BolognaBookPlus programming

BolognaBookPlus opened in Bologna this week with a rights-heavy program built around how publishers sell books across borders and into film and television. (publishingperspectives.com) The fair’s 2026 edition runs April 13 to 16 inside the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, with BolognaBookPlus positioned as the general-trade arm of the larger event. The official site says it focuses on adult trade publishing and brings together publishers, agents, authors, illustrators, and rights professionals. (bolognachildrensbookfair.com) Before the show floor opened, BolognaBookPlus held a Sunday, April 12 training course called “How to Sell Rights and Understand Licensing in Children’s Books.” The event page lists a price of 99 euros plus value-added tax and says attendees also receive one free two-day admission to the fair. (bolognachildrensbookfair.com) In publishing, rights are the permissions that let one company translate, adapt, serialize, or otherwise reuse a book in another market or format. A shopping agreement is a temporary deal that lets a producer pitch a book for screen adaptation before buying the underlying rights outright, according to BolognaBookPlus coverage from Publishing Perspectives. (publishingperspectives.com) That focus fits the structure of the Bologna fair itself. Organizers describe a three-part event: the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, BolognaBookPlus for general publishing, and the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair or Kids for brands and properties aimed at children, teens, and young adults. (bolognachildrensbookfair.com) The commercial stakes are large because Bologna remains one of the main annual marketplaces for children’s publishing. Publishing Perspectives reported that the 2025 fair drew 33,318 publishing professionals and 1,577 exhibitors from 95 countries. (publishingperspectives.com) BolognaBookPlus is also expanding beyond rights meetings. Publishers Weekly reported on March 27 that the 2026 program added new professional tracks including the Designer Studio and WritersLab, while the official BolognaBookPlus page lists an Audio Forum, an Artificial Intelligence Summit, and a Literary Translation Forum. (publishersweekly.com) (bolognachildrensbookfair.com) The rights emphasis, though, has been baked into the event from the start. BolognaBookPlus is now in its sixth year, Publishers Weekly reported, and the official 2026 materials call the pre-fair course “the industry’s definitive rights training” for publishers, agents, and newcomers trying to enter the field. (publishersweekly.com) (bolognachildrensbookfair.com) On the first day’s event grid, rights and licensing sessions appeared alongside portfolio reviews, design talks, and country programming, underscoring how Bologna mixes dealmaking with discovery. That is the pitch of BolognaBookPlus in 2026: not just a fair for finished books, but a market for the many rights attached to them. (bolognachildrensbookfair.com)