Bologna Children's Book Fair 2025 reports a rise in trade visitors

The 62nd Bologna Children's Book Fair ran from 31 March to 3 April 2025. Estonia was guest of honour for the first time, with a programme led by the Estonian Children's Literature Centre that included two exhibitions and panels on translation and reading.

The fair reported 33,318 trade visitors, up 5 per cent on the previous year, and 1,577 exhibitors from about 95 countries and regions. Thirteen markets attended for the first time, among them Iceland, Malta, Peru and Thailand. There were more than 500 curated events and more than 600 rights meetings, including in newer areas for games and for film and television rights. Bologna Book Plus, the fair's section for adult publishing, sold out for the first time.

The 2026 fair was set for 13 to 16 April, with Norway as guest of honour.

Bologna is where much of the international trade in picture books and children's fiction is done, and where illustrators come to show portfolios. Its steady growth, and the expansion of its adult and screen-rights sections, suggests that children's publishing remains one of the more outward-looking parts of the business. For anyone writing or illustrating for children, it is the fair whose trends are most worth following.

Sources: Publishing Perspectives: Bologna sees a five-percent growth in trade visitors; Publishers Weekly: Bologna 2025 welcomes guest of honor Estonia.