Hello, everyone, and a special shoutout to those of you whom I had a chance to meet at this year’s BCBF - if we’ve missed each other I hope we get another chance next year!
So here are some impressions from my second visit to Bologna while they ‘re still fresh in my mind:
I felt much more prepared this time around because I had a clearer picture of what to expect from the fair and where to focus my energy. I managed to get to the fair early on Monday morning to pin my posters on the illustrators wall - not that this is super crucial in terms of exposure, my work got quickly lost in a sea of larger and more cleverly designed presentations, but the feeling that I’ve started my week on a good note and ticked that box had set the tone for the whole three days ahead.
One usually gets a plastic holder for the printed out ticket and a lanyard at the entrance of the fair but I was too much in an hurry to look for one - and anyway I had prepared my own in advance, a large enough pocket to hold my postcard and a ribbon matching the Moxie pin - my new picture book “ Moxie learns to help” had just gone out on submission shortly before the fair.
An international fair is a great opportunity to see all the publishers in one place, compare their catalogues, get to know different countries’ illustration styles and types of books they are looking for. As I cruised around the halls, I left my postcard with around 70 publishers that I thought might be interested in my work (or the Moxie dummy) and chatted briefly with some - most were gladly accepting cards from illustrators and had special containers or folders to gather them and take to their art departments. I had a little notebook to write down their names and other observations, like emails to send portfolios to. Don’t assume you’ll remember any of that after three days 😀
I’d reserved a couple of portfolio reviews beforehand from publishers announcing available slots on social media but there are plenty of opportunities to get one on the spot, either by coming to the fair early each morning and signing up for spots at the illustrators survival corner or queuing at the booths that put out signs offering portfolio reviews at certain times of the day. Lines for those can obviously get very long very fast, usually starting to form an hour ahead of scheduled time so prepare to wait quite a while, bring something padded to sit on and use that time to sketch and chat to fellow illustrators.
I took my chance at several lines, trying to judge in advance if the number of people in front of me was worth the wait and often the organiser would let us know where the line might cut off before we wasted time queuing. It’s useful to get feedback from the industry professionals but at the end of the day they are just individuals with their specific taste so a ‘Thank you, but your work is not a match for me’ is just that, not a match but a potential one for many others who have not yet had the opportunity to see your illustrations.
If you don’t feel like standing in review lines for hours, there are plenty of interesting talks and workshops scheduled throughout the days - some had limited sits available but even without having secured a spot at the table you can always listen in from the side. I attended a very interesting workshop with author Yuval Zommer, “How to draw bugs” and learned about his approach to making fantastic and very special non fiction books for little curious minds.
There were plenty of illustration exhibitions and books to browse through, or even buy if your luggage allowance can take it, my homeland Slovenia was a special guest of BCBF 2024 so I was also happy to see displayed some picture books from my childhood that had shaped my desire to become an illustrator.
The Illoguold were delighted to see
bring a batch of her debut chapter book Tiny Dogs, days away from official publication - on the evening of her arrival, after a delicious dinner in town, Rose pulled the books out of her suitcase like a magician and signed them right then and there!After all, my most important goal of coming to Bologna was to get a chance to see my fellow illustrators again, exchange cards with them and share some time, pasta and sunshine with this incredible community, filled with creative energy. Yes, BCBF is a professional event of the kidlit community but for illustrators it’s mostly an opportunity to get inspired, meet people and get connected to your tribe in real life rather than over a screen - with an added bonus of gelato and Aperol spritz!
So good to meet you in person Damjana! You are such a lovely person and I really enjoyed reading your recap. I hope to spend time with you in person again one day! Plus, I owe you a Spritz!
UT was so wonderful to meet you Damjana, i loved hearing your experience ❤️