Lessons from Bologna BCBF24
From a debut author/illustrator with nothing to show
This time last year I was preparing to attend Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2024 for the second time. You can read about my very first experience in 2023 here.
Even though I was excited to experience the fair, I wasn’t intending to queue for any reviews. My portfolio had not been curated for the event and I hadn’t researched the attending publishers due to a family event.
Qu: So what’s the point in travelling to BCBF if you don’t intend to show your work?
Ans: Actually there are so many opportunities to explore; industry workshops and talks; friendships and connections to be made and inspiration aplenty to set you going for the next 12 months.
Here’s a summary of what I achieved:
Attended 3 creative workshops in mixed media, Chinese paper cut and comic book scripts (and met Yuval Zommer - what a lovely man)
Listened to 8 talks from industry professionals and round table speakers (Oliver Jeffers; Neil Packer and Mac Barnett gave me lots to consider)
Met up with members of The Goodship Illustration; SCBWI; Illoguild critique group and Cambridge Ma students
Handed out 50 business cards to publishers of interest, including pinning my details on the famous Quarto Wall
Bought 7 books from the International Book store, not readily available in UK
Spoke to Julia Donaldson and her agent Caroline Sheldon about my current work
Generally enjoyed the city; the food and a lovely holiday away from housework!
Qu: Help! I’m a first time attendee and this all looks overwhelming! How will I find my way around? Will I get exhausted, dehydrated and confused from walking the halls? How do I plan my time to make the most of it?
Ans: I’ve got you covered!
The queue to enter can be long, but moves quickly. There is a fast track on one side for publishers and VIPs to skip the big line. Before you enter the turnstyle, have your ticket ready to be scanned and then collect a lanyard and some fun brochures. It helps to have cut your ticket to size before you attend.
Some people breeze in and float around with a cappuccino in hand; others charge at the floor plan and furiously flip through the handbook to see what is going on and where. Others hit the wall, armed with tape and pins, trying to attach their flyers and posters before it gets full. Individuals can be seen running for Illustrators Corner - a section at the farthest reaches of the last hall, which is specifically set up for workshops; talks and review stations. (You can try, but often the lists are fully booked within 5 minutes of the turn-styles opening and actually you can often watch from the perimeter). By the way - anything that happens inside the halls is free. So you can reserve your spending money for refreshments and (in my case) European books. So what do you want to accomplish? I like to write out some goals before I arrive and since the handbook is available several days before the fair opens, via the online app, you can plan your first day before you even leave home.
If you enjoy structure: make an agenda for each day.
List out the talks you would like to attend and turn up early to get a seat. More popular speakers, like Oliver Jeffers, can attract more than double the capacity and people end up sitting all over the floor! There are talks in the author area; the cafe and some ‘underground’ locations. I couldn’t find them and was a bit miserable to have missed Beatrice Alemagna. Lesson learned!
Pop in some slots on each day for walking the floors. There are several halls and it’s easy to stay in one area. But make time for the Asian halls; Northern Europe and the often missed Comic Corner and South America. I tend to write down a list of publisher stands that I really want to see and write down their location, then draw myself a little route, to tick them all off. (I did want you that I enjoy structure).
Don’t forget food breaks and organised meet ups for societies you might be a member of. It’s helpful to arrange a place to meet up with some fellow professionals on one of the outside benches. There are food and drink stalls and usually ‘sunshine’ (UK peops will know that this is a real bonus).
Take photos of books you love; stands with huge artwork; selfies with people you want to remain connected with! I LOVE printing out thumbnail collages of the books which grabbed my attention; so that I can look them up later. Often a pattern or theme emerges.
Collect postcards; book marks and business cards - making on a note on the back if you were presented this gold by an industry professional with the offer to stay in touch. It’s amazing how many conversations blur into 1 and then you can’t remember who that lady was who said to drop you a line on instagram!
Think about the time you want to leave. By 5pm the bus routes are packed; it’s chaos outside and I would recommend you either walk back to accommodation or call an Uber. This is a great way to beat your entire step average for the year and I usually rack up 50km in 4 days. If you manage to get on the bus - don’t forget to tap your card for a ticket. Quite a few of my friends received a fine, because the bus was too crowded to reach the machine. (BOOOOO!)
Qu: I’ve been looking forward to this all year and I really want to meet an agent and show my best work to dream publishers. Will I get a book deal at Bologna?
Ans: WOA there now and Hold yer horses!
It’s really important to remember that BCBF is primarily an industry function where Agents are negotiating Foreign Rights for their portfolio of books and have full schedules of meetings all day. Publishers may be selling books but will often have a rope up to dissuade walking inside their stand whilst meetings are held. It’s best to stay on the corridor and observe. By day 3, publishers become a lot more chatty and you can leave your business cards in a designated jar or box. Sometimes if they love your card or flyer they might ask to see your work for 5 minutes. Unless you have pre-booked an appointment with an agent, it’s unlikely. And yet, I do have a friend who popped a single business card on the Quarto wall and received a phonecall half an hour later to offer her a book deal! Miracles do happen and perhaps you will find yourself in the right place to capitalise on them!
Which brings me on to the topic of reviews
There’s loads of ways you can get a review of your work. In 2023 I accidentally had 8 reviews, only 2 of which were pre-booked. Here’s a list of how I got them:
Pre-Booked a review with SCBWI
Pre-Booked a review using Event Brite at the designated date/time when all events dropped
Secured a review at illustrators corner via the wait list
Stood in line at publishers who had left up a list of slots and space to sign up
Random chats at stalls on day 3 when publishers asked to see what I was working on
Just to say, I generally pay minimum £50-£60 for a portfolio review with an industry professional, so 8x60 equals free goodies (ok they might only be 10 minutes long, but the feedback refers to what is happening in the market right now, so quite valuable.) Since we're looking at global markets, you might be pleasantly surprised to find that everyone has a different favourite image in your portfolio, which just goes to show that there is space for everyone and all the art.
Here’s some actions you can take right now:
Check out www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com for the list of exhibitors and do some research
Cross reference the exhibitors with the Children’s Writers and Artists’ yearbook 2025 to understand the specialisms of particular publishers.
Download the BCBF app
Log in to Eventbrite and follow Bologna Children’s Book Fair - the tickets appear as ‘Illustrators corner’ location: Fiera di Bologna Piazza Costituzione 3.
Invest in some comfy trainers; a large waterbottle and secure rucksack*
*A note on pickpockets. It happens. My bag was unzipped; my friend had an entire bag stolen from the bus, between her feet! We all like to fumble around with phone; ipad; giant key for a giant Italian door. Be aware of your surrounding because it’s a really busy time in the city and you’ll be tired in the evening.
That was a lot of information. What else is there to know?
Feel free to stop reading here. But if you’d like to hear about what I learned last year and you’ve still got time to kill on your train journey - here’s a blow by blow account of some of my 2024 takeaways. (link to follow soon).
Stay creative!
xxTabsyxx
Thank you for the advices.
Now I'm totally curious to know what illustration your friend had on her card that caused such an immediate reaction!