Bologna Children's Book Fair - Portfolio, Paint, and Pasta!
Recap of preparing for the book fair, highlights during the fair, and a few tips.
In the beginning of April I attended the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and had a blast sharing artwork, attending workshops, meeting up with friends, and seeing so much lovely inspiration in Italy.
Traveling from the U.S. was quite the journey, however the path to Bologna began a couple months before as I prepared my portfolio and marketing materials for the fair.
In this newsletter I’ll break down what I brought, what I experienced attending the fair, and tips I have for anyone wanting to visit in the future.
PORTFOLIO - What to bring?
When you enter the fair there are Illustrator Walls (not sure how many but maybe 6-10 very long walls) where artists hang promotional materials for art directors, agents, and fair attendees to view their art and make connections.
You can also walk through the different sections of the fair where publishers and agents have booths with drop boxes for artists to drop their cards in. There are also sign up sheets or appointment/walk up lines where you can queue for portfolio reviews (a few of these popped up each day at the fair).
What I brought:
12 page portfolio inserted in a plastic sheet binder
8-10 posters to hang on the Illustrator Walls
25 post cards
50 business cards
Bring your book dummies or copies of books that you have illustrated if you have those as well.
Note: You don’t have to bring any promotional materials to the fair but they can come in handy to hang up, drop in boxes, or handout directly.
Tips on what to include on these are your name, website, contact information, and a QR code linking your website is helpful to have. There are loads of great printing options, I ended up printing from home on my beast of a printer (Epson ET 8500) but I saw many friends use Moo Printing and had amazing results.
PAINT - Artwork, workshops, and friends!
There was SO much inspiration at the fair. Every wall and section was filled to the brim with beautiful artwork, books, and talent. Prior to attending the fair you can sign up for workshops and reviews on the BCBF website. You can also get to the fair early each day to sign up for any remaining spots open at workshops and reviews.
Shoutout to my Friday Doodle Club buddies. The fair was the first time we all met in person after co-hosting our weekly doodle prompts on Instagram for the last few years.
Workshop Fun - You can book workshops ahead of time or you can wait at the Illustrator Survival Corner and claim a remaining spot for workshops that are going on throughout the day. This was a comic workshop presented by @guddaman where all participants got to draw on the walls and complete a comic together. My drawing is the second to the last image on the bottom.
I might make a separate post sharing all the amazing photos of artwork I took at the fair but for just a little idea of it here is a short video of the entrance area to the fair. This shows the beginning of the illustrator walls and a section where presentations were given.
PASTA - An absolute highlight of the trip among friends and beautiful sights!
The Bologna children’s book fair is such a rewarding experience in itself but there is still so much to do and see a part from attending the fair. Bologna, Italy was so full of gorgeous scenery, delicious food, and fun moments with amazing artists and friends.
When attending Bologna Children’s Book Fair you can pick and choose different activities you want to spend your time doing and cater it to what you like best. I didn’t pre-book any workshops or reviews from the Bologna website but still found that I was busy each day walking around each section, meeting people, and learning. There are no set rules of what you have to bring or prepare, and anyone attending can gain so much just by being there, enjoying the artwork, and being a part of the inspirational energy.
Thanks so much for reading! (: