Are you going to Bologna Children's Book Fair next week?

OMG, ME TOO!

If you’ve never heard of it, Bologna Children’s Book Fair is this yearly ENORMOUS, MULTI-FOOTBALL-PITCH-SIZED book fair in Italy, where it feels like everyone who’s ever published a children’s book gathers together for the week.

I’ll be there next Tuesday for a Good Ship Illustration trip :)

We’ve made lanyards an’ everything!

This is “The Illustrator’s Wall” where postcards and business cards go to die.

Ma pal

Helen Stephens

has made this brilliant survival guide for all things Bologna, and we’ve had a load of gorgeous badges and stickers printed to dish out while we’re there.

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, we also recorded this podcast episode all about how to survive & thrive at Bologna, even if you’ve been to it before 🎉 Yaaaaaas.

When I first visited Bologna Children’s Book Fair back in 2018, I was SO excited. I walked the entire fair, I met a bajillion people that I’d met on Instagram. I ate tasty Italian food. I flipped through some of the most gorgeous children’s books I’d ever seen. I pored over people’s incredible work in the exhibitions. I listened to talks in the Illustrators’ Survival Corner.

And then I was SO overwhelmed.

I had to go and hide in my AirBnb* for a day to recover, and then spent a lot of time beating myself up for being overwhelmed by A BLOODY BOOK FAIR, FOR GOODNESS’ SAKE*.

(Nowadays I’d be like, ‘Katie, take that nap. But that’s my 2024 old age and wisdom. 😆)

It is a lot.

Here’s a nice photo of Good Ship Tania Willis and I being proper tourists in Bologna in 2018.

Helen Stephens

was there too! Maybe she’s behind the camera?)

The best things I remember = meeting fellow illustrators, seeing the huge range of work that's out there in the world getting published, and - of course - the whole being-in-Italy bit.

My top takeaway from last time

There HAS to be room for your work in the world. Look how much stuff is out there getting published!

The guide that

Helen Stephens

of

Pencil Pals

fame made has some brilliant bits about setting your goals for Bologna Book Fair and managing your own expectations.

But don’t take my word for it, you can go read it here.

Anyways, if you’re going to Bologna too and you fancy meeting up, then download the guide and get the meeting details here! It’d be lovely to meet you!!

Hopefully see you there,

x Katie

CIAO AMORE. A DOPO. VAI VAI VIAAAAA. (wait, I just googled that last bit and it means “go go away”, which is not what I meant. I was aiming for an Italian, ‘let’s gooooo’.)

*I stayed in a mad AirBnB room last time - it was a 20 minute walk from the fair and the host served me an entire sleeve of biscuits every day for breakfast. Ahhh, memories.

p.s. Here’s the link again in case you missed it / want the Bologna survival guide stuff.