed early, though, because the first day of the Book Fair can be a bit crazy!
Bright and early, the first challenge was the bus. Just when you'd think noone else could fit, five more people would get on. And it was
hot. Everyone was heading to the fair! (Or so it seemed.)
The Bologna Children's Book Fair is an enormous, international event celebrating its 61st year, with over 100 countries represented, 1,523 exhibition booths across six huge halls, and over 30,000 attendees. Each of the halls is about the size of a football field (or pitch, depending on where you're from). Walking the fair offsets all the pasta and gelato you eat in this food mecca!
Each year, a different country is featured. This year was Slovenia as guest of honor.
It’s important to arrive at the fair first thing Monday morning as the Illustrator Walls fill up quickly, despite the fact that they go on, and on, and on! Illustrators from around the world come to the Fair to share their work on the Illustrator’s Walls. It's really impossible to get the full scope of how much work is represented, but maybe the photos will give you an idea...
I hurried to find space to put up our fantastic Hollins' posters designed by Sharon M. and with
Mary Jane Begin's Cat in the Hat (MJ is our Chair of Illustration). Her work really stood out! I found some clear spots...
Although they didn't stay clear for long!
I put brochures on the floor underneath the posters and along the illustrator walls (this is commonly done) and went back to check from time to time and replenish diminishing numbers. Happily, I had to replenish our offerings several times!
Once that was all in place, I was able to walk around and enjoy the fair and the many, many art shows that display talented illustrators' works throughout the fair. For instance, I found the work of several friends in The Original Art Show. That's
R. Gregory Christie's work in the right corner!
Some booths are just down and dirty to get the rights work done, like Charlesbridge's booth:
But some really go
all out and are wildly creative! Here's the Plum booth, for example:
and the Moomin booth:
and the Anglia Ruskin booth. I think they win for biggest bang for the bucks design in the entire fair.
The evening was topped off by the private publishers party.
I was invited because I was giving portfolio reviews the next day - more on that in my next post!
Needless to say, it was a long day and it was impossible to do it all. Heck, it's impossible to fit it all into one post. So stay tuned for more!
Bologna Children's Book Fair:
01:
To Bologna!
02:
More Bologna!
03:
Bologna - pretty pictures!
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