The Bologna Grand Tour - 2023 Archive

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF) is preparing to give full voice to its cosmopolitan spirit by engaging directly with the international book community in advance of next year’s 61° iteration of the fair, 8 to 11 April 2024 in BolognaFiere.

The third Grand Tour, a fully-fledged journey around the world, will see the Bologna suite of three fairs take part in five prestigious events in Frankfurt, New York, Guadalajara, London and New Delhi. Exhibitions, meetings and opportunities for discussion and exchanging ideas with professionals in the book industry (publishers, authors, illustrators, graphic designers and others), will all be promoted during the tour. It has a dual aim: to develop its network of international partners and encourage their participation at the BCBF, while promoting the very best of publishing and the Italian publishing sector around the world, laying the foundations for new opportunities for cultural exchange and trade relations. First of all, in the centenary year commemorating the birth of the great 20^th Century Italian author, BCBF has chosen to include in the Grand Tour the exhibition Italian Excellence – Illustrations for Italo Calvino, curated by the Accademia Drosselmeier/Cooperativa Giannino Stoppani, promoted by the Emilia-Romagna regional administration and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation with the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. This will be flanked by the presentation of the IBBY Italia Honour List – Turn the World Upside Down, organized  by the Italian section of IBBY, the International Board on Books for Young People, of which BCBF and the Association of Italian Publishers (AIE) are founding members. A precious tool for publishers, teachers, librarians and the international public, the Honour List brings together 60 titles that represent the best of Italian releases for children and young people, published in 2021 and 2022, selected by a committee of experts in the sector and members of IBBY, in order to promote Italian publishing abroad and encourage its translation into other languages.

Both exhibitions will include guided tours led by experts selected by BCBF, celebrating its seventh decade with an extensive programme of initiatives with some important guests, showcasing its wealth of activities and expertise.

Other integral parts of the Tour are: BolognaBookPlus (BBPlus), the trade fair extension of BCBF aimed at general trade publishing and produced in collaboration with the Association of Italian Publishers (AIE), and Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids (BLTF/Kids), the leading Italian and European licensing event specifically for brands for children, teens and young adults. Bringing three events together under the umbrella of BolognaFiere represents an opportunity to promote Italian publishing excellence around the world, made possible also thanks to the support of ITA – the Italian Trade Agency and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI).

Discover all the initiatives and exhibitions at each stop!