Jury 2025 Illustrators Exhibition

A scholar of children's literature and the history of illustration, Walter Fochesato is the deputy director of the monthly magazine Andersen. He has taught at the Faculty of Education at the University of Genoa and History of Illustration at the Academy of Fine Arts in Macerata. He is among the instructors of the Ars in Fabula master's program in Macerata and the Professions and Products of Publishing master's program in Pavia. Among his most recent works: Il gioco della guerra. L’infanzia nelle cartoline del primo conflitto mondiale (The Game of War: Childhood in Postcards from the First World War); Le pubblicità di Natale (Christmas Advertisements); Il campanile scocca la mezzanotte santa (The Bell Tower Strikes Midnight Mass); Gioielli su carta (Jewels on Paper); Raccontare la guerra (Telling the War); Emanuele Luzzati published by Interlinea; and, with Pino Boero, A foa du Bestentu. Fiabe liguri (Tales of Liguria, Chinaski) and L’alfabeto di Gianni, dedicated to Rodari (Coccole Books). Walter Fochesato is the President of the international Silent Book Contest and a member of several juries.

Chris Haughton is an Irish illustrator and author living in London. He was included in Time magazine's DESIGN 100 for his work with the fair trade clothing company People Tree. His debut book, A Bit Lost, was first published in English in 2010 and has been translated into 35 languages. This was followed by six more picture books: Oh No George, SHH! We Have a Plan, Goodnight Everyone, Don’t Worry, Little Crab, Maybe, and Well Done, Mummy Penguin. These books have also been widely translated and have won awards in more than 12 countries, including the Prix Sorcières in France, the Ezra Jack Keats Award in the US, and the Andersen Award in Italy. His iOS app, Hat Monkey, was released in 2014, and his virtual reality experience, Little Earth, launched in August 2017. Chris has also established a social business, madebynode.com, to connect design with fair trade and create rugs and toys. His first non-fiction title, The History of Information, was published in September 2024. 

Neal Porter has been in and around children’s book publishing for close to 50 years, working at houses such as Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Walker Books UK and Roaring Brook Press, which he helped to found in 2000.  He is currently Vice President and Publisher of Neal Porter Books at Holiday House. Books he has edited have received numerous awards and citations including the Caldecott Medal, Geisel and Sibert Honors as well as Coretta Scott King, Pura Belpré and Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards. In 2015 he was awarded an Eric Carle Honor for his contributions to picture books. This year Sydney Smith, an author and artist he has worked with extensively, received the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the most prestigious international award given to authors and illustrators of children’s books. 

Felicita Sala is a self-taught illustrator and painter. She graduated in philosophy from the University of Western Australia and has illustrated over 20 picture books. Her books She Made a Monster by Lynn Fulton and As Night Falls by Donna Jo Napoli were selected among the 10 best illustrated books by The New York Times. Her first authored book, Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street, has been translated into over 18 languages. She has received various awards, including the Premio Andersen as best illustrator in Italy in 2020 and the Gold Medal at the Society of Illustrators’ Original Art exhibition in New York in 2023. She grew up between Italy and Australia and now lives in Rome with her family.

Gema Sirvent was born in Alicante, Spain, where she graduated from university in Translation and Interpreting Studies. Later, she obtained a Master’s Degree in Visual Techniques, Visual Language, and Narrative. In 2013, she founded Editorial Libre Albedrío, an independent publishing house specializing in picture books and children’s literature. She directs and hosts a radio program about children's literature and participates in workshops and debates. She also offers lectures and classes in workshops and master’s courses for writers, illustrators, librarians, and teachers in Spain and South American countries. Since 2022, she has collaborated with OEPLI-IBBY Spain. And sometimes, she writes books for children.