Together We Are Better!

The 63rd Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF), inaugurated on April 13, took place at BolognaFiere alongside BolognaBookPlus (BBPlus) – in collaboration with the Italian Publishers Association – and Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids (BLTF/Kids), with Norway as Guest of Honour Country. There were 1,540 exhibitors in Bologna, coming from over 90 countries and regions worldwide (new entries included Barbados, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Nepal, Rwanda, Senegal, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Zambia). There were 32,652 professional visitors, showing a slight decline compared to 2025 (-2%), partly attributable to the complex international context and transportation difficulties.

Opening ceremony

At the opening ceremony, Elena Pasoli, Director, Bologna Children’s Book Fair, welcomed the professionals and said that in these time’s the wonderful publishing community feels the need to come together. She emphasised on the tagline – together we are better. She told the audience that the fair has more than 500 events running in 4 days and thanked the Italian trade agency for their substantial support in promoting the fair to different countries.

Jacks Thomas, Guest Director, BolognaBookPlus, said,“In an uncertain world, book fairs seem even more precious than before. It is a shared passion of the publishing community and at the heart of publishing is to buy, sell and to translate. Books travel and open windows to other worlds.”

Matteo Lepore, Mayor of Bologna, shared that imagination are the pillars of the fair. The fair to him represents human rights, community solidarity which is essential and welcomed the visitors to a city of peace and solidarity!

Margit Walsø, Director of NORLA (Norwegian Literature Abroad) told the audience about the diversity of Norwegian literature, which they are able to showcase with many collaborations. She said the audience will discover wide variety of styles and can explore and identity community and their place in the world. “As Guest of Honour Country, Norway presented the works of 49 selected illustrators at the fair. The exhibition What if? showcased the high quality of Norwegian figurative production, accompanied by a rich programme of conferences and meetings with authors and artists, both at the fair and around the city,” she shared.

Gvantsa Jobava, IPA President spoke about freedom to publish and said,“In order for kids to have knowledge of the diverse world they live in, it is important for publishers to have freedom to publish.”

Global capital of children’s publishing

Bologna once again became the global capital of children’s publishing, the most important stage for rights and copyright exchange in the kids and young adult sector, and a promoter of content spanning the entire book supply chain and beyond, increasingly establishing itself as a cross-media hub: from scouting new talent to discovering new voices in emerging publishing markets, from gaming to audiovisual, comics and art. The Comics Corner, the area dedicated to comics, which each year attracts increasing participation from publishers – both specialized and not – from around the world, grew by 60% compared to 2025.

BolognaBookPlus

BolognaBookPlus area expanded, with a 15% increase in exhibitor presence compared to the 2025 edition. Two new features enriched the BBPlus offer: the Designer Studio and the Writers Lab, spaces dedicated respectively to illustrators and writers for children’s and general publishing.

Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids

Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids, a space dedicated to the Toy sector was introduced, developed also thanks to a strategic partnership with Play, another BolognaFiere event dedicated to board games.

Key themes

Key themes of this edition included research into fables and fairy tales, in collaboration with UN Publications, the special category of the 2026 BolognaRagazzi Awards. Collaboration with the UN also expanded to UN Women, focusing on gender representation in children’s and young adult books, promoting the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, of which BCBF has become a strong global advocate. There was also significant attention to sharing best practices worldwide for supporting reading among children and young people, as well as reflection on the role of European and international policies, with an international conference organized by BCBF and AIE in collaboration with the French Syndicat National de l’Édition (SNE), the Federation of European Publishers (FEP), the International Publishers Association (IPA), and International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY).

Focus on new reading habits

There was a focus on new reading habits that are redefining young people’s relationship with reading, including illustrated books. This success confirms the importance of the work carried out by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair through activities – including tours and initiatives – that go beyond the Bologna event and continue throughout the year, also thanks to the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and Italian Trade Agency (ICE).

The 64th edition of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair

The 64th edition of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair – with BolognaBookPlus and the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids – will take place at BolognaFiere from April 5 to 8, 2027, with Poland as Guest of Honour Country.