The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is the oldest and largest children’s literature event in the world, bringing together thousands of children’s book authors and creators from every corner of the globe. Primarily, it is a picture book fair that focuses on illustration. The fair is limited to professionals (publishers, agents, illustrators, etc.), which provides an overview of the cultural diversity of children’s literature and trends in illustration art. Estonia has participated in the fair with a joint stand for 15 years. Each year, one country holds the Guest of Honour status to showcase its domestic children’s literature. Estonia will fill this role for the first time in the spring of 2025.

The Guest of Honour programme includes illustration- and book exhibitions, author presentations, discussions, seminars, and workshops both in the fairgrounds and around the city of Bologna. The project is led by the Estonian Children’s Literature Centre and the Estonian Publishers’ Association, and is funded by the Estonian Ministry of Culture.

This constitutes a rare opportunity to exhibit Estonian authors’ and illustrators’ work on such a grand scale and garner significant international attention. The Guest of Honour programme also involves creating and exhibiting two major exhibitions – one in the fairgrounds and a themed exhibition in the city of Bologna. This year’s fairgrounds exhibition will focus on Estonian children’s books and illustrations. The selection of participating authors is based on the export potential of their work, and the fairgrounds exhibition will be curated by the Estonian Children’s Literature Centre team.

Characters used by Estonian illustrators:

Kristi Kangilaski, Anu Kalm, Regina Lukk-Toompere, Anne Pikkov, Marja-Liisa Plats, Ulla Saar, Pamela Samel, Elina Sildre, Kertu Sillaste, Marju Tammik, Reda Tomingas, Kristina Tort.