Spring fair season is shifting
Trade buzz is moving from London’s March Fair toward Bologna’s April festival, and that shift is already producing new projects and discovery opportunities rather than blockbuster title announcements. (The London Book Fair coverage notes record‑breaking attendance but few concrete title takeaways, while Publishing Perspectives flags Bologna as the next big market for children’s publishing and illustration discovery.) ( )
London’s big March gathering drew crowds, but the sharper deal energy is already sliding toward Bologna’s children’s fair, which opens April 13 and runs through April 16 in Italy. Publishing Perspectives described London as busy and forward-looking, while its Bologna preview pointed to the next round of rights, illustration scouting, and children’s-book discovery. (publishingperspectives.com 1) (publishingperspectives.com 2) The London Book Fair spent March 10 to March 12 at Olympia London, and one of the loudest subplots was the fair’s own future because it is scheduled to move to ExCeL London in 2027. When an industry event is talking about venue changes and long-term positioning, that usually means fewer clean “this was the book of the fair” moments. (publishingperspectives.com) (londonbookfair.co.uk) London was still huge by any normal measure: the fair says it brings together more than 32,000 publishing professionals, and fair director Emma Lowe opened 2026 by saying the halls were “buzzing.” But the published coverage from London leaned harder on seminars, artificial intelligence debates, and market conversations than on splashy title launches. (londonbookfair.co.uk) (publishingperspectives.com 1) (publishingperspectives.com 2) That makes Bologna the next pressure point, because children’s publishing works differently from the adult trade. Editors are often shopping for styles, characters, formats, and illustrators before a breakout title is obvious, so the fair that concentrates those people in one place can shape catalogs months before the public hears a single book name. (publishingperspectives.com) (bolognachildrensbookfair.com) Bologna arrives with scale. In 2025, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair said 33,318 publishing professionals visited 1,577 exhibitors from 95 countries, and the 2026 edition is the 63rd running of the event. (publishingperspectives.com) (bolognachildrensbookfair.com) It also arrives with machinery built for discovery rather than celebrity. The fair’s 60th Illustrators Exhibition exists specifically to put artists in front of publishers, and the official rules say its aim is to bring illustrators and publishers together and promote their work for children’s books. (bolognachildrensbookfair.com 1) (bolognachildrensbookfair.com 2) The numbers behind that pipeline are unusually large. For the 2026 exhibition, organizers said 75 illustration sets were selected from 20,790 submissions sent by 4,158 illustrators from 94 countries and regions. (publishingperspectives.com) This year’s Bologna fair is also adding new rooms where deals can start before a finished book exists. The official 2026 press material highlights debuts for The Designer Studio and WritersLab, alongside BolognaBookPlus and the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair for Kids, which ties books to television, film, games, and merchandise rights. (bolognachildrensbookfair.com) So the seasonal handoff is not really London losing and Bologna winning. London looked like the place for industry-wide talk in March, and Bologna looks like the place where children’s publishers and art directors can actually spot the next illustrator, package the next concept, and start the rights conversations that turn into books later in 2026 and 2027. (publishingperspectives.com) (publishingperspectives.com)
