BOLOGNA CHILDREN’S BOOK FAIR: 59th ILLUSTRATORS EXHIBITION, WINNERS 2025

Milan, 23 January 2025

4374 illustrators applied for the 59th edition of the Illustrators Exhibition, for a total of 21,870 illustrations sent in from 89 countries and regions of the world: a new participation record for the most historic initiative of Bologna Children's Book Fair (BCBF), the exhibition set up in 1967 to discover and highlight the best illustration worldwide in front of the book community gathered in Bologna. A launching occasion for emerging artists and a crowning achievement for the most established ones, for the 59th year the exhibition will be staged in the spaces of BolognaFiere on the occasion of the fair, scheduled with its 62nd edition from 31 March to 3 April 2025.

Also expected in the halls of BolognaFiere together with BCBF are the two initiatives that complete the fair's offer: BolognaBookPlus, realised in collaboration with AIE - Italian Publishers Association and dedicated to the generalist publishing industry, and Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids, which welcomes the main international players in the licensing and entertainment sectors related to children's publishing content.

The selection was conducted this year by a jury consisting of: Walter Fochesato (Scholar of children's literature and illustration history, Deputy Editor of Andersen magazine, Italy), Chris Houghton (Illustrator, Ireland), Neal Porter (Publisher of Neal Porter Books, imprint of Holiday House, USA), Felicita Sala (Illustrator, Italy) and Gema Sirvent Laguna (Publisher of Libre Albedrìo, Spain).

After meeting online to define the 324 finalist entries, the jury met in person in Bologna in mid-January, where they arrived at their choice of 76 sets of illustrations by 77 authors from 29 countries and regions of the world.

The exhibition has been accompanying the evolution of world illustration for decades, placing it at the centre of the fair. But the opportunities for visibility for the winners go beyond the four days of BCBF and the spaces of BolognaFiere: from March to 3 April, the exhibition will also be freely accessible online through the BCBF Galleries portal, accessible from the BCBF website. Furthermore, as every year, at the end of the fair the international tour of the exhibition will begin, taking it to the cultural venues of the world's great cities, starting with Japan, Korea and China.

The winners' works are also collected in the Illustrators Annual, the catalogue distributed in international specialised bookshops and published by Corraini in Italian and English, in Japan by JBBY - Japanese Board on Books for Young People, in Korea by CCOC and in China by Dandelion Picture Book House. The catalogue also features the original contributions from the jurors and a cover illustrated this year by the winning artist of the H.C. Andersen Award 2024, Canadian illustrator Sydney Smith.

There are also many opportunities to support younger participants: the Bologna Children's Book Fair International Illustration Award - Fundación SM and the ARS IN FABULA - Grant Award, the prize promoted by the Ars in Fabula - School of Illustration, are awarded to winners under 35 and under 30 respectively.

Lastly, from this year, new opportunities are also reserved for the finalists: during the fair, they will enjoy priority access and a guaranteed place for a portfolio review as part of the Illustrators Survival Corner activities, and for the first time the illustrator entrusted with creating the visual identity of Bologna Children's Book Fair 2026, under the guidance of the Chialab design studio, will be selected from among all the finalists.

Link to the jurors' bios: https://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/focus-on/illustratori/mostra-illustratori/giuria-2025-mostra-illustratori/5934.html

Link to the names and a selection of images of the 2025 winners: https://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/focus-on/illustratori/mostra-illustratori/illustratori-vincitori-2025/10631.html

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