The Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF) celebrates 63 years of commitment to scouting and promoting the best editorial content for children and teenagers, with an expanded focus to include ever-increasing sectors of publishing. For six editions the city of Bologna has also presented BolognaBookPlus (BBPlus), dedicated to generalist publishing and created in collaboration with the Italian publishers’ association (Aie), and for nineteen the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids (Bltf/Kids), for brands in the children’s sector. Appointment from 13 to 16 April.
Bologna Children’s Book Fair and beyond
These are the three dimensions of the publishing business, which reflect the changes underway in an increasingly interconnected world. This year there will be more than 1500 exhibitors at the fair, coming from 90 countries and regions around the world. Among the new entries: Barbados, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Nepal, Rwanda, Senegel, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Zambia.
The guest country of honor for 2026 is Norway: it will be an opportunity to explore the rich and varied publishing panorama of the Scandinavian country, presented at the fair through the ‘What if?’ programme. A motto that is at the very heart of Norwegian literature and illustration for children and teenagers: two words that open up a whole world of possibilities, inviting you to ask questions. The country’s creative tradition is in fact by its nature shaped by freedom, imagination and audacity, and is based on the belief that children are autonomous individuals, deserving of artistic expressions that take them seriously.
Norway the host country
As an honored guest country, Norway presents the exhibition ‘What if?’ at the fair, a showcase of the high quality of Norwegian figurative production which displays the works of 49 illustrators. Alongside this, Grafill, the Norwegian organization for visual communication, presents an overview of the best Norwegian book production through the 52 winning titles of the 2025 editions of the ‘Most Beautiful Books’ and ‘Most Beautiful Illustrated Books’ competitions. Norway’s proposal is completed by a rich program of conferences and meetings with authors and artists, at the fair and in the city.
Bologna therefore reconfirms itself as the world capital of illustration and publishing for children and teenagers for four days. Among the many guests expected at the fair are: Emma AdBåge, Albertine, Beatrice Alemagna, Pablo Amargo, Isabelle Arsenault, Anna and Elena Balbusso, Alessandro Barbero, Sophie Blackall, Gianrico Carofiglio, Catia Chien, Kitty Crowther, DJ Stout, Concita De Gregorio, Timothée de Fombelle, Armando Fonseca, Matthew Forsythe. And again Jon Gray, Stian Hole, Anna Llenas, Mari Kanstad Johnsen, Lorenzo Mattotti, Leonard Marcus, Roger Mello, Michael Rosen, Kristin Roskifte, Sergio Ruzzier, Felicita Sala, Sydney Smith, Øyvind Torseter, Hervé Tullet, Jacqueline Woodson.
