The selection of the "Illustrators Exhibition of Bologna Children Book Fair 2025"

Among the most long-standing and successful initiatives of the Bologna Children's Book Fair is the "Illustrators' Exhibition", created in 1967 as a stage to discover new talents, which has accompanied the evolution of the world of illustration for decades.

After meeting to select 324 finalists, the international jury, composed of: Walter Fochesato (scholar of children's literature and history of illustration), Chris Haughton (Irish illustrator and author), Neal Porter (vice president and publisher of Neal Porter Books at Holiday House), Felicita Sala (self-taught illustrator and artist), Gema Sirvent (founder of Editorial Libre Albedrío and radio presenter of a children's culture program), selected 76 sets of illustrations representing 77 authors from 29 countries and regions around the world.

A total of 4,374 illustrators applied for the 2025 Illustrators’ Exhibition, presenting 21,870 works of art from 89 countries and regions around the world.

The exhibition represents a unique opportunity for the selected illustrators to gain visibility: every year, after the fair ends, it embarks on an international tour that reaches cultural venues in major capitals and cities around the world over the next two years.

This year’s long list includes 344 names, among which we saw Ina Hristova and Yasen Grigorov.

As is our tradition, we upload the works of each of the authors, which you can view in the album on our Facebook page. We leave you to enjoy the 2025 illustrators and await the results of the other competitions and exhibitions in Bologna, and our team will be on site this year as well to cover the events in their entirety.