Last month, our Communications and Content Officer Álvaro travelled to Bologna , having the opportunity to visit the 62nd Bologna Children’s Bookfair - BCBF. Most importantly, he was joined by four international booksellers who, through RISE Bookselling, were able to enjoy a special programme in partnership with BolognaBookPlus - BBPlus. Keep reading for more! 

Following an evening aperitivo with our hosts from BolognaBookPlus on Sunday, 30 March –where the group of booksellers could meet and get to know this year’s BBPlus Author Ambassador, British author and Bologna resident Tom Benjamin– the first day at the book fair started in all its splendour. 

This year, the partnership between RISE Bookselling and BBPlus enabled four booksellers from four different countries to visit this prestigious book trade event: Mikel Jaka, Elkar Liburuak (Spain); Franka Wijers, Kennemer Boekhandel (Netherlands); Nate Carroll, Time Out Bookstore (New Zealand), and Molly Drummond, The Portobello Bookshop (UK), were the participants selected to take part in a three-day programme catered to the interests of booksellers. 

The typical long queues at the start of a trade show didn’t deter the booksellers from making their way to the first session of the programme. Timed with the upcoming European Accessibility Act, the schedule kicked off with a round table on Inclusive strategies to make illustrations in children’s books more accessible. This session, organised by the Creative Europe co-funded APACE network, gave valuable insight into how important it is to make images accessible to readers with visual impairments from an early age. 

After attending the grand inauguration ceremony of the book fair, introducing Estonia as the 62nd BCBF Guest of Honour, the first morning’s roster was comprised of a presentation on the state of play of the Global English language book market delivered by NielsenIQ BookData, and a panel discussion assessing the value of physical books in an increasingly digitised world. 

The daytime activities of day 1 concluded with a session exploring the myriads of opportunities that the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission offers to support the work of professionals across the book sector; and a Sustainability Summit, where representatives from several major organizations in the book industry sat down to discuss the roadmap to a sustainable future in the book industry. 

Flashforward to the evening, and our group made sure to attend the Ragazzi Awards and a subsequent party, held at the majestic Palazzo Re Enzo, in the heart of Bologna. 

The second leg of the programme started with a visit to some of the many wonderful bookshops that populate the city of Bologna. Our booksellers made the most of this tour, exploring how their peers lead their profession in another country. They were not able to put their vocation aside, examining how each of the bookshops is curated and enjoying the discovery of book titles unknown to them, some of which might eventually make it to the shelves of their own bookshops. 

Back at BolognaFiere, the delegation attended an interview with Tom Benjamin, 2025 BBPlus Author Ambassador, who delved into the journey that led him to make Bologna the backdrop for both his life and the one of Daniel Leicester, the protagonist detective in his crime novels. 

The schedule also included an aperitivo by the European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), the award co-organized by EIBF and the Federation of European Publishers (FEP). Joined by FEP Director, Anne Bergman, Álvaro briefly introduced this year’s award, the laureate and special mentions of which will be announced on 16 May at Prague Book World , bringing the two EIBF-led projects together. EUPL author Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin (Ireland, 2022), a regular of BCBF in his capacity as children's book publisher at Futa Fata, also joined the aperitivo. 

Next up, BBPlus lined up several meetings for our booksellers with representatives from various publishing houses from all over the world. Delegates from Legend Press (UK), Colibri (Bulgaria), Blue Banyan Books (Jamaica), Editura Nomina (Romania) and Interlink Publishing (USA) kindly introduced some of their upcoming titles and opened up the possibility of reaching new markets. The participating booksellers engaged in a lively conversation, showing a keen interest in some of the pitched books, and taking stock of these meetings for future additions to their shops’ inventories. 

On the last day of the programme, the group enjoyed an autonomous visit to the book fair, some of them using this free time to meet up with publishers, and others to just wander around the multiple sessions, stands and exhibitions that attendees can visit at the fairgrounds. After that, everyone reunited to support Franka Wijers, who was invited to share her perspective in the panel discussion on the translation and circulation of children’s books, organised by the European Council of Literary Translators Associations (CEATL). In this session, Franka excelled at echoing the challenges and duties of booksellers in fostering cultural diversity and language equality and explained some of the best practices that apply to her bookshop, Kennemer Kinderboekwinkel (Netherlands). 

On this high note, this year’s official programme in Bologna came to an end. It was, once again, an enriching and stimulating experience, and we hope it will have the same lasting effect on all the booksellers who we were fortunate to accompany in this experience.