Reflections on The Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2011

By Rana DiOrio, Founder

I am attending the largest children’s book fair in the world for the second time. There is so much to say, but once again I will convey only the essential snapshot of this important annual industry event.

Tools of Change. This year, the fair was preceded by an O’Reilly Media conference titled, The World of Storytelling is Changing–Tools of Change and was co-hosted by the Bologna Book Fair organizers to explore publishing in the digital age. I attended along with delegates from 25 other countries. What was most intriguing to me was realizing how far ahead the United States is in integrating digital strategies and media into our business models. The senior most executive at one of Italy’s top publishers admitted in her keynote address that the US is 4-5 years ahead of Italy; and a progressive entrepreneur who founded one of the hottest app development companies in the UK admitted that the US is 1-2 years ahead of the UK in digital advancements in the industry.

My Fantastic, Elastic Brain. Last year, I didn’t even know where to begin at this massive trade show. My learning curve was steep. With the help of ForeWord Reviews, we hired a fabulous foreign rights agent, Sylvia Hayse of Sylvia Hayse Literary Agency, LLC, who followed up on leads generated during the conference last year and secured several translation rights deals for Little Pickle Press. This year, she has 5 titles to market (vs. 2) and has already garnered interest from publishers in Brazil, Denmark, Hungary, Israel, Korea, Romania, and Turkey! With the wealth of knowledge I learned from last year, I set off to identify titles for us to acquire rights to. The process is akin to finding a needle in a haystack. I did, however, manage to find one Australian series and one title from the UK that I hope to acquire. I also had material conversations with mass-market distributors in the US and the UK who expressed an interest in our award-winning What Does It Mean . . . ?® series of books. Moreover, I met an artist agency that represents a very talented array of artists from all over the world. Finally, I met some awe-inspiring artists whose talent humbled me.

Take-away Messages. While I cannot claim these as my own, as they are posted throughout the event, the themes of the Bologna Children's Book Fair are worth conveying to you:

·        Close your eyes

·        See the images

·        Read slowly

·        Savor the wor(l)d

·        Feel the colours

·        See the sound

·        Smell the paper

·        Touch the story

·        Imagine the future

Conclusions. One thing remains eminently clear–the children’s book publishing industry continues to change rapidly. Little Pickle Press is honored to be among those on the vanguard of the innovation.