My first time at Bologna Children’s Book Fair and what it gave me

I have recently returned home from the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and I want to write down my impressions before I forget. Everyone said it would be overwhelming but what an incredibly wild week it was!

For those of you that don’t know, Bologna Children’s Book Fair is the largest international book fair that is purely dedicated to books for children and young readers. It is held annually in Bologna and brings a huge number of visitors. It’s a great place to visit to immerse yourself in the kidlit industry, to network and be amazed at the extent and diversity of books.

In this post I want share what a few days at the fair gave me…

1. Community and connection with fellow illustrators:

I was lucky enough to stay in Bologna with a few amazing illustrator friends, the lovely Tanja Stephani and Devon Holzwarth. We rented an apartment close to the city centre and visited the fair together. It was actually Devon who encouraged me to go this year - thanks Devon!

A huge part of the trip for me was connecting with other illustrators. I can’t tell you how valuable this is! Hearing other peoples stories, learning about their experiences in the industry and with agents or publishing houses, discussing AI and how the industry is changing, figuring out how to get the jobs you actually want and nerding out about art supplies.

The community in so lovely and supportive. I really felt seen and encouraged, something that is so important when you spend most of your time working alone.

2. An overview of the industry:

One of my main goals of the fair was to scout for publishers who might be a good fit for my work. Each publishing house has a stand or space where they display the books that they want to sell. Often they are new, recently published or yet to be released books, but you can also see some older titles too. With such a large number of participants from all different countries its the best place to get an idea of the scale and diversity of the industry.

When I saw a publisher that I liked I took a picture, and handed my business card to someone working there. Often you could find a little box for illustrator promotional material which was handy. Now I have a list of publishers to contact and send submissions to.

3. An understanding of what publishers want to see:

I came to the fair not knowing where I fit, so my main goal was to browse the stands in order to decide which publishers might be a good fit for my work. I came with a few names in mind, my portfolio and a bunch of cards and marketing material to hand out.

The overall consensus from this week for me was that it's hard to get your work infront of publishers and once you do they are more interessted in seeing a dummy book. It’s great if you can show ideas and stories, (even if they are half baked) and present them as a product. It is a business after all and the easier illustrators and authors can make it for the publishers the better. Saying that, I think a strong portfolio presented to the right publisher, where the work really fits to the publishing house’s aesthetic and voice, is a really good idea.

4. Acceptance of my work and where I’m at:

I was actually quite surprised with how good I felt at the fair. I was mostly feeling overwhelmed and exhausted from all the socialising and stimulation. I was actually expecting to feel out of place, disappointed and unseen, but this wasn’t quite the case.

I really tried hard both before and during the fair to accept where I am within myself and my work. I tried to stop any of those negative thoughts from overcoming me. I think this was made a bit easier due to being a little older now, and also because I had some supportive people around me.

5. Practise with putting myself out there:

This was a big one. Every moment gives you opportunities to put yourself out there and I tried to take them all! It’s easy to wander around and become so overwhelmed and intimidated that you can’t speak to anyone, but no one will know who you are if you don’t introduce yourself. I took some big steps at practising these skills and I realise just how important it is, not only for my career, but also for my own personal growth.

6. Inspiration and direction:

The artwork and books I saw were beyond amazing!! Its so inspiring to see the diversity of stories, art and voices within the industry, it makes you feel like anything is possible. It’s also good to see what is new and fresh and what feels repeated. I’m always trying to slightly redirect my work if I feel it’s leaning too much towards something I have seen before, so with the great overview I saw at the fair I have come back with a clearer direction for my work and a plan.

Overall I feel so grateful to have been able to travel to the fair and even more excited to dive into this industry. Going to the fair really made clear to me that this is the right direction for me. I love the kid lit world soooo much and am excited to work on some book ideas!

Thanks for reading!

Emma xx