Bologna winners named

Michael Rosen and Cai Gao were named the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award winners on April 13 at the opening of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. (ibby.org) The International Board on Books for Young People gives the prize every other year to one writer and one illustrator for lifetime achievement in children’s literature. IBBY calls it the top international distinction in the field. (ibby.org) Rosen won in the writing category for the United Kingdom. Cai won in illustration for China. (publishersweekly.com) Rosen, born in 1946, is a poet, performer, broadcaster and scriptwriter who has worked on more than 140 books. He also served as the United Kingdom’s Children’s Laureate from 2007 to 2009. (michaelrosen.co.uk) (booktrust.org.uk) Cai, also born in 1946, is a Changsha-born artist and picture-book illustrator who has worked in children’s books since the late 1970s. The Bologna fair describes her as a pioneer of original picture books in China and notes that she won the Golden Apple at the Bratislava International Children’s Book Biennale in 1993. (bolognachildrensbookfair.com) The awards were announced as the 63rd Bologna Children’s Book Fair opened in Bologna, Italy, running from April 13 to 16. The fair’s organizer calls it the leading trade fair for children’s publishing, and BolognaBookPlus and the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair for Kids are running alongside it. (bolognachildrensbookfair.com 1) (bolognachildrensbookfair.com 2) That matters in practice because Bologna is where publishers, agents and scouts buy and sell rights, not just where prizes are handed out. In 2025, the fair drew 33,318 publishing professionals, 1,577 exhibitors and participants from 95 countries, according to Publishing Perspectives’ preview of this year’s event. (publishingperspectives.com) BolognaBookPlus, the fair’s general-publishing arm, opened its sixth edition on the same dates, April 13 to 16. It was launched in 2021 with the Italian Publishers Association to extend Bologna beyond children’s books into the wider trade market. (bolognachildrensbookfair.com 1) (bolognachildrensbookfair.com 2) One of its first sessions this year focused on rights and licensing deals for children’s books, including options and shopping agreements for film and television adaptation talks. Publishing Perspectives reported that the seminar opened on April 12, the day before the fair, and examined how those contracts split control between publishers, producers and creators. (publishingperspectives.com) The next milestone for the Andersen winners is in Ottawa, where IBBY plans to present the medals at its 40th world congress on August 6 to 9. Bologna opened with the field’s biggest career prize and the business meetings that turn children’s books into international editions and screen projects. (publishersweekly.com) (ibby.org)