Hooray – here we are in Bologna, ready for the start of the Bologna Book Fair tomorrow. We’ve had a wander round the centre and took in both the wonderful children’s bookshop, Libreria per Ragazzi in Via Rizzoli, just round the corner from the Piazza Maggiore, and the public library, which has superb facilities for kids.

The BolognaRagazzi award-winning books were all in the shop window at the Libreria per Ragazzi and we had a chance to browse through them all inside…

Some of Shaun Tan’s books in Italian were on prominent display – and we’re all very excited at the prospect of hearing him speak at the Fair tomorrow…

I asked the staff about their expectations for this year’s Bologna Book Fair and they told me that they had had concerns, because of the current economic climate – but actually, there seems to be a lot of interest and they’ve already had lots of people passing through the bookshop so they’re feeling optimistic.

The bookshop has a superb selection of books in both Italian and other languages (some of which proved irresistible!); there’ s a table and some chairs for small people to browse; and the staff are all pleasant and helpful – what more can you ask for?

We then escaped out of the rain (yes, it’s been raining…) into the Library. The exhibitions are being set up and promise to be worth a return visit. In the meantime, we popped into the children’s library – what a wonderful space and check out that gloriously tall book in the photo!

Then, off the main atrium, we discovered a new service offered by the library, in its own cosy space – Nati per Leggere or Born to Read. In the photo you can just see the edge of the rainbow-striped desk. There’s a small child’s coat hanging on the peg – and the delightful invitation on the door reads, in English, Take your child in your arms and read to him/her…

Tomorrow the Bologna Book Fair itself begins and we’ll be updating the blog through the four days – so stay tuned…

The Bologna Children’s Book fair is set to begin Tuesday, March 23rd in Bologna, Italy.  As all of us children and young adult lit fans know, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair is the most important international event dedicated to children’s publishing.  2010 will be the 47^th edition of the fair and is expected to be a great one: over 20,000 square meters of exhibition space have been booked,  over 1,200 exhibitors from over 60 countries are confirmed, and  a jam-packed programme of events has been released. A small sampling of the highlights:

The 2010 Guest of Honor at the Illustrators Exhibition will be Slovakia, presenting a selected exhibition of it’s best illustrators. A cultural programme featuring Slovakia will be taking place at various locations throughout Bologna during the fair.

Bologna Children’s Book Fair – SM Foundation International Award for Illustration. This winner of this  new award, reserved to young illustrators (under 35) selected for the 2010 Illustrators Exhibition, will be announced on March 25.

Illustrators Exhibition. Once again, a wealth of works by illustrators (well-known professionals and emerging talents) will  be on display. The 2010 international jury has selected 87 artists for the 2010 Exhibition from 2,456 candidates from 58 countries.

BolognaRagazzi Awards 2010. Check out Marj’s recent post on these awards.

Authors Cafe. A new feature for 2010, the Authors Cafe is the place to be to meet authors and talk books. Discussions will include: prospects for the literary scene, reading experiences in troubled areas, and debuting authors in Bologna.  To meet illustrators and get involved in their discussions, head on over to the Illustrators Cafe.

The Astrid Lindgren Award announcement will be broadcast live to Bologna from Sweden on March 24th. This is especially exciting for us as  PaperTigers was invited to submit nominations for the award!

Also exciting for us is that three members from our team will be in attendance at this year’s Fair: Aline, Marj and myself.  If you are going to be there too let us know as we would love to meet up with you. If you can’t be there, keep an eye here on our PaperTigers’ blog as we will be posting regularly to share some of our highlights with you! We’ll also be uploading  our photos to this Flikr account.

The BolognaRagazzi Awards 2010 have just been announced over on the Bologna Book Fair website. For us at PaperTigers, two books stand out immediately:

Do! by Gita Wolf, illustrated by Ramesh Hengadi & Shantaram Dhadpe (Tara Books, 2009), winner of the New Horizons Award

What the jury said:

Bursting with bright clarity, this book illustrated by Ramesh Hengadi and Shantaram Dhadpe employs an extremely refined use of colour. Paper and figures are embroidered with a lace like precision. There is a wealth of narrative in the details that beg to be explored at length. The exceptional elegance of the ochre and white colour palette together with its multi-facetted narrative potential makes this an exquisitely crafted, eminently readable book.

and The Drum Calls Softly by David Bouchard and Shelley Willier, illustrated by Jim Poitras, music by Northern Cree (Red Deer Press, 2008), Non-Fiction Mention

What the jury said:

The joyful yet complex style of Jim Poitras is the vehicle for an enjoyable lesson in cultural anthropology. The clear contours of the foreground figures dialogue effortlessly with the landscapes in the background whose colourful, complex and material quality is rendered almost tangible. This novel illustration technique is particularly suited as a book for children since it highlights to great effect how man’s customs, lifestyles and traditions take on significance only when seen against the backdrop of the skies, hills, rivers and natural world that gave rise to them.

The winning books come from all over the world and it does indeed look like an absolutely stunning selection. And this seems the perfect moment to let everyone know that Aline, Corinne and I will be at the Bologna Book Fair this year (yippee!) so we will be among the lucky ones to see all these books in one and the same place.

If you are going to be there too and would like to meet up, then do drop us a line. And if you can’t be there, keep an eye here on our blog as we will be posting regularly, to share some of our highlights with you all straightaway!

The internet is a truly fabulous thing for those of us that couldn’t be at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair this year. Since Monday, I have been enjoying it vicariously by reading blog posts, press releases, twitter messages and looking at images from the fair. I let out a big cheer when I watched the live video feed announcing that The Tamer Institute for Community Education was the winner of the 2009 Astrid Lindgren Award, and I have been truly taken away by the sheer talent of this year’s BolognaRagazzi Award winners.

Unfortunately, the impact of the downturn in worldwide economies is being felt in Bologna. Jean Feiwel, Senior VP at Macmillan Publishing, is quoted at saying “I knew attendance was down when I walked right into the ladies’ room”, but at the Publishers Weekly’s blog, Craig Virden says “There seems to be very little panic talk. US editors are the big no-shows, but it’s my impression that most folks just consider this prudence.”

Award winning cartoonist and children’s book illustrator Doug Cushman kindly sent us his candid impressions of attending the fair:

The first day was light in terms of attendance—not that unusual, though, when it comes to first day. The booths are smaller this year, and many are half the size they used to be. There were some obvious empty floor spaces that had been filled by booths in previous years.

The folks I talked to still seemed very upbeat and positive, though. Even if publishers seem to be reducing the number of books they publish, they are still buying rights and making deals—just being a little more selective about them.

On Tuesday there seemed to be more traffic, although the floor still didn’t seem as crowded as in previous fairs. Most publishers have only “skeleton crews” (one major editor/president to represent all. No one from Scholastic USA was there, for instance, just from the UK). But, still, the atmosphere is positive and deals are still being made (Asia seems to be buying a lot). I think, in spite of the economy’s challenges, there are opportunities out there for all kinds of books and projects.