The new 62rd Bologna Children’s Book Fair https://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/home/878.html , at BolognaFiere from March 31 to April 3, is preparing to open its doors. The fair will be held together with BolognaBookPlus https://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/about/bolognabookplus/10630.htm , reserved for generalist publishing and in collaboration with Associazione Italiana Editori, and Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids https://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/about/bologna-licensing-trade-fair-kids/10822.html , dedicated to children’s trade brands.
More than1500 exhibitors from 95 countries and regions will participate in this edition. New entries include Albania, Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Georgia, Guatemala, Iceland, Madagascar, Malta, North Macedonia, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand).
Sustainability and artificial intelligence also on the agenda
Sustainability will be back at the center of the 62rd Bologna Children’s Book Fair, building on the partnership with the United Nations that began in 2024 and has now been renewed, and the commitment invested by BCBF over the past few years in promoting the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. A special category of the BolognaRagazzi Awards 2025, The BRAW Amazing Bookshelf – Sustainability: 17 Goals for a Better Future exhibition is also dedicated to the theme, showcasing the 150 best nominees for the special section of the awards created in collaboration with the United Nations, at whose New York headquarters it will be displayed in early 2026. At the center of contemporary editorial debate around the world, sustainability is thus featured in appointments and initiatives from both content and industry perspectives.
Given the centrality of the theme, this 62rd Bologna Children’s Book Fair could not miss a focus on artificial intelligence. The AI Summit, organized by BBPlus, will see a discussion on copyright protection, creative work and the development of ad hoc legislation, while investigating the opportunities this tool offers the industry to improve or simplify processes such as distribution and targeting.
The city also becomes the protagonist
As it has been for a few years now, the 62rd Bologna Children’s Book Fair leaves the fair pavilions invading cultural venues, libraries, schools and buildings in Bologna in a widespread celebration made up of a rich and diversified offer of exhibitions, meetings and initiatives dedicated to the general public of adults and children.
‘BOOM! – Growing in Books’ will be the title of the program of city initiatives, promoted by the Municipality of Bologna and BolognaFiere and curated by the Libraries and Cultural Welfare Sector together with Hamelin Cultural Association as part of the Bologna Reading Pact.
In the schedule more than 40 exhibition events, more than 100 artists involved, 150 appointments including workshops, meetings and events. Such as the site-specific exhibition of the great illustrator Paul Cox, in collaboration with the event, which presents a huge continuous painting, 75 meters long, that will cover the entire space.
