DAY 3

Luigi Aimè is an illustrator and concept designer who adapts the pictorial structure of traditional painting techniques to the digital medium. He creates illustrations for children's books and collectible card games worldwide. He works for Publishing related to the Disney, Pixar and Star Wars franchises, and for Disney he has produced large paintings for the theme parks in Paris, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Hong Kong 

Since 1991 he has been writing for the weekly ‘Mickey Mouse’ and for the series ‘PK’, ‘Mickey Mouse Mystery Magazine’, ‘X-Mickey’ and ‘W.I.T.C.H.’.

Since 1992 he has been writing the adventures of ‘Lupo Alberto’. In 2002 he created the series ‘Monster Allergy’ with Katja Centomo, while for Panini/Marvel he signed ‘X-Campus’ and ‘Young Doctor Strange’. 

In the field of animation, he has collaborated on many TV productions including ‘Lupo Alberto’, ‘Spike Team’, ‘Bu Bum’, ‘The Extraordinary Adventures of Jules Verne’, ‘Egyxos’, ‘Tommy & Oscar’, ‘Winx Club’, ‘Monster Allergy’, ‘Pop Pixie’, ‘World of Winx’, ‘44 Cats’ and ‘Pinocchio & friends’. He teaches at the National Academy of Dramatic Art and the Roman School of Comics. 

Penguin Random House UK appointed Jenna Brown as its new Head of Media Rights in 2021 from BBC Studios. At a time when the demand for IP is at an all time high, Jenna focuses on finding the best possible partners to develop authors’ work into film, TV and stage productions.

Jenna sells adaptation rights to producers and platforms around the world and currently has projects in development with Netflix, Film4 and Disney as well as indies across the sector. As widely reported in the trade press, last year Jenna concluded a major deal for the legendary pre-school brand Spot with Guru Studios for a new animation of the classic IP. She is in Bologna to showcase Penguin Random House UK's brilliant array of Children's titles that are ripe for bringing to the screen 

Megi Bulla, aka @LaBibliotecadiDaphne, is a content creator, art director of Loonari and author of Milena insegnami la felicità, published by Fabbri Editori. In January 2024 she announced the curatorship of an editorial series for Rizzoli that bears her name. Her community on TikTok counts 430,000 followers 

Born in Faenza on May 15, 1975. Graduated first from the F. Arcangeli Artistic High School in Bologna, then from the Experimental Cinematography Center in Rome. 

For over 20 years, she has been working in the field of animation cinema, collaborating on feature films, medium-length films, and TV series, both Italian and international.  She started her career as an animator, holding this role for nearly a decade in numerous productions, before developing a passion for storyboarding and collaborating for another decade on productions such as French and Italian TV series and feature films.

Her collaborations have also included character design, both for animation , advertising and gaming. Recent experiences include directing and artistic direction for the feature film "Arf," released in theaters in 2024, storyboarding for "La bicicletta di Bartali," which is currently in production, and character design for "Gino & Friends," set to be released soon.

During these years, she has also collaborated with publishing houses for educational books, including Rizzoli, and provided illustrations for packaging and mascots for advertising agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi, Ferrero, and Smith Lumen.  She is currently collaborating with agencies in Milan on toy concepts, creation, and packaging 

Roberta Ferrari started working in publishing in 2006. She has been an editor of Italian fiction and non-fiction and, since 2019, she has been publishing manager of Rizzoli and Fabbri Ragazzi 

My studio and I are constantly exploring new ways of creating entertainment and art in Gaming, Film, Events and XR. Last year we started looking more closely at the book market. We believe there is room for multimedia and IP projects to bridge some of the gaps between these rather separate markets 

Award-winning digital producer and entrepreneur, who strives to create intuitive, interactive, and immersive ways of storytelling. By linking narratives, visuals, audio, and gameplay, I believe that digital technologies and applications is a game-changer within education and culture 

Marianna is CEO and Producer at Panebarco, a company focused in cartoons and animation. She is in charge of international affairs and attends markets and festivals worldwide.

She is author and producer of the short 3d animated movie Caramelle and producer for Panebarco in the 2d animated feature film “Arf”. At present she’s developing two TV series for kids based on two original IPs.

She's Vice-president delegate to European Affairs in CNA, an italian association of SME's; Vice-president in SMEunited and member of the CNA Cinema e Audiovisual Committee.

She speaks Spanish and English fluently 

Rossella Piccini is an illustrator specializing in creating visual universes for IPs. With over 20 years of experience, she designs characters and narrative worlds for publishing, games, and licensing, combining unique design with rich storytelling. She has collaborated with Artsana, Clementoni, Mondadori, and Hachette 

Anna Russo has published with some of the largest Italian publishers, including Einaudi/El, Salani, Mursia, Fatatrac, ecc... becoming an educational reference in Italian schools. Some of her works: La bambina babilonia, Pao alla conquista del mondo, Caro Hamid fratello lontano, Il baffo del dittatore, Alfabeto Magico, Ibrahim il bambino del campo, Seven Billion, Barattolo, ecc...

She is mentioned on Wikipedia under the category "Italian Writers." The Antologia Garzanti for middle schools dedicated a chapter to her among the best Italian writers for children. As a director and screenwriter, she has created numerous music videos. Additionally, she wrote the song A MI ME GUSTA, which became an evergreen in the Latin music world. She also wrote the subject, screenplay, and directed the animated feature film ARF 

Elisa Salamini promotes culture and digital literacy for adults and children through the organization and portal Mamamò (awarded as Best Digital Project, Premio Andersen 2018). As a journalist, she worked for 10 years at Virgilio.it. In 2017, with Roberta Franceschetti, she founded ContentMakers, an agency which develops crossmedia projects for children and offers training for parents and teachers on the topics of media literacy. She is co-author of the animated series Meteoheroes, the first environmental-themed cartoon (produced by Icona Clima and Mondo.tv). She is author of YouTuber - Manuale per aspiranti creator (Editoriale Scienza) and Educare ai nuovi media (Pearson Academy).
 

Penny Smith is a business leader who helps steer brands through category & market transitions. With experience across sectors & for tier one brands, Penny has taken a number of creative and commercial propositions to market, with a focus on the ever-evolving digital landscape. Sector experience includes media, publishing, retail, fintech & ecommerce. Since joining Doodle Productions in 2020, Penny has taken the reins on growing the Messy goes to OKIDO IP, including overseeing the expansion of the magazine subscription business, the launch of the World of OKIDO app and the development of branded products.

Through a cross-media, multi-channel & platform approach, OKIDO is reaching more children, on more occasions and in more places, so they can enjoy learning with Messy Monster in the environment that suits them, whether that be on TV, on digital, in OKIDO magazine, with toys and games or in the World of OKIDO app 

An author of children’s books, games, and magazines, Paolo has worked as editorial director for Hobby & Work, Mediaset, and Panini. Founder of La Fabbrica delle Fiabe and now head of Toad Creative Studios, he focuses on storytelling and toy design 

Jacks Thomas is Guest Director of BolognaBookPlus. Prior to this she was Director of The London Book Fair for seven years. She has worked in various publishing companies throughout her working life. Additionally, Jacks sits on publishing and related boards and is a school governor 

Paola Myriam Visconti is the author and creator of the Dynowish The Protector of Dream’s saga published by Giunti Editore and the founder of its narrative universe, which is currently expanding into the animation sector. She holds PHD in Economics and Law from the University of Bologna and PHD in History and Anthropology from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, further deepening her studies at UCL in London. After a career that spanned finance, ancient history, classical and contemporary art, she finally fulfilled her greatest dream: creating content for children and young audiences. She has published the first three books of the saga, including Dynowish – The Protector of Dreams, and is currently working on the fourth volume.

These books have achieved notable success in the publishing world. At the same time, she is actively involved in developing an animated series based on her books, collaborating with leading industry professionals. Moreover, Paola Myriam Visconti is engaged in integrating the Dynowish brand across cross-media platforms, including gaming, licensing, and innovative projects in the children’s entertainment industry. She also founded the Dynowish Foundation, with the mission of supporting children worldwide, especially those less fortunate, in pursuing their dreams 

Me and my studio are constantly exploring new ways of creating entertainment and art in the sectors Gaming, Film, Events and XR. Last year we started to take a closer look at the book market. We believe there is room for multimedia projects and IPs to close some gaps between these rather separated markets 

Colin Williams is a BAFTA winning and twice EMMY nominated show creator and founder of Sixteen South which makes quality television with heart for every child in every home in every country across the world.  He has an international reputation for the highest quality work, winning over 100 international awards for his work.

He leads the development team at the studio and focuses on the creation of original ideas