Children’s awards at Bologna
At the Bologna Children’s Book Fair opening April 13, Michael Rosen and Cai Gao won the Hans Christian Andersen Awards, Publishers Weekly reports. (publishersweekly.com) Industry panels at Bologna also debated whether 'romantasy' still drives YA deals and whether middle‑grade fiction is resurging. (publishersweekly.com)
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair opened April 13 with children’s publishing’s biggest international prize going to writer Michael Rosen and illustrator Cai Gao. (publishersweekly.com) The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are given every two years by the International Board on Books for Young People for lifetime achievement in writing and illustration. The 2026 winners were announced at the group’s press conference in Bologna, Italy. (ibby.org) Rosen won the writing award for the United Kingdom, and Cai won the illustration award for China. Publishers Weekly called the honor the highest international distinction for authors and illustrators of children’s books. (publishersweekly.com) The awards landed at a fair that runs April 13 through April 16 and functions as a global rights market for children’s books, licensing, illustration, and screen adaptation. Publishers Weekly reported roughly 1,500 exhibitors from 90 countries at this year’s event. (publishersweekly.com) That business backdrop shaped the conversation around the prizes. At Bologna, agents, scouts, and rights directors were also comparing notes on whether “romantasy” still leads young adult deals and whether middle-grade fiction is starting to recover. (publishersweekly.com) Publishers Weekly said several executives still see strong demand for fantasy-romance crossover books in young adult publishing, but they also described a wider spread of interest across categories. The same report said middle-grade drew more optimism than it had in recent seasons. (publishersweekly.com) Bologna has long been one of the main places where children’s publishers test those shifts in real time, because agents and rights teams use the fair to buy, sell, and export books across languages and territories. The 2026 edition is the fair’s 63rd. (bolognachildrensbookfair.com; publishersweekly.com) Rosen’s win also carried extra attention in British coverage because he missed the announcement in person after passport issues linked to post-Brexit travel rules. Cai’s award placed a Chinese illustrator at the center of the fair’s opening-day news. (theguardian.com; publishersweekly.com) So Bologna opened with two signals at once: a lifetime-achievement prize for Rosen and Cai, and a trade floor still trying to pin down what children and teen readers will buy next. (publishersweekly.com; publishersweekly.com)
