Children’s publishing signals

At the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, agents said fanfiction is one of the strongest currents in children’s and young adult dealmaking this spring. (publishersweekly.com) Publishers Weekly reported on April 13 that agents and rights directors arriving at the 63rd fair were still hearing demand for fantasy, dystopia and horror, but several said fanfiction was especially top of mind in current conversations. (publishersweekly.com) The fair runs from April 13 through April 16 at the Bologna Exhibition Centre, with roughly 1,500 exhibitors from 90 countries and more than 33,000 visitors expected. BolognaBookPlus, the general-trade arm of the event, is running alongside the children’s fair again this year. (publishersweekly.com) That pairing matters because Bologna is no longer only a place to sell translation rights for children’s books. The official fair describes a three-part market that now combines the children’s fair, BolognaBookPlus for general trade publishing, and the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair for Kids. (bolognachildrensbookfair.com) BolognaBookPlus opened its 2026 program with rights training on April 12 under the banner “How to Sell Rights and Understand Licensing in Children’s Books,” aimed at publishers, agents and rights staff trying to widen international business. (bolognachildrensbookfair.com) Publishers Weekly said export is another pressure point behind the rights talk. Writers House’s Alessandra Birch said English-language export sales are eroding some translation sales, leaving some foreign publishers making sharply reduced offers or no offers at all. (publishersweekly.com) Agents also described a market that is narrowing in some categories and loosening in others. Birch said young adult romantasy is still led by a few major brand authors, while middle grade buyers are leaning toward short, illustrated, humorous series of 30,000 words or less. (publishersweekly.com) Other signals pointed to formats that travel well across borders. Erica Rand Silverman of Stimola Literary Studio said graphic novels and heavily illustrated books are drawing more interest in more territories, and she singled out Brazil, Portugal and Spain as markets that looked stronger than in recent years. (publishersweekly.com) BolognaBookPlus itself is expanding to match that broader rights economy. Its sixth edition adds new professional tracks, a Designer Studio, a WritersLab, and a second AI Summit scheduled for April 14. (publishersweekly.com) The result is a fair where children’s books, illustration, licensing, export and screen-minded rights conversations are happening in the same week and often in the same halls. In Bologna this year, the trade signal is that the next children’s hit may start as a fandom, but it still has to survive the rights table. (bolognachildrensbookfair.com)