The 2009 Bologna Children’s Book Fair, which had Korea as its Guest of Honor, is over, but a couple of virtual stops can give you a feel for what happened there.

Start by visiting Craig Virden’s Bologna 2009: A Photo Essay. A Publishers Weekly writer, Craig is a veteran attendee of the Bologna Fair and has teamed up with photographer Mario Ventimiglia on this essay, which was posted to PW’s Bologna by Day and Night blog.

For details about the role Korea played as Guest of Honor and the wide range of cultural events showcasing its art and culture, take a look at the special website put together by the Korean Publishers Association website. The Illustrators Exhibition section showcases the artwork of the 31 Korean illustrators whose work were selected, from thousands of entries, to be displayed at the fair. The image featured here is one of the select works: the book cover of My Cat Copies Me, by artist and author Yoon-duck Kwan (the lovely image reminds me of our Around the World in 100 Bookshelves project!). The website also includes information and statistics on the current state of the Korean publishing market, in general, and the children’s publishing sector in particular. It’s interesting to note, for instance, that children’s books accounted for 20% of all new books published in 2008 in Korea, and that over the past 10 years there has been a huge increase in the popularity of educational books, specifically the educational comic book genre, over picture books and story books.

Now that you’ve had a taste of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and its guest of honor, be sure to read PaperTigers current issue, where we pay tribute to the narratives for children, available in English, from/about Korea and the Korean diaspora.

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the world’s leading children’s publishing event, begins this Monday, March 23rd. Of course there are many highlights to the fair but perhaps none more prominent than the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition. This exhibition truly defines the book fair and offers an exceptional display of children’s book illustrations which have been selected by an international jury composed of publishers, artists and museum directors. “Combined with the many illustrators who visit the Fair to show their latest portfolios to publishers, the Exhibition has become the single most important source of information about contemporary illustrators and provides an international overview of the most innovative trends”.

Each year a different country is chosen as the Illustrators Exhibition’s Guest of Honour. This year’s Guest of Honor, Korea, will showcase its literature, history and tradition through the Illustrators Exhibition as well as through a wide range of cultural programs to be held in the city centre in a framework of events extending far beyond the four days of the Fair.

Reporter Chung Ah-young of The Korea Times reports:

According to the KPA, Korea’s book market ranks among the 10th largest in the world, with over 40,000 new titles published each year. Among them, children’s books make up about 19 percent of the market, which reflects not only the high enthusiasm that Korean parents have for their children’s education but also the efforts of highly imaginative and innovative bookmakers and writers.

The Guest of Honor programs will feature Korean children’s books and illustrators and the exhibition of their original paintings.

More than any other trade show, the fair is expected to play an important role in the emergence of Korean children’s books, as visitors to the Korean events will discover the fascinating roots of the stories and images found in Korean children’s books, which remain less recognizable in Europe.

Be sure to check out our new issue of PaperTigers on April 1st when we will be focusing on Korea.

Spring is in the air which means it’s time for the Bologna Children’s Book Fair – the world’s leading publishing fair covering all genres for infants, children and young adults. This year’s fair, the 46th edition, will take place at the Bologna Exhibition Centre from March 23rd to 26th and will feature: 1300 exhibitors, 20,0000 square metres, 69 countries, 55 languages and over 4,800 foreign visitors. The exhibitors will include publishers, literary agents, packagers, printers, international organizations, TV and film producers, licensor and licensees, and service companies linked to the publishing world.

Along with the the exhibition of worldwide children’s publishing and fabulous Programme of Events, highlights will include:

The Bologna Illustrators Exhibition – an exceptional display of children’s book illustrations, selected by an international jury. The 2009 Guest of Honour of the Illustrators Exhibition will be Korea, a country with strong traditions in illustration, cartoons, and design. A special exhibit entitled “Round and Round in a Circle” will showcase the literature, history and customs of Korea through illustrations.

A special “show-in-show” dedicated to Roberto Innocenti, winner of the 2008 Hans Christian Andersen Prize for Illustration.

The Illustrators’ Cafe – the ideal place to meet illustrators, authors, and publishers, discuss the latest developments, talk about everything related to illustration and attend special events. This is the place to be on March 24th when the announcement ofThe Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for Literature will be broadcast live from Vimmerby, Sweden.

BolognaRagazzi Award – one of the most coveted prizes in children’s publishing, this award is reserved for books with outstanding graphic and editorial design.

TV/Film & Licensing Centre, The Literary Agents Centre, and the World Directory of Children’s Book Translators and Translators Centre

Last year two members of our PaperTigers team, Aline and Marjorie, were thrilled to be able to attend the fair and shared their experiences on our blog. Unfortunately this year no one from the PT team will be able to attend, but we want to know everything that is happening there! So this is our shout-out to those of you that will be attending. Will you be blogging about the event, twittering or facebooking? Loading up photos, emailing? Let us know!