Bologna Book Fair 2026 Review!

Two weeks ago, I went to Bologna to attend the Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF) for the first time. It has been a bucket list of mine, and I had planned to go in 2020, but lockdown thwarted that (boo)…until now, six years later, I finally found the space to go! Now that I have recovered from jet lag, I thought I’d share some thoughts that’s a mix between takeaways and practical tips – in case it could be helpful for anyone thinking about going in the future.

What is it?

The BCBF is a huge yearly gathering of publishing professionals and book creators from around the world. It’s actually an interesting event for illustrators to attend because it is technically a trade show for publishers, so publishers are there to sell rights and not really to meet writers and illustrators. That being said, it is still a great place for illustrators to learn and network; for example, you can walk around and look at all the different stands and see what books they published recently. They also have dedicated spaces showcasing all the Illustration Exhibition winners, as well as all sorts of talks given by special guests throughout the fair.

My experience at BCBF

Since this was my first visit to the fair, my primary objective was to simply go and soak it all in. These were my goals I felt aligned with that mentality:

• Listen to speakers and explore the exhibitions
• Go to workshops
• Have promotional material* handy while at the fair
• Put my work on the illustrator wall
• Connect with people in the industry
• Be chill and enjoy myself

*more on promotional material below

I told myself if I could achieve all of the above, then it would be a fulfilling trip. Having this mindset helped me feel better whenever I opted to walk past a long queue for portfolio reviews and sit in on a masterclass instead.

Some highlights for me at the fair were walking around the exhibitions, browsing books, and attending talks by Sophie Blackall, Matthew Forsythe, and the SCBWI Illustrators panel. I also enjoyed workshops by Kate Cosgrove and Hsu-Kung Liu. A common takeaway shared by many of the speakers is to be true to yourself and allow room for experimentation. After all, isn’t that a big part of what children’s books is about?

There is so much I loved at the fair but perhaps the best part of the fair is the PEOPLE. I had the best time meeting one of my amazing critique partners of over 5 years, Jade, in person for the first time! And over the course of the fair, I continued to meet many lovely illustrators, writers, editors, and it was a thrill to be surrounded by so many like-minded people. Illustrating can be a solitary endeavor, and while I do enjoy working long hours by myself, sometimes I crave inspiration and company too, and being at Bologna feels like all the right things meshing together wonderfully.

To round out my fair recap, I loved exploring the city of Bologna. The sun came out on the final day and I had my sketchbook glued to my side while exploring the city piazza, and of course the food! Did you know Bologna is the food capital of Italy? I am still dreaming about the gelato I had on the last day there.

If I am fortunate to go again in the near future, I don’t think I would change much other than squeezing in more time to draw outside. I saved my sketching until my last day in Bologna and by then I was pretty zapped. I spent all four days at the fair because I didn’t want to miss anything, but I think it would’ve been fine if I had taken an afternoon off and went outside to sketch with fellow illustrators.

If you are thinking of going – these are my tips on preparing for the fair (Mostly having to do with promo material and signing up for workshops):

I think three weeks prior would be the closest I’m willing to cut it when it comes to prepping materials for the fair. Especially if you are not printing postcards yourself, then be sure to set aside additional breathing room to account for both production and shipping times. I ordered postcards from both Moo and a local printer. The local printer had a turnaround time of 6 business days whereas Moo took exactly 2 weeks. I brought 150 business cards and 100 postcards with me, and used about half of each, so in hindsight I could have brought a lot less. I also brought a couple of posters to hang on the illustrators wall.

Tip 1: The Illustrators Wall has a weird textile-like texture, so simply using tape to secure your poster will not do…it pained me to see some of the posters falling down by mid-day! I was graciously given some glue dots by a fellow illustrator (shout-out to Lauren!) and while it did a better job keeping my poster up, it only works for lightweight paper. If you don’t have access to a staple gun, then push pins would be the best way to guarantee your poster stays up.

Tip 2: Have some business cards on you at all times, you never know when you’re going to meet someone – at the fair/on the bus/at a restaurant.

One of the highlights for me at the fair was taking some workshops. To prepare for this, you had to register online about a week before the fair. This year, registration opened at 1:30pm Italy time, which translated to 4:30AM in the west coast! And the spots run out within minutes! Adrenaline was the only reason I managed to snag two workshops that morning.

Tip 3: The BCBF website is confusing! Before registration opens, all you see when you click on one of the workshops from the “Illustrators survival corner” tab is a test page on eventbrite. When registration goes live, eventbrite will populate with all the portfolio reviews and workshops exactly as you see it on the BCBF site. It is important that you register on the eventbrite page itself. You might have to click on “load more events” at the bottom if you don’t see the event you want, and only after you click into the event will it let you input your contact information and complete the registration.

Tip 4: If you didn’t snag any workshops during online registration, fear not! You might still have a chance to attend certain workshops. Admittedly, I was a little bummed we could only sign up for one workshop a day; what if there was more than one I’m interested in? So on day 2 at the fair, I decided to show up close to the start of a workshop, and luckily enough, there were some open seating I was able to join in!

Tip 5: Have fun! And pack a good pair of running shoes. I remember feeling a bit stressed when I arrived at the fair on the first day. I reminded myself that the stress is likely due to me still expecting some kind of outcome, and once I let go of that thought, I was able to just enjoy the fair.

That wraps up my main takeaways from the fair. Thanks to all the children’s book-loving people I met for making this an unforgettable experience. If you’ve gone in the past, I’d love to hear any additional tips you might add!

Ciao!