Programme Overview

CCBF is a content-oriented platform, which puts knowledge exchange and discovery at the centre of its mission. Here are some highlights from our professional programmes, seminars, awards and events carefully curated by a team of children’s book experts.

CCBF offers a variety of programmes. They are: Conferences & Seminars that aim to promote exchange of ideas and business cooperation; the Shanghai Visiting International Publishers Fellowship (SHVIP) that offers foreign publishers the opportunity to gain a first-hand insight into China’s publishing landscape; the Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition and the Illustrators Survival Corner launched to foster young talents and inject new life into the global children’s book industry; the Children Plus event stream that casts light on an important category of books every year; the Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award that honours children’s book authors and professionals who have made a great contribution to children's literature around the world; reading promotion activities for the public, such as workshops, book launch and signing sessions that take place at the fair and all across the city as part of the Connecting the City initiative.

Nov 14 2019

14:00 16:00

Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award

Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award Ceremony

Shanghai Baoshan International Folk Arts Exposition Centre

The Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award is one of the longest–running literary prizes in China, as well as one of the most important awards presented by CCBF. It honours authors, illustrators and professionals of children's literature who have made a great contribution to children's literature in China and the rest of the world.

This event is reserved to professionals working in the field of children’s literature.
If want to attend the ceremony, please RSVP at ccbf.vip@bfchina.net

Venue: 4788 Hu Tai Road, Baoshan District, Shanghai City, China

18:30 20:00

SHVIP

Book Pitch Party

The Light Space–Xinhua Book Store

Nov 15 2019

09:00 17:00

Children Plus—Toddlers’ Books

“A is for Art, B is for Beauty, C is for Culture, D is for Design” Book Exhibition

Hybrid Zone

The books on Art, Architecture and Design represent a trend developed with great vigor during the last decade. The phenomenon concerns the publishing production for children in the global market. A good book published in the Czech Republic, in France, or in the United States, find immediately his place on the shelves of bookstores of many countries.

This exhibition showcasing about 80 original books from 17 countries and territories, selected in close cooperation with the Bologna Children's Book Fair.

The exhibited books introduce children to the lives of great artists, architects and designers, and offer them a virtual visit through the world's greatest museums, houses and buildings. Those books are also among the most beautiful ones currently published, as revealed by their extreme quality of their text and illustration, their perfect design and exceptional use of typography. This exhibition is a tribute to Beauty in all its meanings.

09:45 11:45

Illustrators Survival Corner

WORKSHOP: The Truth about Drawing your Grand-Parents—Character Building with the 2018 Golden Pinwheel Grand Award-Winner Elina Ellis

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Tutor:
Elina Ellis (Ukraine), Author and Illustrator

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Elina Ellis (Ukraine)

Author and Illustrator

Elina Ellis was born and grew up in Ukraine, but now lives and works in the UK. She loves drawing pictures and imagining stories. Elina has recently graduated from the MA in Children's Book Illustration in Anglia Ruskin University. She works with children’s books publishers all over the world. Elina has won a few international illustration awards, including the “Macmillan Prize” for the book The Truth About Old People and the “Beginning Middle and End” competition organised by the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. In 2018, she won the Golden Pinwheel Grand Award (International) given by the Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair.

Elina draws both digitally and using traditional media. She creates her own books and illustrates books for others. There is no greater reward for her than to know that her stories and drawings make people smile.

10:00 11:30

Official Conferences and Seminars

Listen Up!–Global Audio-books Data and China Market Analysis

Official Conference Room (Copyright Zone)

The audio content sector is playing a growing role in the global connected industry. Paid audio content is a solid source of revenue for streaming platforms and, in 2019, all main international audiobook platforms are increasing their incomes, while expanding the scope of their cooperation with content developers.

Who listens to audiobooks? What is the share of children's audiobook in the market and how will it evolve? How do children’s publishers respond to this phenomenon? What can Chinese stakeholders learn from the experience of international audio content business, in terms of management strategies and business opportunities?

This session was organised with the contribution and the support of Bologna Children's Book Fair with Bookrepublic. A special focus on China’s singular audio business models will bring key information on the current situation and trends prevailing on the market.

Moderator: Helena Gustafsson (Sweden), Head of Global Publishing, Storytel Sweden AB

Keynote speech: Audiobooks is the new black—Global Audio-books Data
Helena Gustafsson (Sweden), Head of Global Publishing, Storytel Sweden AB

Keynote speech: Chinese Audio Content Market Analysis
Chen Qiang (China), Head of Operations, Qingting FM

Panel Discussion: Development of Children's Audio Content

Chair: He Zhennan (China), Director of Children’s Content, Qingting FM

Speakers:
Henry Duan (China), CEO, Shenzhen Benew Technology Co., Ltd.
Helena Gustafsson (Sweden), Head of Global Publishing, Storytel Sweden AB
Han Tianlin (China), Director, Elementary Education Department, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press
Wang ZhaoYang (China), Vice President, Beijing Kaisheng Culture Media Co., Ltd. (Kaishu Storytelling)

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Helena Gustafsson (Sweden)

Head of Global Publishing, Storytel Sweden AB

Helena has fourteen years’ experience of audiobook publishing and heads Storytel’s international audio publishing division which includes development of original content. Her team publish more than 6,000 audio books per year in currently twenty different languages. Helena’s functions at Storytel also include preparing new markets together with the Global Expansion team.
Chen Qiang (China)

Head of Operations, Qingting FM

Chen Qiang is the current Head of Operations of Qingting FM, where he oversees the audio book and children’s content departments. Prior to this position, he worked for China Literature Limited for seven years, where he focused his activity on mobile reading. He also served as the Deputy General Manager of Rongshuxia literature network, becoming one of the earliest experts in the areas of digital reading and IP creation. He also gained experience in educational IP management and rights at Hu Jiang English.
He Zhennan (China)

Director of Children’s Content, Qingting FM

He Zhennan is responsible for the planning, operational execution and business development of children's programmes at Qingting FM.
Henry Duan (China)

CEO, Shenzhen Benew Technology Co., Ltd.

Henry Duan is the CEO of Benew Technology and the creator of Niu Ting Ting—a smart device conceived as an early education tool. He is also a strong advocate for parent-child reading and a senior expert in children’s e-reading. His in-depth understanding of the children's education field, combined with extensive knowledge of online resources, digital media and smart technologies led him to build effective multimedia programmes that develop children’s reading skills through the use of both e-books and audio-books.
Wang ZhaoYang (China)

Vice President, Beijing Kaisheng Culture Media Co., Ltd. (Kaishu Storytelling)

Wang Zhaoyang is currently the Vice President of Beijing Kaisheng Culture Media Co., Ltd. (also known as Kaishu Storytelling). Before joining Kaisheng in 2016, he worked 17 years for China Central Television (CCTV) as a producer for the CCTV Business Channel. He directed the China Business Person of the Year Awards Ceremony and the evening gala for China’s Consumer Rights Day in multiple occasions.

Wang Zhaoyang is currently in charge of the Children’s Content Creation Department at Kaisheng. Since 2016, he has overseen eight creative workshops—those sessions led to the creation of successful audio contents that have been played over four thousand million times by subscribers.
Han Tianlin (China)

Director, Elementary Education Department, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press

Dr Han Tianlin is the Director of the Elementary Education Department at Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. He has 22 years’ experience in publishing and in foreign language education in primary and secondary school. Since 2013, he is involved in the creation and management of "Enjoy Foreign Languages", a language-learning App including over 10 languages released by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

10:00 12:30

Official Conferences and Seminars

Where the Beautiful Things Are–Art, Architecture and Design in Contemporary Children's Books

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone)

Many children have a natural tendency for art and construction. Books can nurture the child’s inclination, providing at the same time useful information and stimulating new ways to experience art and the urban space. Through stunning illustrations, photography and three-dimensional elements, a large number of exquisite and captivating titles have been introducing young readers to the most famous artworks, buildings and design objects.

During the last decade, those ground-breaking titles have formed a vigorous trend in the global market, including in China where artistic cultivation has become an irreducible part of children's education.

What do those titles have in common? What makes them so special and what values do they carry? Specialised publishers, content creators, artists and cultural institutions who have contributed to connecting picture books to art education will discuss these questions in a panel discussion.

This seminar is part of the first CCBF Children+ focus which is dedicated to Art, Architecture in children’s books. It is a complement to the Children’s + Book Exhibition presented during CCBF.

Moderator: Maria Russo (USA), Children’s Books Editor, The New York Times

Speakers:
Claire de Cointet (France), Editorial Director, Éditions du Centre Pompidou
Patricia Geis (Spain), Author and Illustrator
Grazia Gotti (Italy), President, Giannino Stoppani Cooperativa Sociale
Kiyoko Matsuoka (Japan), Associate Director, Itabashi Art Museum
Roger Thorp (UK), Editorial Director, Thames & Hudson
Page Tsou (Taiwan, China), Illustrator and Art Director, Auspicious Design
Zeng Zirong (China), Author, Director of CITIC Art Museum, CITIC Press Group

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Maria Russo (USA)

Children’s Books Editor, The New York Times

Maria Russo has been since 2014 the Children’s Books Editor of The New York Times Books Review, where she edits a weekly page devoted to children's books, and writes many reviews and articles herself. She is the co-author, with Pamela Paul, of How to Raise a Reader, published by Workman Books in September, 2019. She previously worked as an editor and writer at The Los Angeles Times, The New York Observer and Salon and has written for publications including the Washington Post and the National Public Radio website. She holds a Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
Claire de Cointet (France)

Editorial Director, Éditions du Centre Pompidou

Claire de Cointet graduated from the Audencia Business School and Sciences Po (Institute of Political Studies) Paris. She started her career in publishing as an art book editor for different publishing houses, including Hachette, Les Arts Décoratifs and Flammarion. For three years, she served as publications manager at Relais & Châteaux, an association of luxury hotels and restaurants, where she was also responsible of strengthening synergies between printed and digital contents. In 2015 she became editorial director of Éditions du Centre Pompidou, and in 2017 she was entrusted with the direction of the whole publishing department. The catalogue of Éditions du Centre Pompidou includes modern and contemporary art publications for all types of readers, from newcomers to experts, as well as a wide array of derivative products.
Patricia Geis (Spain)

Author and Illustrator

Patricia Geis was born and lives in Barcelona. She studied Graphic Design at the Escuela Eina in Barcelona, and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Computer Graphics at the New York Institute of Technology. After graduating, she worked as a graphic designer in an advertising agency in Barcelona. In 1996 she started her own graphic design and illustration studio where she develops editorial projects, packaging, paper engineering and character and toy design.

She has three children—Sergio, Inés and María—and a cat. She has written, designed and illustrated over sixty children's books, which were published in Spain, France, the UK, USA, Germany, Korea, China, Italy and Portugal, among others.

She has gained great recognition for her non-fiction books for children, especially those dedicated to art, such as the “Meet the Artist” series and Draw Like an Artist.

Her works earned several international awards, including the Visual Book Design 2009, the International Latino Book Awards Best Children’s Nonfiction Picture Book 2010 and the Junceda Award 2015, on top of being featured into recognised list like the White Ravens.
Grazia Gotti (Italy)

President, Giannino Stoppani Cooperativa Sociale

After she graduated in Pedagogy in 1983, Grazia Gotti founded the Cooperativa Giannino Stoppani with a group of kindergarten and primary school teachers and educators. The Cooperativa runs an independent children's bookstore and organises illustration exhibitions and other events related to children's books.

Grazia Gotti currently collaborates with many publishers, scouting for books and curating book series, and is also consultant for the Bologna Children's Book Fair. Since 2003 she is a member of the Board of Education of the Accademia Drosselmeier, a research centre and training school for teachers, educators, librarians and booksellers. Grazia is also the author of several books, including A scuola con i libri. Avventure di una libraia-maestra (At School with Books—The Adventures of a Teacher and Bookseller), Rizzoli, 2013; Ne ho vedute tante da raccontar. Crescere con i libri (I Have So Many Things To Tell You About—Growing up with Books), Giunti Editore, 2014; 21 donne all'Assemblea (21 Women at the Assembly), Bompiani, 2016. In 2019 she published her first picture book, Europa, illustrated by Daniela Stamatiadi (Edizioni Primavera).
Kiyoko Matsuoka (Japan)

Associate Director, Itabashi Art Museum

Kiyoko was born in 1961 in Tokyo. She graduated from the Joshibi University of Art and Design, majoring in Art History and Iconology of Christian Art. She later obtained a Master Degree from Chiba University on History of Art Education in Japan. Since 1986, she is a curator at the Itabashi Art Museum, Tokyo. In 1989, she became responsible for the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition in Japan and has helped the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in organising the world tour of the exhibition since then. Kiyoko curated several exhibitions of renowned picture book makers, such as Leo Lionni, Yasuo Segawa, Tomi Ungerer, Dick Bruna, Bruno Munari and Tara Books. She has organised picture book workshops for young artists and various events and courses for adults and school children interested in picture books. She is also a university lecturer on picture books. She has an extensive experience as a jury member, including the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava and the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition. She was an EC member of IBBY from 2010 to 2014 and is a board member of JBBY, the Japanese section of IBBY.
Roger Thorp (UK)

Editorial Director, Thames & Hudson

Roger Thorp is Editorial Director for Art and Children’s Publishing at Thames & Hudson. He was previously Publishing Director at the Tate galleries, where, among other things, he initiated a children’s publishing programme, and prior to that he was a Senior Commissioning Editor at Routledge. He comes from Durham in north-east England.

The children’s list Roger is overseeing at Thames & Hudson is focused on high quality illustration, working with established and new illustrators on fiction and non-fiction titles, republishing historic picture books, and frequently publishing international illustrators in English for the first time.
Page Tsou (Taiwan, China)

Illustrator and Art Director, Auspicious Design

Page Tsou is a picture book illustrator, visual artist and curator. His work has a sense of space and storytelling, with the aesthetics of traditional graphics. Currently, he works mainly as an art director. He believes that the cross-over of different fields can bring more creative possibilities His job usually varies from graphic vision to interior design projects.

Tsou graduated from the Royal College of Art, and his work was selected four times in the Bologna Children's Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition. He won other important international awards, including a Special Mention in the 2017 BolognaRagazzi Award and the prestigious SM-Bologna International Award for Illustration (in 2011). He was also distinguished by 3x3 in the Professional show (Best of Show) and in the Picture Book Show (Gold medal).
Zeng Zirong (China)

Author, Director of CITIC Art Museum, CITIC Press Group

Zeng Zirong is the Director of the CITIC Art Museum. Prior to this position, he was the Vice President of the Today Art Museum and was editor-in-chief for Oriental Art magazine. He spent many years working in the fields of education and publishing to popularise knowledge on Chinese and foreign arts. He writes art columns for websites and online applications such as Toutiao, Douban Time, Ximalaya and Boyayun Classroom, which are well-known for their edutaining podcasts.

Zeng Zirong is the author of a number of books including Discover the Secrets of Traditional Chinese Painting, Three Lectures on Song Painting, the Famous Chinese Paintings picture book series, Colors in Chinese Painting, Picture Games: LOOK! Creativity in German Picture Books, he is also the editor of the series Chinese Ink: Formative Education to Chinese Culture and Art.

10:00 11:30

Illustrators Survival Corner

PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Reviewers:
André Letria (Portugal), Illustrator and Publisher, Pato Lógico Edições
Galia Tapiero (France), CEO, Kilowatt
Antonella Vincenzi (Italy), Editorial Director, Franco Cosimo Panini
Yang Zhong (China), Director, Picture Book Creation Studio, China Central Academy of Fine Arts

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Andre Letria (Portugal)

Illustrator and Publisher, Pato Lógico Edições

André Letria was born in Lisbon in 1973. He works as an illustrator since 1992, regularly making books for children and collaborating with newspapers and magazines. His work has been published in many countries and showcased in numerous exhibitions including the Biennial of Bratislava, the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition, Sarmede or Ilustrarte. He has also directed animation movies and worked as a theatre set designer. He was a jury member in the first two Bologna Ragazzi Digital Awards. As an illustrator, he won several distinctions like the Portuguese National Illustration Award, the Gulbenkian Award, an Award of Excellence for Illustration by the Society for News Design (USA) and a mention in the Bologna Ragazzi Awards.

In 2019, his book titled A Guerra (War) won the Talking Pictures Award (USA), the Little Hakka Prize (China), the Nami Concours Grand Prix (Korea), as well as being selected in the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition. In 2010 he founded Pato Lógico, his own independent publishing house. He frequently visits schools and libraries in and outside of Portugal to talk about his work and hold creative workshops.
Galia Tapiero (France)

CEO, Kilowatt

Multicultural and tirelessly curious, Galia Tapiero lives and works in Paris. Passionate about visual arts, literature and education as far back as she can remember, publishing illustrated books has been the best way to bring those fields together. Traveling and living in several countries showed her the importance of experiencing cultural otherness, and helped her understand who and what surround us. After years of teaching and research in anthropology and museology, Galia moved naturally towards publishing and launched her own company. As a window to the world, she is convinced that books have a major role in educating children in a spirit of mutual comprehension and respect to the others. Publishing books is the best way for her to empower children and invite young readers to broaden their horizons.
Antonella Vincenzi (Italy)

Editorial Director, Franco Cosimo Panini

Antonella Vincenzi was born in Modena in 1966 and has tried getting away from her hometown several times since then, either to study or work abroad. But no matter how much she travelled either for real or through the books she read, she always came back home. She started working for Panini in 1993 a bit by accident and being pretty sure she would leave the company after a couple of years. But once again her plans went a different way. Antonella has now been working for Franco Cosimo Panini for 25 years, starting as an editor and foreign rights manager and, step by step, achieving the editorial direction of the publishing house.
She holds a degree in English and Spanish literature from the Bologna University and taught Spanish language and culture in a secondary school for three years. She always enjoys being surrounded with children and teenagers. A mother of two, she also likes keeping a connection with children through books.
Yang Zhong (China)

Director, Picture Book Creation Studio, China Central Academy of Fine Arts

Yang Zhong graduated from the Tokyo University of Arts and Technology and holds a Master in Fine Arts.
She obtained her PhD from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), where she currently serves as an Associate Professor and Master’s tutor. She is also founder and director of the CAFA Picture Book Creation Studio, a workshop which offers advanced training in picture book creation, edition and illustration.
She also contributed to the creation of the Hsin-Yi Picture Book Award a decade ago. Yang Zhong has served as jury in several competitions, most notably the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava and the Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award.
Yang Zhong is a strong advocate of picture book reading and a passionate researcher in this field. She has played a pioneering role in the development of picture book-making in China. The CAFA Picture Book Creation Studio is considered a major talent incubator, as shows the numerous recognitions obtained by Yang Zhong’s students at both domestic and international levels.

11:45 13:00

Official Conferences and Seminars

Global Children's Publishing Market Analysis: Trends and Data

Official Conference Room (Copyright Zone)

Leading market analyst Nielsen Book and its Chinese counterpart OpenBook are brought together to offer an instant photograph of the children's book market through the most updated facts and trends.

Covering print book sales in 11 countries, Nielsen Book will present trends and bestsellers in each territory and take a closer look at the UK consumer behaviour, investigating the reasons and influences for purchasing books for children in an increasingly digital world.

OpenBook will examine the latest developments of the Chinese children’s book market, with special emphasis on the publishers, authors and titles retaining the top positions in the rankings of recent months.

Organised by Shanghai International Children's Book Fair (CCBF), OpenBook

Moderator: Yang Lei (China), Executive Vice President, OpenBook

Keynote speech: Chinese Children’s Book Retail Market Analysis
Yang Lei (China), Executive Vice President, OpenBook

Keynote speech: Global Children’s Book Retail Market Analysis
Hazel Kenyon (UK), Director of Book Research, Nielsen

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Yang Lei (China)

Executive Vice President, OpenBook

Yang Lei holds a Master of Science degree in Management and is Executive Vice President of OpenBook. Having joined OpenBook in 2006, he was transferred in 2008 from consulting to the market promotions department. He has also worked in a variety of companies, including publishing groups, publishing houses, publishing companies (both foreign and domestic), the press and publications bureau, and digital publishing companies. Throughout these roles he has demonstrated a devotion to serve customers with valuable information and strategies. His clients have included the China South Publishing & Media Group, the Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media Company, Southern Publishing & Media, Phoenix Publishing & Media, China Machine Press, China CITIC Press, China Mobile Reading Base, and the China Unicom Reading Base.
Hazel Kenyon (UK)

Director of Book Research, Nielsen

Hazel Kenyon is Director of the UK and Ireland Nielsen Book Research business. She started at Nielsen in 2009 as a Publisher Account Manager working with a portfolio of clients to support them using BookScan sales data. She is now responsible for all UK and Ireland client relationships in publishing, retail and media and for strategic business development across all the research products measuring changes in print, digital and consumer behaviour. Hazel started her career as a Space Physicist, working in industry and academia and for her PhD analysed particle data from the Cassini spacecraft during its grand tour of Saturn.

11:45 13:15

Illustrators Survival Corner

PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Reviewers:
Sayoni Basu (India), Director and Primary Platypus, Duckbill Books
Gao Yuan (China), Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Beijing Poplar Culture Project Co., Ltd.
Aksel Koie (Denmark), CEO and Founder, PIBOCO
Adrien Parlange (France), Illustrator

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Sayoni Basu (India)

Director and Primary Platypus, Duckbill Books

Educated at Kolkata and Oxford, Sayoni Basu started working in publishing at Oxford University Press (OUP). Subsequently, she worked in OUP Delhi and Penguin India, before moving to children’s publishing with Puffin in 2001. Sayoni loved reading international children’s books and books in Bengali, her mother tongue, and was always curious why English language children’s publishing in India was not that exciting. She was later the publishing director at Scholastic India (2005-11) and at Amar Chitra Katha (2011-12). In 2012, together with internationally award-winning author Anushka Ravishankar she started Duckbill, a small independent publisher of books for children and young adults. Sayoni thinks this is a very exciting time to be working in children’s publishing in India—both in terms of emerging writers and books, and also in terms of the technological changes which are transforming the ways in which stories reach children.
Aksel Koie (Denmark)

CEO and Founder, PIBOCO

Aksel Koie is the CEO and Founder of PIBOCO (Picture Book Collective), Step In Books, Runtales and Lucus. Having studied Comparative Literature (BA) and Games Studies (MsC IT) he is passionate about literature, illustration and digital media. He has been Review Editor of Frontiers Editorial Board in “Human Computer Interaction” and a guest teacher at the Danish Academy for Digital Interactive Entertainment (Dadiu). His companies won several awards for their beautiful digital books: Wuwu & Co (awarded by Spilprisen 2015, BolognaRagazzi Digital Award 2015, Nordic Children's Game of the Year and Japan Digital Ehon Awards 2017); Mur (BolognaRagazzi Digital Award 2017 and Japan Digital Ehon Awards 2017); Little Alice (Japan Digital Ehon Awards 2018).
Adrien Parlange (France)

Illustrator

Born in Auvergne in 1983, Adrien Parlange currently lives in Strasbourg. He grew up in the Paris region and studied graphic design at the school Olivier-de-Serres, in Paris. After working in advertising, he went back to illustration and attended the Arts Décoratifs de Strasbourg (HEAR) and the Royal College of Art in London. Since 2009, he is author and illustrator of children’s books and frequent collaborator of magazines and newspapers. His books La Chambre du lion and Le Ruban (Albin Michel Jeunesse) won a BolognaRagazzi Award Mentions, while Le Ruban also received a Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award in 2017. Both titles are translated in Chinese.
Gao Yuan (China)

Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Beijing Poplar Culture Project Co., Ltd.

Gao Yuan is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Beijing Poplar Culture Project Co., Ltd. Her passion for picture books started growing when she joined Poplar in 2004, and was later enhanced by her son’s birth, which allowed her to discover the joys of reading picture books from a child’s perspective. Gao Yuan has edited and published more than one hundred picture books, including titles in translation such as Little Bear, Curious George, Life Story, and original Chinese books like Beijing’s Spring Festival, Lanterns, and Dumplings and Tangyuan.

12:00 14:00

Illustrators Survival Corner

WORKSHOP: How to Create a Visual Identity? Creative Workshop with the Author of the 2019 Bologna and Moscow International Book Fairs

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Tutor:
Maria Titova (Russia), Illustrator

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Maria Titova (Russia)

Illustrator

Maria Titova was born in Moscow, Russia in 1988, where she still lives and works as an illustrator, printmaker and teacher. She graduated in 2012 from the Moscow State Academy of Applied Arts and Design (BA in Visual Arts). In 2011 she was granted a Presidential scholarship to study abroad and spent her last year of academic training at the Prague Academy of Architecture, Art and Design. In 2015 she obtained a MA in Visual Arts from the Boris Trofimov Graphic Design Studio.
Masha has worked as an illustrator and designer for two book projects: 1917 — Our Life After (Preobrazhenie Publishing House, 2017) and The Hamster was Walking, (Samokat, 2018).
In 2018 she was selected to participate in the Illustrators Exhibition of the Bologna Children's Book Fair and then to create the visual identity for the 2019 edition of BCBF. As an illustrator she worked as well on the key visual project of the last edition of the New Moscow International Children’s Book Fair. Her artworks are included in private collections in Russia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany and Italy.

13:00 15:00

Official Conferences and Seminars

Tabletop Magic–The Art and Theatre of Pop-up Books

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone)

Pop-up books have captured the imagination of children and adults alike with their playful wit, sculptural and toy-like dimensions, ingenious paper engineering, and their poetry. A pop-up book is a miniature world, a tabletop theater, and a work of narrative art that comes alive for its readers in a very particular way. In this wide-ranging program, a panel of artists, publishers, historians, and collectors will take a closer look at this unique category of illustrated book—its history, high points, place within the contemporary global children's-book market, and the continuing efforts of printers, publishers, and others to keep pop-ups viable.

Moderator: Leonard S. Marcus (USA), Children's Book Historian and Critic

Speakers:
Matteo Faglia (Italy), Owner, FGL Consulenze Editoriali
Guo Xinying (China), Chief Technology Officer, Heshan Astros Printing Ltd.
Katsumi Komagata (Japan), Author and Publisher, One Stroke
Sabine Louali (France), Rights Manager, Éditions Des Grandes Personnes
Massimo Missiroli (Italy), Partner in Pop-up Show Project, FGL Consulenze Editoriali
George Sun (China), Deputy General Manager, Ronshin Group, Chief Designer of Lelequ Children's Books

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Leonard S. Marcus (USA)

Children's Book Historian and Critic

Leonard S. Marcus is one of the world’s foremost writers about children’s books and the people who create them. He is the author of more than 25 award-winning books, including Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom; Golden Legacy: The Story of Golden Books; Show Me a Story: Why Picture Books Matter; Maurice Sendak: A Celebration of the Artist and His Life; and Helen Oxenbury: A Life in Illustration.

Leonard is a frequent contributor to The New York Times Book Review and Horn Book and was Parenting magazine's book critic for 21 years. He is a founding trustee of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and has curated numerous exhibitions including the New York Public Library’s landmark The ABC Of It: Why Children’s Books Matter.

Leonard has judged the New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year Award (four times), the National Book Award, the Ragazzi and SM Illustrator Prizes of the Bologna Book Fair, the Fondacion SM's Catalogo Iberoamerica Ilustra, Scholastic Asian Book Award (jury chair), and Chen Bochui Award.
Matteo Faglia (Italy)

Owner, FGL Consulenze Editoriali

Born in Milan in 1951, Matteo has worked for more than 30 years in the world of children’s books publishing, starting with his own firm called Fatatrac, and then continuing as editorial director for two important Italian publishers: Giunti and De Agostini. From these important industrial-cultural experiences he has accumulated knowledge and competence that he uses as a consultant for different clients. He has always been enthusiastic about pop-up books and has produced several pop-up books designed by foreign and Italian paper engineers. Together with collector Massimo Missiroli, he organises and manages the exhibition POP-UP SHOW which has been travelling all around the world.
Guo Xinying (China)

Chief Technology Officer, Heshan Astros Printing Ltd.

Guo Xinying joined the Leo Paper Group in 1994 and is now a member of the executive managing team at Heshan Astros Printing Ltd., a subsidiary of Leo Paper Group. As CTO and Senior Engineering Manager, Guo oversees the factory’s production lines and equipment, and controls the products’ structural design and production processes. He is also in charge of defining the engineering and technological standards, as well as the all standard operation procedures for the factory. He is also entrusted to introduce onsite IE improvements.

With over twenty years of experience in the printing industry, Guo has a deep understanding of paper design and performance, and is familiar with the many structural solutions that can be applied to paper in order to achieve different functionalities and effects.

Moreover, ten years of direct experience in the production lines also granted him practical knowledge of the different IE tools available to improve the production processes, including the newest automatic technologies applied to the printing industry.
Katsumi Komagata (Japan)

Author and Publisher, One Stroke

Born in Shizuoka, Japan in 1953, Katsumi Komagata followed a stint at Nippon Design Center, Inc., before moving to the United States in 1977, where he worked as a graphic designer. He returned to Japan in 1983 and three years later founded One Stroke, which began as a graphic design studio and later expanded into publishing.

The birth of a daughter prompted him to take up picture book authoring and he is now world-renowned for his exquisitely crafted books. He has also created picture books for children with disabilities, including tactile and sign-language books.

He has held shows and workshops around the world, and won numerous honours, including an ADC Silver Cube (New York), the Prize for Creativity (Paris), a New Art Prize as well as a BolognaRagazzi Award Mention at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, an International Children's Book Award (Switzerland) and two Good Design Awards (Japan).
Sabine Louali (France)

Rights Manager, Éditions Des Grandes Personnes

Sabine Louali was born in 1966. She is working in children’s book publishing since January 1990.

After a brief start at Albin Michel, she worked in the illustrated and children’s book department of Seuil Jeunesse, where she stayed for more than a decade.
Since 2010, she is part of Les Grandes Personnes, a tiny company formed by only two people specialising in pop-ups and novelty books.

The core of her work is to make books travel all over the world through co-editions and translations from the USA to Japan, and from Spain to China. Additionally, she often brings support to the publisher in editorial tasks as well.

In the last few years, her collaboration with Chinese publishers has grown steadily, generating enthusiastic cooperation on both sides.
Massimo Missiroli (Italy)

Partner in POP-UP SHOW Project, FGL Consulenze Editoriali

Massimo Missiroli was born in 1957. Since 1978, he is a collector and scholar focusing on pop-up books. His collection boasts around 4,000 books. In 1997, he started designing pop-up books as a paper engineer. He specialises in creating pop-ups based on already published book with flat pictures. His Pinocchio pop-up book published in 2002 received several awards and was selected by the Movable Society as one of the most beautiful titles published in 2002-2003. Between 2009 and 2010, he created five other pop-up books, which have been published in China since then.
George Sun (China)

Deputy General Manager, Ronshin Group, Chief Designer of Lelequ Children's Books

George Sun is the Deputy General Manager and Chief Designer of Lelequ Children's Books. He was bestowed “Creative Pioneer” in Xi’an. George Sun oversaw the publication of Maomaochong Jianianhua (The Caterpillar Carnival) that won two major children’s book awards—the Bing Xin Children’s Literature Award and the China Print Golden Award. Another of his recent publications, Guonian la! (It’s Chinese New Year!), was listed among the Recommended Quality Book for Young Readers by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China.

13:00 14:45

Illustrators Survival Corner

PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Reviewers:
Irina Balakhonova (Russia), Editor-in-Chief, LLC Samokat Publishing House
Ivan Fedechko (Ukraine), Rights Director & Acquiring Editor, The Old Lion Publishing House
Lucie Luddington (UK), Children’s Illustration Senior Agent, Bright Agency International
Ran Huarong & Li Yindou (China), Editor-in Chief and Original Picture Book Studio Manager, Postwave Kids
Xiong Liang (China), Ink Artist and Picture Book Author

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Irina Balakhonova (Russia)

Editor-in-Chief, LLC Samokat Publishing House

Irina Balakhonova was born in Moscow in 1968. As a teenager she got engaged in theatre life, which turned into her profession. When Irina was 23, she moved to Switzerland. She learned French, graduated from a business school in Lausanne and had a son Sasha, who is now a young poet. Later Irina moved back to Russia and founded a publishing house–Samokat Publishing House–in 2003. Since then she has been its editor-in-chief. As a pioneer in children’s books publishing, she has been awarded the Jeri Laber International Freedom to Publish Award from the Association of American Publishers, the Revizor Prize as the Editor of the Year (Russian Industry Book Award), the Association of Saint Petersburg Book Publishers Prize. Irina is a member of PEN International and a member of the Council of Experts of the International Non/Fiction Book Fair (Moscow).
Ivan Fedechko (Ukraine)

Rights Director & Acquiring Editor, The Old Lion Publishing House

Ivan Fedechko graduated from Lviv National University in Ukraine. Since 2013 he has been working in Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva (The Old Lion Publishing House) as Foreign Rights Manager and since 2018 as Rights Director. During this time, The Old Lion Publishing House has become the first exhibitor from Ukraine in several international book fairs, including Beijing International Book Fair (2016), Seoul International Book Fair (2017) and Guadalajara International Book Fair (2017).
Lucie Luddington (UK)

Children’s Illustration Senior Agent, Bright Agency International

Senior agent for educational illustration in children’s publishing, and part of Bright for many years, Lucie Luddington has led the growth of the Educational Department at Bright over the last six years and is heading up Bright’s new China division. Lucie is well respected within the industry for being deeply knowledgeable with a strong instinct for her market, globally. She thrives off matching an artist with a suitable client and commissions, creating the ultimate partnership for both parties. She works with dedication for a global roster of artists and clients around the clock, building fantastic relationships on the way with her energetic and fun personality.
Ran Huarong & Li Yindou (China)

Editor-in Chief and Original Picture Book Studio Manager, Postwave Kids
Xiong liang (China)

Ink painter, picture book artist

XIONG Liang was born 1975 in Jiaxing, a small city in Southern China. As a child, he developed an interest in traditional Chinese ink and brush painting. He is completely self-taught and learnt from classic works of art and literature from inside and outside China.

His creations span a diverse variety of genres, including novels, children’s books, plays, modern ink brush painting and works of illustration for adults. His first illustrated children’s book was The Little Stone Lion in 2007. He has since illustrated a three-book collection of nursery rhymes and games entitled Children at Large (2013) and several other books where nature, weather and the seasons play a powerful role. These include The Solar Terms (2015), Monster of the Monsoon (2015) and Wandering with the Wind (2016). In 2018 he became the first Chinese artist to be shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

13:15 14:45

Official Conferences and Seminars

Investing in the Future: The Market Value of China's Children's Book and Content Industry

Official Conference Room (Copyright Zone)

This session will offer an overview on the external financial investments received by the Chinese children’s content industry in recent times. Observers, industry key players and investors will share their different perspectives on this topical question. Through data analysis and case studies, they will assess the market value of the children’s publication and content industry, and try to identify trends for the near future.

In addition, the event will encompass exclusive data from the 2019 Investment Report in China’s Children's Reading and Content Industry, which will be released for the first time at CCBF by China Publishers magazine.

Organisers:
China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF), China Publishers Magazine

Speakers:
Chang Qing (China), President, Sichuan Children’s Publishing House Co., Ltd.
Freya Gao (China), Senior Investment Specialist
Xing Mingxu (China), Cheif Reporter, China Publishers Magazine
Yang Wenxuan (China), President, Baby Cube

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Chang Qing (China)

President, Sichuan Children’s Publishing House Co., Ltd.
Xing Mingxu (China)

Chief Reporter, China Publishers

Xing Mingxu is Chief Reporter at China Publishers magazine. He gained experience researching and reporting on publishing, digital content and cultural industries, among other related fields.
During his career, he worked in different positions, including reporter, head of new media and editor-in-chief. He is the author of exhaustive articles and reports, known for providing valuable information to the industry. A regular participant in international book fairs, Xing Mingxu has been involved in publication of China Publishers’ special English issues, thus contributing to knowledge exchange between the Chinese and foreign publishing industries. During his prior position as Director of New Media, he helped raising the magazine’s new media network, including on WeChat where China Publishers has become one of the most influential players in the industry. At present, he focuses on cultural industries and holds research projects and talks in different domains, including the potential of cooperation between publishing corporations and the cultural tourism industry.
Yang Wenxuan (China)

President, Baby Cube

Yang Wenxuan is the managing director of the China Publishers Association and co-founder of OWSpace. He served as editor-in-chief at Dangdang.com and Cloudary Corporation, and is currently the president of Baby Cube.

Yang is a respected publisher who has brought numerous bestselling novels to the market and discovered prominent local writers. He was recognised as “Best Editor” and “Best Publisher” in several occasions by the China Book Business Report and China Publishing Today. As a journalist, he writes columns for different media outlets and has led several training programmes aimed at media professionals around China. His role as a Chinese independent publisher was highlighted at the Frankfurt Book Fair, where he was invited to deliver a keynote speech on publishing in the digital era. He was also a speaker of the International Publishers Association Congress, where he explained the emergence of private publishers in China. He is currently interested in investments and financial operations applied to children’s publishing. The children’s company he recently founded has received important investment money from TrustBridge Partner and Tomorrow Advancing Life.
Freya Gao (China)

Senior Investment Specialist

Freya Gao has got an extensive experience in researching and observing the investment industry. She worked as General Manager for the China Venture Group operations on the East-China market. With 8 years’ experience in the financial industry, Freya has a deep understanding of both private and public markets as well as strong connections with stakeholders across the financial industry all over China.

14:45 16:45

Illustrators Survival Corner

WORKSHOP: Creation and Creativity under Constraint

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Tutor:
Adrien Parlange (France), Illustrator

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Adrien Parlange (France)

Illustrator

Born in Auvergne in 1983, Adrien Parlange currently lives in Strasbourg. He grew up in the Paris region and studied graphic design at the school Olivier-de-Serres, in Paris. After working in advertising, he went back to illustration and attended the Arts Décoratifs de Strasbourg (HEAR) and the Royal College of Art in London. Since 2009, he is author and illustrator of children’s books and frequent collaborator of magazines and newspapers. His books La Chambre du lion and Le Ruban (Albin Michel Jeunesse) won a BolognaRagazzi Award Mentions, while Le Ruban also received a Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award in 2017. Both titles are translated in Chinese.

15:00 16:30

Illustrators Survival Corner

PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Reviewers:
Elina Ellis (Ukraine) , Author and Illustrator
Li Xin (China), Children's Books Division General Editor, Vice President, Thinkingdom
Dolores Prades (Brazil), Publisher and Consultant, Instituto Emília
Shang Fei (China), Deputy General Manager, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Shanghai 99 Readers' Culture

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Elina Ellis (Ukraine)

Author and Illustrator

Elina Ellis was born and grew up in Ukraine, but now lives and works in the UK. She loves drawing pictures and imagining stories. Elina has recently graduated from the MA in Children's Book Illustration in Anglia Ruskin University. She works with children’s books publishers all over the world. Elina has won a few international illustration awards, including the “Macmillan Prize” for the book The Truth About Old People and the “Beginning Middle and End” competition organised by the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. In 2018, she won the Golden Pinwheel Grand Award (International) given by the Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair.

Elina draws both digitally and using traditional media. She creates her own books and illustrates books for others. There is no greater reward for her than to know that her stories and drawings make people smile.
Li Xin (China)

Children's Books Division General Editor, Vice President, Thinkingdom

Li Xin is Vice President of Thinkingdom and the General Editor of the company’s Children's Books Division. She has worked in children’s publishing for 18 years. Li Xin undertakes a wide range of duties, including the planning, publishing and promotion of both picture books and children’s literature titles. Under her supervision, the company’s children imprint was awarded several renowned prizes for children’s publishing, and their titles are annually listed by local media and libraries among the recommended books. Lin Xin was named among China’s “Top Ten Publishers” by Dangdang.com and won major awards as best private publishing house, and best publisher in China.
Dolores Prades (Brazil)

Publisher and Consultant, Instituto Emília

Publisher and manager focused on literature and reference books for children and youth since 2000, Dolores Prades has an academic background in Social Sciences, a Master in Political Science and a PhD in Economic History. She has conducted research about Children’s and YA Literature and taken part in the main national and international seminars on children’s and YA literature in the last few years.

Currently, she is Visiting Professor for the Master in Books and Literature for Children and Young People at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and coordinates the Caribbean and Latin American Chair of Reading and Writing in Brazil. She is a founding member and publisher of Emília Magazine since 2012 and has been a curator and coordinator for the Conversas ao Pé da Página Seminars since its first edition, in 2011. She served as member of the Jury of the Hans Christian Andersen Awards in 2016 and was a member of the Jury of BolognaRagazzi Award on the same year.
Shang Fei (China)

Deputy General Manager, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Shanghai 99 Readers' Culture

Shang Fei is Deputy General Manager and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Shanghai 99 Readers’ Culture. He has been working in children's publishing for more than 10 years and has introduced in China a number of famous titles, including the Clifford the Big Red Dog series, Tove Jansson’s Moomin stories, the complete works by Pernilla Stalfelt and the Munari’s 1945 series. He also directs a collection of classics for children, which include prestigious writers like William Shakespeare and Sylvia Plath.

15:00 17:00

Official Conferences and Seminars

Publishing, Audiovisual Rights and Licensing–Multi-connected Business around Children's IP

Official Conference Room (Copyright Zone)

Licensing represents a large part of the publishing business. More and more publishing houses are developing their own licensing programmes based on the success of their well established IPs. On the other side, entertainment content providers need publishers to give a long-term life cycle to their properties. In this session we will talk with key leaders of the publishing and entertainment industries to learn more on the strong interactions between these two worlds and how they should connect to create a successful kids brand.

Moderator:
Cristina Angelucci (Italy), General Manager, BM SRL, Consultant of BolognaFiere S.p.A

Speakers:
Susan Bolsover (UK), Director of licensing and consumer products, Penguin Ventures (part of Penguin Random House)
Chai Shan (China), Marketing Director, Shanghai Poplar Culture Project Co., Ltd.
Cecilia de la Campa (USA), Executive Director, Global Licensing & Domestic Partnerships, Writers House
Dong Yan (China), General Manager, Dargaud Groupe (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Gin Qin (China), Publishing Manager, LEGO China
Selina She (China), Chief Editor of the Children’s Channel, TENCENT Video

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Cristina Angelucci (Italy)

General Manager, BM SRL, Consultant of BolognaFiere S.p.A

Cristina Angelucci has over 19 years of experience in the licensing and children’s entertainment business, along with a background in marketing, public relations, communications, sales and business development. Since 2002, she has been a Consultant at BolognaFiere S.p.A, focusing on entertainment and media projects. Since 2008, she has also been in charge of the organisation of the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair, which is the only Italian licensing event and is one of the flagship events of its kind in Europe. Since 2012, she has furthermore been in charge of the development of licensing trade magazines and has worked as Editor, on behalf of Bm srl, of Licensing Magazine, which is a leading publication distributed globally.

She started her career in 2000 in Rai, the Italian Public Broadcaster, where she worked for almost 10 years, covering: acquisitions and TV special projects for the children’s channel, RaiSat Ragazzi, business development and for RaiCom the organization of Cartoons on the Bay (a major European Animation Festival).
Susan Bolsover (UK)

Director of licensing and consumer products, Penguin Ventures (part of Penguin Random House)

With over 20 years industry experience Susan has been a licensee, agent and a licensor working with and for some of the biggest names in Character and Brand licensing. Susan began her career at BBC Worldwide managing in-house pre-school brands, going on to co-ordinate global product roll-outs for brands such as Star Wars and The Lord of The Rings franchises. Prior to joining Penguin Random House Susan worked for Europe’s largest licensing agency, CPLG, representing some of Hollywood’s biggest studios including Universal, Paramount, CBS Television and DreamWorks Animation. Susan played a pivotal role in setting up Penguin Ventures, the licensing and consumer products team at Penguin Random House and has a remit to grow the children’s divisions wholly owned brands, including Peter Rabbit™ and The Snowman™, both in the UK and internationally as well as to identify opportunities for new development in the areas of licensing, TV, film and stage.
Cecilia de la Campa (USA)

Executive Director, Global Licensing & Domestic Partnerships, Writers House

Cecilia de la Campa is the Executive Director, Global Licensing and Domestic Partnerships at Writers House, a leading full-service literary agency in New York with hundreds of bestselling and award-winning clients. She oversees the agency’s global licensing department as well as all domestic/media rights channels including audio, film & television, theatre, and educational reprint licensing. Cecilia attends the major international book fairs each year and has taken part in various global conferences including the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC) and the historic US Publishing Mission to Cuba in 2016 lead by Publishers Weekly. She is a regular speaker on industry panels, and has presented at events hosted by Global Kids Connect, New York Rights Fair, Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA). She is also recurring guest lecturer at the Columbia Publishing Course and sits on the board of the Women’s Media Group (WMG). A graduate of Williams College in Massachusetts, Cecilia worked for several years at Simon & Schuster before joining Writers House in 2009.
Dong Yan (China)

General Manager, Dargaud Groupe (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

After moving to France in 2009 to pursue her studies, Dong Yan joined Média-Participations, one of Europe’s leading groups in the publishing, film/TV production and digital media industries. Over the years, Yan has helped the group expand its cultural activities on the Asian markets and engaged in content development. She has participated in different projects, including the creation of Urban China—a Sino-French publishing label helping Chinese comic authors to publish their works in French-speaking territories—, several animation series, co-productions and management of IPs based on comprehensive strategies. Yan returned to Shanghai in 2015 to become General Manager of Dargaud Groupe (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. As Média Participations’s first subsidiary in Asia, Dargaud Shanghai is committed to promoting its talented team of authors and artists in Greater China, and bringing high quality Chinese contents into the European markets.
Gin Qin (China)

Publishing Manager, Lego China

Gin Qin has got 14 years’ experience in the publishing and digital content industries. He currently serves as publishing manager for Lego’s books and magazines in Greater China. Through his work, Gin aims to make the Lego playful universe an effective tool to encourage children to read more and, reciprocally, he hopes the Lego books will provide children new playing experiences. Gin is a strong advocate of stories and paper books in the digital era.
Selina She (China)

Chief Editor of the Children’s Channel, TENCENT Video

In 2007, Selina She led a team at Tencent.com to create China's first website dedicated to children’s content: the Children's Channel. Since then, Selina has driven the Children’s Channel to become a solid platform with a clear mission—being the “safest, healthiest, and greenest children's website” through the use of online learning, games, animation, books and social activities.

The key of the channel’s success resides in providing the information and elements required for children’s comprehensive development. Since 2015, it focuses on video content operations and is now Tencent’s second largest channel in terms of video traffic. Most recently, Tencent created the Little Penguin App; it offers an exclusive targeted content platform for young children. Subsequently, at the end of 2016, Penguin Film and Television began investing in IP, which has since performed well in terms of distribution and derivatives.
Chai Shan (China)

Marketing Director, Shanghai Poplar Culture Project Co., Ltd.

Chai Shan joined Poplar in 2011, working successively as sales agent, Poplar Kids’s Republic book store manager and the marketing director of the company’s Shanghai offices. From these different positions, she has been a privileged observer of the picture book market booming development in China.

Poplar has achieved remarkable results over the last 15 years, with its bookstore ranking among the 20 most beautiful bookstores in the world according to the The New York Times, a catalogue featuring over 500 picture books, representing a sales volume of 100 million RMB.

Since 2015, Chai Shan is the organiser of Japanese best-selling author Miyanishi Tatsuya’s tours in China. Since the beginning of the tour, Chai Shan has given more than 100 talks bringing together over 8,000 people. Since 2018, she is in charge of developing the IP project of Miyanishi’s Dinosaur series, which include merchandising products, art exhibitions and a theatre play.

15:30 17:00

Illustrators Survival Corner

MASTERCLASS: Interest can be a Lever to Move the World—Walking into the Legendary Life of Caldecott Medal Author David Macaulay

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Moderator:
Xiong Liang (China), Ink Artist and Picture Book Author

Speaker:
David Macaulay (USA), Author and Illustrator

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Xiong liang (China)

Ink painter, picture book artist

XIONG Liang was born 1975 in Jiaxing, a small city in Southern China. As a child, he developed an interest in traditional Chinese ink and brush painting. He is completely self-taught and learnt from classic works of art and literature from inside and outside China.

His creations span a diverse variety of genres, including novels, children’s books, plays, modern ink brush painting and works of illustration for adults. His first illustrated children’s book was The Little Stone Lion in 2007. He has since illustrated a three-book collection of nursery rhymes and games entitled Children at Large (2013) and several other books where nature, weather and the seasons play a powerful role. These include The Solar Terms (2015), Monster of the Monsoon (2015) and Wandering with the Wind (2016). In 2018 he became the first Chinese artist to be shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.
David Macaulay (USA)

Author and Illustrator

Born in England in 1946, David Macaulay is an award-winning author and illustrator whose books have sold millions of copies in the United States alone, and his work has been translated into a dozen languages.

Macaulay has garnered numerous awards including the Caldecott Medal and Honor Awards, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, the Christopher Award, an American Institute of Architects Medal, and the Washington Post–Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award. In 2006, he was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, given “to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations.”

Macaulay has an uncanny ability to turn complex mechanical principles and the long history of scientific and technological development into clear, fluent and interesting illustrations that have captured the hearts of readers of all ages.David Macaulay lives with his family in Vermont.

Nov 16 2019

09:00 17:00

Children Plus—Toddlers’ Books

“A is for Art, B is for Beauty, C is for Culture, D is for Design” Book Exhibition

Hybrid Zone

This exhibition showcasing about 80 original books from 17 countries and territories, selected in close cooperation with the Bologna Children's Book Fair.

09:45 11:45

Illustrators Survival Corner

WORKSHOP: Enchanted Paper: Pop-up Workshop

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Tutors:
Matteo Faglia (Italy), Owner, FGL Consulenze Editoriali
Massimo Missiroli (Italy), Partner in POP-UP SHOW Project, FGL Consulenze Editoriali

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Matteo Faglia (Italy)

Owner, FGL Consulenze Editoriali

Born in Milan in 1951, Matteo has worked for more than 30 years in the world of children’s books publishing, starting with his own firm called Fatatrac, and then continuing as editorial director for two important Italian publishers: Giunti and De Agostini. From these important industrial-cultural experiences he has accumulated knowledge and competence that he uses as a consultant for different clients. He has always been enthusiastic about pop-up books and has produced several pop-up books designed by foreign and Italian paper engineers. Together with collector Massimo Missiroli, he organises and manages the exhibition POP-UP SHOW which has been travelling all around the world.
Massimo Missiroli (Italy)

Partner in POP-UP SHOW Project, FGL Consulenze Editoriali

Massimo Missiroli was born in 1957. Since 1978, he is a collector and scholar focusing on pop-up books. His collection boasts around 4,000 books. In 1997, he started designing pop-up books as a paper engineer. He specialises in creating pop-ups based on already published book with flat pictures. His Pinocchio pop-up book published in 2002 received several awards and was selected by the Movable Society as one of the most beautiful titles published in 2002-2003. Between 2009 and 2010, he created five other pop-up books, which have been published in China since then.

09:45 11:15

Illustrators Survival Corner

MASTERCLASS: The Illustrators Survival Guide: How it's Made—Market and Copyrights by Mimaster

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Speakers:
Giacomo Benelli (Italy), Co-founder and coordinator, Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan
Ivan Canu (Italy), Illustrator, Writer and Director, Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Giacomo Bellini (Italy)

Co-founder and coordinator, Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan

Giacomo Benelli was born in Tuscany, Italy, in 1980. In 2009 he co-founded Mimaster Illustrazione, an international training institution for illustrators located in Milan, where he serves as the coordinator of the school’s activities. During his career, he gained experience in advertising and in communication and planning of events related to books, theatre and performing arts.
Ivan Canu (Italy)

Illustrator, Writer and Director, Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan

Ivan Canu was born in Alghero, (Sardinia, Italy). He works in Milan as illustrator, critic and writer. Previously he served as a graphic designer for the International Balzan Foundation and the magazine Hystrio. He has written children’s books in Italy, France, Japan, China and Korea. As a critic, he collaborates with La Repubblica, Corraini Edizioni and Salani Editore. In 2009, he co-founded Mimaster Illustrazione in Milan, and is the curator of the Illustrators Survival Corner featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair since 2017. Along with Giacomo Benelli, he has published The Illustrators Survival Guide (Corraini). Among his clients are numerous international and Italian newspapers including La Repubblica, La Stampa, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Die Zeit and Courrier International. He also collaborates with Yahoo.com, De Agostini, Feltrinelli y Centauria. He was selected in projects of the Society of Illustrators New York, American Illustration, the Creative Quarterly, Communication Arts and 3x3. He is represented by Salzman International.

10:00 12:00

Official Conferences and Seminars

Serve the Readers–New Approaches to Bookselling

Official Conference Room (Copyright Zone)

For many, the emergence of digital publishing and online book retailers, combined with the decline of small businesses in some parts of the world, announced the unavoidable decay of bookstores. In spite of all, doom-mongers haven't yet been proved right. In the opposite, a seemingly challenging situation has brought up innovative practices among booksellers, including in China where emerging private ventures and traditional chains are competing to offer the best environment and services to attract young readers.

From Russia to China, from Colombia to Italy, this seminar will take us on a tour of special bookstore projects—a way to understand better the reading habits of those countries and new ideas to tackle literacy issues through effective bookselling.

Moderator: Julia Eccleshare (UK), Director, Hay Festival

Speakers:
Irina Balakhonova (Russia), Editor-in-chief, LLC Samokat Publishing House
Chen Yi (China), Director, Light Space–Xinhua Bookstore, Shanghai Xinhua Distribution Group Co., Ltd.
Grazia Gotti (Italy), President, Giannino Stoppani Cooperativa Sociale
Jiang Li (China), Deputy General Manager, Shanghai Xinhua Media Chain Co., Ltd.
Lu Fang (China), Marketing Director, Beijing Poplar Culture Project Co., Ltd.
María Osorio (Colombia), Publisher and Founder, Babel

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Julia Eccleshare (UK)

Director, Hay Festival

Julia Eccleshare is Director of Hay Children’s Festival, contributing children’s books editor of the Guardian, and a regular commentator on radio and at literary festivals. In addition to chairing the judges of the Guardian Children’s Book Prize she has judged numerous prizes and is the founder and chair of the Branford Boase Award. Her books include A Guide to the Harry Potter Novels, Beatrix Potter to Harry Potter: Portraits of children’s writers, The Rough Guide to Teenage Books, The Rough Guide to Picture Books and 1001 Children’s Books to Read Before You Grow Up. She was appointed MBE for services to children’s literature, 2014 and received a DLitt (Hons) from the University of Worcester, 2014.
Irina Balakhonova (Russia)

Editor-in-Chief, LLC Samokat Publishing House

Irina Balakhonova was born in Moscow in 1968. As a teenager she got engaged in theatre life, which turned into her profession. When Irina was 23, she moved to Switzerland. She learned French, graduated from a business school in Lausanne and had a son Sasha, who is now a young poet. Later Irina moved back to Russia and founded a publishing house–Samokat Publishing House–in 2003. Since then she has been its editor-in-chief. As a pioneer in children’s books publishing, she has been awarded the Jeri Laber International Freedom to Publish Award from the Association of American Publishers, the Revizor Prize as the Editor of the Year (Russian Industry Book Award), the Association of Saint Petersburg Book Publishers Prize. Irina is a member of PEN International and a member of the Council of Experts of the International Non/Fiction Book Fair (Moscow).
Chen Yi (China)

Director, Light Space–Xinhua Bookstore, Shanghai Xinhua Distribution Group Co., Ltd.

After a career in media, Chen Yi settled in her current position at Light Space. She is now committed to promoting children’s books and also writes stories for children in her leisure time.
Grazia Gotti (Italy)

President, Giannino Stoppani Cooperativa Sociale

After she graduated in Pedagogy in 1983, Grazia Gotti founded the Cooperativa Giannino Stoppani with a group of kindergarten and primary school teachers and educators. The Cooperativa runs an independent children's bookstore and organises illustration exhibitions and other events related to children's books.

Grazia Gotti currently collaborates with many publishers, scouting for books and curating book series, and is also consultant for the Bologna Children's Book Fair. Since 2003 she is a member of the Board of Education of the Accademia Drosselmeier, a research centre and training school for teachers, educators, librarians and booksellers. Grazia is also the author of several books, including A scuola con i libri. Avventure di una libraia-maestra (At School with Books—The Adventures of a Teacher and Bookseller), Rizzoli, 2013; Ne ho vedute tante da raccontar. Crescere con i libri (I Have So Many Things To Tell You About—Growing up with Books), Giunti Editore, 2014; 21 donne all'Assemblea (21 Women at the Assembly), Bompiani, 2016. In 2019 she published her first picture book, Europa, illustrated by Daniela Stamatiadi (Edizioni Primavera).
Jiang Li (China)

Deputy General Manager, Shanghai Xinhua Media Chain Co., Ltd.

Jiang Li holds a Master’s degree from the Chinese Language and Literature Department of East China Normal University. She is former General Manager of Shanghai Book City, and currently serves as Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Xinhua Media Chain Co., Ltd.

In 2018, she was listed among the top ten reading promoters in China.
Lu Fang (China)

Marketing Director, Beijing Poplar Culture Project Co., Ltd.

Lu Fang started her career as a trade media journalist specialising in children’s books and in the Chinese children’s publishing market.

In 2010, she joined Beijing Poplar, where she was entrusted to put together a marketing team in order to strengthen the publishing house’s sales and promotion strategies. Through her years at Poplar, she has organised hundreds of authors’ tours around China and has succeeded in promoting many Chinese original picture books. She coordinated and organised the “Poplar 10th Anniversary Picture Book Exhibition”, as well many reading promotion events, workshops and courses, all of them contributing to raise the profile of Poplar’s projects in China. Skilled and resourceful, Lu Fang has proved a great ability to turn publics relation strategies into effective branding actions. She is now head of the market and distribution department at Beijing Poplar.
María Osorio (Colombia)

Publisher and Founder, Babel

Originally trained as an architect, María Osorio made a career shift towards children’s literature in 1986. She started as publishing director of the Colombian Association for Children’s Books (ACLIJ) and served as vice-director of Fundalectura (the Colombian Section of IBBY) from 1990 to 2000. In 2001 she founded Babel, an independent bookstore, library, publishing house and distributor all in one. Between 2014 and 2018, she directed several projects in Colombia, such as the Children’s Book Festival (now in its 12th edition) and the Medellin Children’s Book Fair, which is part of the local book festival. She is a founding member of the Colombian Association of Independent Booksellers (ACLI). In 2017, Babel was awarded the BOP Award as Best Children’s Publisher of the Year for Central and South America. In 2018 she received the “Homenaje al Mérito Editorial” awarded by the Guadalajara International Book Fair as arecognition of her career’s contribution to publishing.

10:00 11:30

Illustrators Survival Corner

PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Reviewers:
Mónica Bergna (Mexico), Director, Alboroto
Kiyoko Matsuoka (Japan), Associate Director, Itabashi Art Museum
Miao Hui (China), Chief Brand Officer, Xiron Kids
Miriam Rosenbloom (Australia), Publisher, Scribble

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Mónica Bergna (Mexico)

Director, Alboroto

Mónica Bergna has been working in publishing for more than 25 years both in México and Venezuela. In 2018 she founded Alboroto, her own publishing house, based in Mexico City. Although her publishing house’s main focus is to create books for the Mexican and Latin-American market, Mónica also believes in the importance of constantly updating and incorporating new features: for this reason she is highly interested in buying and selling rights and in understanding the foreign book markets. Moreover, she has a special interest in developing books with illustrations in high relief varnish and text in Braille for blind or partially sighted people and aims to explore the possibilities offered by new technologies as well as the different companies in this sector.
Kiyoko Matsuoka (Japan)

Associate Director, Itabashi Art Museum

Kiyoko was born in 1961 in Tokyo. She graduated from the Joshibi University of Art and Design, majoring in Art History and Iconology of Christian Art. She later obtained a Master Degree from Chiba University on History of Art Education in Japan. Since 1986, she is a curator at the Itabashi Art Museum, Tokyo. In 1989, she became responsible for the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition in Japan and has helped the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in organising the world tour of the exhibition since then. Kiyoko curated several exhibitions of renowned picture book makers, such as Leo Lionni, Yasuo Segawa, Tomi Ungerer, Dick Bruna, Bruno Munari and Tara Books. She has organised picture book workshops for young artists and various events and courses for adults and school children interested in picture books. She is also a university lecturer on picture books. She has an extensive experience as a jury member, including the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava and the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition. She was an EC member of IBBY from 2010 to 2014 and is a board member of JBBY, the Japanese section of IBBY.
Demi Miao (China)

Chief Brand Officer, Xiron Kids

Demi Miao is a children’s books publisher, promoter, translator and critic. She holds a Master of Art from the Peking University. She currently serves as Chief Branding Officer at Xiron Kids—the children’s book imprint of Xiron Group, one of China’s leading publishing houses. Prior to that, she worked as head of the editorial department at Jieli Publishing House for five years, before serving as Editor-in-Chief at Penguin Random House China. Demi Miao contributed to bring several international bestsellers into China, including Peppa Pig and the Magic Tree House. She also published successful original Chinese title, such as Penguin Frozen Book and Lina: My Life, among many others. She is a regular guest in TV shows dedicated to books on China Education TV Channel.
Miriam Rosenbloom (Australia)

Publisher, Scribble

Miriam Rosenbloom has been working in publishing for more than a decade, in both Melbourne and London. After working as a Senior Designer for Faber & Faber, in 2011 she took up the role of Art Director at Scribe before launching Scribe’s first picture-book imprint, Scribble, in 2016. Miriam’s ethos and innovative approach to book production are at the heart of Scribble, which focuses on combining meaningful narratives with the best design and production values. Miriam’s success within the children’s book industry has seen her invited as a guest to major literary events such as the Sydney and Melbourne Writers Festivals, and the Melbourne Art Book Fair, which is held at the National Gallery of Victoria.

11:30 13:30

Illustrators Survival Corner

MASTERCLASS: Oh, the Places Your Books Will Go! The Ins and Outs of Working with an Agent

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Speaker:
Lucie Luddington (UK), Children’s Illustration Senior Agent, Bright Agency International

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Lucie Luddington (UK)

Children’s Illustration Senior Agent, Bright Agency International

Senior agent for educational illustration in children’s publishing, and part of Bright for many years, Lucie Luddington has led the growth of the Educational Department at Bright over the last six years and is heading up Bright’s new China division. Lucie is well respected within the industry for being deeply knowledgeable with a strong instinct for her market, globally. She thrives off matching an artist with a suitable client and commissions, creating the ultimate partnership for both parties. She works with dedication for a global roster of artists and clients around the clock, building fantastic relationships on the way with her energetic and fun personality.

11:45 13:15

Illustrators Survival Corner

PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Reviewers:
Ivan Canu (Italy), Illustrator, Writer, Director, Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan
Li Bo (China), Editor-in-Chief, Beijing Poplar Culture Project Co., Ltd
Maria Russo (USA), Children’s Books Editor, The New York Times
Page Tsou (Taiwan, China), Illustrator and Art Director, Auspicious Design
Ivan Canu (Italy), Illustrator, Writer, Director, Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan
Li Bo (China), Editor-in-Chief, Beijing Poplar Culture Project Co., Ltd
Maria Russo (USA), Children’s Books Editor, The New York Times
Page Tsou (Taiwan, China), Illustrator and Art Director, Auspicious Design

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Ivan Canu (Italy)

Illustrator, Writer and Director, Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan

Ivan Canu was born in Alghero, (Sardinia, Italy). He works in Milan as illustrator, critic and writer. Previously he served as a graphic designer for the International Balzan Foundation and the magazine Hystrio. He has written children’s books in Italy, France, Japan, China and Korea. As a critic, he collaborates with La Repubblica, Corraini Edizioni and Salani Editore. In 2009, he co-founded Mimaster Illustrazione in Milan, and is the curator of the Illustrators Survival Corner featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair since 2017. Along with Giacomo Benelli, he has published The Illustrators Survival Guide (Corraini). Among his clients are numerous international and Italian newspapers including La Repubblica, La Stampa, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Die Zeit and Courrier International. He also collaborates with Yahoo.com, De Agostini, Feltrinelli y Centauria. He was selected in projects of the Society of Illustrators New York, American Illustration, the Creative Quarterly, Communication Arts and 3x3. He is represented by Salzman International.
Li Bo (China)

Editor-in-Chief, Beijing Poplar Culture Project Co., Ltd.

Li Bo is Editor-in-Chief of Beijing Poplar Culture Project Co., Ltd. She has worked as an editor of picture books for ten years and has contributed to introduce many foreign titles into China. Li Bo is also devoted to publishing high quality Chinese children’s books. She is the author of The Kite Far Away, a picture book published under her pen name Xiaoli. Li Bo is committed to creating high-quality titles for young readers and hopes that their books can be enriching for children of all ages.
Maria Russo (USA)

Children’s Books Editor, The New York Times

Maria Russo has been since 2014 the Children’s Books Editor of The New York Times Books Review, where she edits a weekly page devoted to children's books, and writes many reviews and articles herself. She is the co-author, with Pamela Paul, of How to Raise a Reader, published by Workman Books in September, 2019. She previously worked as an editor and writer at The Los Angeles Times, The New York Observer and Salon and has written for publications including the Washington Post and the National Public Radio website. She holds a Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
Page Tsou (Taiwan, China)

Illustrator and Art Director, Auspicious Design

Page Tsou is a picture book illustrator, visual artist and curator. His work has a sense of space and storytelling, with the aesthetics of traditional graphics. Currently, he works mainly as an art director. He believes that the cross-over of different fields can bring more creative possibilities His job usually varies from graphic vision to interior design projects.

Tsou graduated from the Royal College of Art, and his work was selected four times in the Bologna Children's Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition. He won other important international awards, including a Special Mention in the 2017 BolognaRagazzi Award and the prestigious SM-Bologna International Award for Illustration (in 2011). He was also distinguished by 3x3 in the Professional show (Best of Show) and in the Picture Book Show (Gold medal).

12:00 14:00

Illustrators Survival Corner

WORKSHOP: You're an Animal!—Creating Animal Characters for Picture Books

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Tutor:
Ma Daishu (China), Picture Book Author and IIlustrator

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Ma Daishu (China)

Picture Book Author and IIlustrator

Ma Daishu is a Chinese picture book author and illustrator working in Spain. Working with different media and styles, she has written and illustrated books ranging from graphic novels to children. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then ound the world. She has illustrated classic children's stories, and collaborated with writers to create original stories from China. As well as writing and illustrating fictional stories for both children and adults, she is passionate about science communication and has been working on non-fiction projects that bring science to a wider public.

13:00 14:30

Official Conferences and Seminars

Connected Publishing Today, Digital Opportunities for All

Official Conference Room (Copyright Zone)

In today’s world digital media plays an important role in young people’s lives, especially in areas of education and entertainment. Over the past few years, many companies—from small start-ups to global brands—have been publishing apps and investing in technology to create captivating experiences for children, blending animation and digital interactivity.

Following the discussion initiated at CCBF in 2018, this digital conference will bring together top international experts to discuss the newest trends and opportunities in the digital publishing industry. Reading and education will be our main focus points. How interactive media can boost reading? How can new devices help children with reading and learning difficulties? How learning is being radically transformed by new technologies? This session is a great opportunity to find out what the digital sector has in store for publishers and the latest facts and figures of this growing market.

Moderator:
Neal Hoskins (UK), Owner, WingedChariot, Connected Media Consultant

Discussion: Books, Reading and New Technologies—How Interactive Media Publishing can Spark New Interest in Books for All Types of Readers

Speakers:
Aksel Koie (Denmark), CEO and Founder, PIBOCO
Stéphanie Simonin (France), Director of Digital and Audiovisual Rights, Digital Partnerships, Bayard Group

Discussion: Opportunities in Digital—How Learning is Being Transformed by Online and Mobile Learning Applications

Speakers:
Mark Pemberton (UK), Co-CEO, Studycat Limited
Cathy Hsu (China), Co-Founder, Jiliguala

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Neal Hoskins (UK)

Owner, WingedChariot, Connected Media Consultant

Neal Hoskins is the Connected Media Consultant for the Bologna and Shanghai Children’s Bookfair. He has worked in educational publishing and advised on digital writing and reading for the EU Commission and The London Olympic Games. He currently holds a portfolio of international publishing clients that bridge print and digital business development projects.
Aksel Koie (Denmark)

CEO and Founder, PIBOCO

Aksel Koie is the CEO and Founder of PIBOCO (Picture Book Collective), Step In Books, Runtales and Lucus. Having studied Comparative Literature (BA) and Games Studies (MsC IT) he is passionate about literature, illustration and digital media. He has been Review Editor of Frontiers Editorial Board in “Human Computer Interaction” and a guest teacher at the Danish Academy for Digital Interactive Entertainment (Dadiu). His companies won several awards for their beautiful digital books: Wuwu & Co (awarded by Spilprisen 2015, BolognaRagazzi Digital Award 2015, Nordic Children's Game of the Year and Japan Digital Ehon Awards 2017); Mur (BolognaRagazzi Digital Award 2017 and Japan Digital Ehon Awards 2017); Little Alice (Japan Digital Ehon Awards 2018).
Stéphanie Simonin (France)

Director of Digital and Audiovisual Rights, Digital Partnerships, Bayard Group

Stéphanie Simonin is currently in charge of international digital partnerships and kid’s digital media department for Bayard Group. She also oversees both digital and audiovisual rights.

Bayard group is a French media company with a leading position in children’s media: magazines (10 million readers each month), books (800 new children’s titles per year), digital media (videos, games, e-books, audiobooks) and TV animation. Bayard group is active in many countries, either operating directly or more generally via key partners.

Stéphanie has been working with Bayard for the past 20 years, developing her career in different fields including marketing, licensing, merchandising, brand development, product innovation, and especially in the digital field, both on the French market and internationally.
Mark Pemberton (UK)

Co-CEO, Studycat Limited

Mark is responsible for sales, marketing and partnerships at Studycat. He drives strategy from Studycat’s HQ in Tainan, Taiwan managing the global team. Mark develops Studycat’s international strategic partnerships and networks. He is a frequent speaker and edtech conferences around the world. Mark is recognized as a pioneer and thought leader in game-based language learning.

Mark’s twenty-year teaching career began in Taiwan in 1994 at the Sesame Street Group. In 1999， Mark Co-Founded Studycat with a vision to create fun and effective game-based digital learning solutions. This led to the creation of online virtual worlds and eventually the creation of the award-winning apps series - Fun English, Fun Spanish, and Fun Chinese. This successful series has led Studycat to connect and engage 10.5 million families in over 100 countries.

Mark graduated from Warwick University in Philosophy & Politics in 1993. Mark’s passion for education began as a teacher at the age of 23 and he has dedicated his life to education, specifically game-based language learning ever since.
Cathy Hsu (China)

Co-founder, Jiliguala

Cathy Hsu is the co-founder of Jiliguala, an English learning application for children aged 0-8. She graduated from New York University’s School of Education and worked at Google. Cathy Hsu is distinguished for her rich cross-cultural experience gained in both China and the USA, where she lived, studied and worked.

13:15 14:45

Illustrators Survival Corner

MASTERCLASS: Golden Pinwheel Reunion! Meet the 2019 Jury and the 2018 Winners

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Moderators:
Carolina Ballester (Spain), International Programme Manager, CCBF
Elena Pasoli (Italy), Bologna Children's Book Fair Exhibition Director

Speakers:
Ivan Canu (Italy), Illustrator, Writer and Director of Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan
Elina Ellis (Ukraine), Author and Illustrator
Heimi (China), Picture Book Author and Illustrator
André Letria (Portugal), Illustrator and Publisher, Pato Lógico Edições
Kiyoko Matsuoka (Japan), Associate Director, Itabashi Art Museum
Yang Zhong (China), Director, Picture Book Creation Studio, China Central Academy of Fine Arts

Zhou Xiang (China), Illustrator, President, Eastern Babies Magazine

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Elena Pasoli (Italy)

Bologna Children’s Book Fair Exhibition Director

Elena Pasoli was born in Bologna (Italy). She studied Classic Literature at the University of Bologna and in 1982 started her career as PR and press officer. She joined BolognaFiere in 1987, first as Special Events manager, then as project manager of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. She left the company in 2006 to join the University of Bologna Foundation where she directed the Communication Area. Back to BolognaFiere in 2011, in 2014 she was appointed Exhibition Director of the Bologna Children's Book Fair.
Ivan Canu (Italy)

Illustrator, Writer and Director, Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan

Ivan Canu was born in Alghero, (Sardinia, Italy). He works in Milan as illustrator, critic and writer. Previously he served as a graphic designer for the International Balzan Foundation and the magazine Hystrio. He has written children’s books in Italy, France, Japan, China and Korea. As a critic, he collaborates with La Repubblica, Corraini Edizioni and Salani Editore. In 2009, he co-founded Mimaster Illustrazione in Milan, and is the curator of the Illustrators Survival Corner featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair since 2017. Along with Giacomo Benelli, he has published The Illustrators Survival Guide (Corraini). Among his clients are numerous international and Italian newspapers including La Repubblica, La Stampa, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Die Zeit and Courrier International. He also collaborates with Yahoo.com, De Agostini, Feltrinelli y Centauria. He was selected in projects of the Society of Illustrators New York, American Illustration, the Creative Quarterly, Communication Arts and 3x3. He is represented by Salzman International.
Elina Ellis (Ukraine)

Author and Illustrator

Elina Ellis was born and grew up in Ukraine, but now lives and works in the UK. She loves drawing pictures and imagining stories. Elina has recently graduated from the MA in Children's Book Illustration in Anglia Ruskin University. She works with children’s books publishers all over the world. Elina has won a few international illustration awards, including the “Macmillan Prize” for the book The Truth About Old People and the “Beginning Middle and End” competition organised by the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. In 2018, she won the Golden Pinwheel Grand Award (International) given by the Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair.

Elina draws both digitally and using traditional media. She creates her own books and illustrates books for others. There is no greater reward for her than to know that her stories and drawings make people smile.
Heimi (China)

Picture Book Author and Illustrator
Andre Letria (Portugal)

Illustrator and Publisher, Pato Lógico Edições

André Letria was born in Lisbon in 1973. He works as an illustrator since 1992, regularly making books for children and collaborating with newspapers and magazines. His work has been published in many countries and showcased in numerous exhibitions including the Biennial of Bratislava, the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition, Sarmede or Ilustrarte. He has also directed animation movies and worked as a theatre set designer. He was a jury member in the first two Bologna Ragazzi Digital Awards. As an illustrator, he won several distinctions like the Portuguese National Illustration Award, the Gulbenkian Award, an Award of Excellence for Illustration by the Society for News Design (USA) and a mention in the Bologna Ragazzi Awards.

In 2019, his book titled A Guerra (War) won the Talking Pictures Award (USA), the Little Hakka Prize (China), the Nami Concours Grand Prix (Korea), as well as being selected in the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition. In 2010 he founded Pato Lógico, his own independent publishing house. He frequently visits schools and libraries in and outside of Portugal to talk about his work and hold creative workshops.
Carolina Ballester (Spain)

International Programme Manager, CCBF
Kiyoko Matsuoka (Japan)

Associate Director, Itabashi Art Museum

Kiyoko was born in 1961 in Tokyo. She graduated from the Joshibi University of Art and Design, majoring in Art History and Iconology of Christian Art. She later obtained a Master Degree from Chiba University on History of Art Education in Japan. Since 1986, she is a curator at the Itabashi Art Museum, Tokyo. In 1989, she became responsible for the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition in Japan and has helped the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in organising the world tour of the exhibition since then. Kiyoko curated several exhibitions of renowned picture book makers, such as Leo Lionni, Yasuo Segawa, Tomi Ungerer, Dick Bruna, Bruno Munari and Tara Books. She has organised picture book workshops for young artists and various events and courses for adults and school children interested in picture books. She is also a university lecturer on picture books. She has an extensive experience as a jury member, including the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava and the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition. She was an EC member of IBBY from 2010 to 2014 and is a board member of JBBY, the Japanese section of IBBY.
Yang Zhong (China)

Director, Picture Book Creation Studio, China Central Academy of Fine Arts

Yang Zhong graduated from the Tokyo University of Arts and Technology and holds a Master in Fine Arts.
She obtained her PhD from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), where she currently serves as an Associate Professor and Master’s tutor. She is also founder and director of the CAFA Picture Book Creation Studio, a workshop which offers advanced training in picture book creation, edition and illustration.
She also contributed to the creation of the Hsin-Yi Picture Book Award a decade ago. Yang Zhong has served as jury in several competitions, most notably the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava and the Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award.
Yang Zhong is a strong advocate of picture book reading and a passionate researcher in this field. She has played a pioneering role in the development of picture book-making in China. The CAFA Picture Book Creation Studio is considered a major talent incubator, as shows the numerous recognitions obtained by Yang Zhong’s students at both domestic and international levels.
Zhou Xiang (China)

Illustrator, President, Eastern Babies Magazine

Zhou Xiang has been working in children's publishing for more than 30 years. His works have been showcased in numerous contemporary illustration exhibitions. As Director of the Jiangsu Sino-Japanese Children's Literature and Art Exchange Association, Zhou has also engaged in cultural exchange with many Japanese picture book makers. At Oriental Baby (《东方娃娃》)—a monthly children’s illustrated magazine he contributed to found in 1999—, he undertakes a wide range of duties: he creates and edits illustrated stories, promotes reading, mentors Chinese picture book editors, scouts for new talents discovery etc.

Zhou also illustrates picture books for children. Among them, The Day Vegetables Became Goblins (《一园青菜成了精》) and The Morning Market at Lotus Town (《荷花镇的早市》), which are inspired by his childhood experiences, were distinguished in the first Feng Zikai Chinese Children's Picture Book Award held in 2010.

13:30 14:45

Illustrators Survival Corner

PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Reviewers:
Claire de Cointet (France), Editorial Director, Éditions du Centre Pompidou
Patricia Geis (Spain), Author and Illustrator
Li Aixia (China), Founder, Shanghai Children's Picture Book Research Center
Roger Thorp (UK), Editorial Director, Thames & Hudson

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Claire de Cointet (France)

Editorial Director, Éditions du Centre Pompidou

Claire de Cointet graduated from the Audencia Business School and Sciences Po (Institute of Political Studies) Paris. She started her career in publishing as an art book editor for different publishing houses, including Hachette, Les Arts Décoratifs and Flammarion. For three years, she served as publications manager at Relais & Châteaux, an association of luxury hotels and restaurants, where she was also responsible of strengthening synergies between printed and digital contents. In 2015 she became editorial director of Éditions du Centre Pompidou, and in 2017 she was entrusted with the direction of the whole publishing department. The catalogue of Éditions du Centre Pompidou includes modern and contemporary art publications for all types of readers, from newcomers to experts, as well as a wide array of derivative products.
Patricia Geis (Spain)

Author and Illustrator

Patricia Geis was born and lives in Barcelona. She studied Graphic Design at the Escuela Eina in Barcelona, and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Computer Graphics at the New York Institute of Technology. After graduating, she worked as a graphic designer in an advertising agency in Barcelona. In 1996 she started her own graphic design and illustration studio where she develops editorial projects, packaging, paper engineering and character and toy design.

She has three children—Sergio, Inés and María—and a cat. She has written, designed and illustrated over sixty children's books, which were published in Spain, France, the UK, USA, Germany, Korea, China, Italy and Portugal, among others.

She has gained great recognition for her non-fiction books for children, especially those dedicated to art, such as the “Meet the Artist” series and Draw Like an Artist.

Her works earned several international awards, including the Visual Book Design 2009, the International Latino Book Awards Best Children’s Nonfiction Picture Book 2010 and the Junceda Award 2015, on top of being featured into recognised list like the White Ravens.
Li Aixia (China)

Founder, Shanghai Children's Picture Book Research Center

Li Aixia was born in China in 1987. She graduated in Photography from the Central Academy of Fine Arts (Beijing) and holds a Master of Art from the Aalto University School of Art, Design and Architecture (Helsinki). Her work was selected in several collective exhibitions in China, Finland, the Netherlands and South Africa, among other countries.

In 2018, she founded the Shanghai Children’s Book Research Centre. She currently leads the illustration course at the Shanghai Printing and Publishing College. She is among the organisers of the Sino-European Picture Book Conference—whose second edition took place in October 2019—and is the curator of its accompanying exhibition, “Contemporary Illustrations and Images Exhibition of China and Europe”.
Roger Thorp (UK)

Editorial Director, Thames & Hudson

Roger Thorp is Editorial Director for Art and Children’s Publishing at Thames & Hudson. He was previously Publishing Director at the Tate galleries, where, among other things, he initiated a children’s publishing programme, and prior to that he was a Senior Commissioning Editor at Routledge. He comes from Durham in north-east England.

The children’s list Roger is overseeing at Thames & Hudson is focused on high quality illustration, working with established and new illustrators on fiction and non-fiction titles, republishing historic picture books, and frequently publishing international illustrators in English for the first time.

14:45 16:45

Illustrators Survival Corner

WORKSHOP: Page’s Gifts: a Workshop with Page Tsou on Creating a Picture Book

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Tutor:
Page Tsou (Taiwan, China), Illustrator and Art Director, Auspicious Design

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Page Tsou (Taiwan, China)

Illustrator and Art Director, Auspicious Design

Page Tsou is a picture book illustrator, visual artist and curator. His work has a sense of space and storytelling, with the aesthetics of traditional graphics. Currently, he works mainly as an art director. He believes that the cross-over of different fields can bring more creative possibilities His job usually varies from graphic vision to interior design projects.

Tsou graduated from the Royal College of Art, and his work was selected four times in the Bologna Children's Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition. He won other important international awards, including a Special Mention in the 2017 BolognaRagazzi Award and the prestigious SM-Bologna International Award for Illustration (in 2011). He was also distinguished by 3x3 in the Professional show (Best of Show) and in the Picture Book Show (Gold medal).

15:00 16:30

Official Conferences and Seminars

Growing Up with Words – Publishing Fiction for Young Readers Today

Official Conference Room (Copyright Zone)

What does it take to publish and promote quality children’s fiction today?

Bringing together publishers, translators, scholars and critics, all experts in their field, this panel will explore the challenges to be faced in creating lively children's reading materials and in bringing them to the market.

Literary tastes and fashions constantly change over time, along with the publishing landscape. Today’s young people are often overwhelmed by assigned school readings and over-stimulated by many types of entertainment: what is required from fiction titles to overcome these challenges and engage children in reading for pleasure?

Moderator:
Julia Eccleshare (UK), Director, Hay Festival

Speakers:
Pierdomenico Baccalario (Italy), Author and Founder, Book on A Tree
Chen Hui (China), Professor and PhD Tutor at Beijing Normal University, School of Chinese Language and Literature, Director of Research Centre on Picture Books, Beijing Normal University
Thille Dop (The Netherlands), Senior Publisher Children's and YA, Uitgeverij Luitingh-Sijthoff
Hedwige Pasquet (France), CEO, Gallimard Jeunesse
Helen Wang (UK), Children's Literature Translator
Yang Liping (China), Editor-in-Chief, New Buds Publishing House

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Julia Eccleshare (UK)

Director, Hay Festival

Julia Eccleshare is Director of Hay Children’s Festival, contributing children’s books editor of the Guardian, and a regular commentator on radio and at literary festivals. In addition to chairing the judges of the Guardian Children’s Book Prize she has judged numerous prizes and is the founder and chair of the Branford Boase Award. Her books include A Guide to the Harry Potter Novels, Beatrix Potter to Harry Potter: Portraits of children’s writers, The Rough Guide to Teenage Books, The Rough Guide to Picture Books and 1001 Children’s Books to Read Before You Grow Up. She was appointed MBE for services to children’s literature, 2014 and received a DLitt (Hons) from the University of Worcester, 2014.
Pierdomenico Baccalario (Italy)

Author and Founder, Book on A Tree

Pierdomenico was born in 1974 in Acqui Terme, a small town in Monferrato, Italy, where he grew up surrounded by books.The library in his family home contains more than 20,000 volumes. A writer and journalist, his books have sold millions of copies worldwide and have been translated into more than 30 languages.

Today he is considered one of the most important children’s authors. He is also the founder of Book on a Tree, a real storytelling agency in which authors and illustrators work as a team to build collaborative circles with publishers around the world. One of his latest books, The Desert Foxes, was a finalist for the 2019 Strega Prize Ragazze e Ragazzi.
Thille Dop (The Netherlands)

Senior Publisher Children's and YA, Uitgeverij Luitingh-Sijthoff

Thille Dop was born in 1960 in Wageningen and currently lives in Amsterdam. Children’s books have always been her passion. After studying Library Science and History at the University of Amsterdam, she moved towards a career in children’s publishing starting in 1991. After serving as marketing and publicity manager for the publishing house Contact/LS, she became children’s book editor at Unieboek in 2001 and set up Unieboek’s Kitt imprint. Working as a children’s and YA Senior Publisher since 2004, Thille Dop was asked to start brand-new children’s publishing houses in two occasions throughout her career: Pimento in 2004 and Moon (part of Overamstel publishers) in 2007.

In 2015, the publishing house Luitingh-Sijthoff entrusted her with the direction of a new children’s and YA imprint, a challenge she happily accepted. The list features both Dutch and foreign books in translation, ranging from fiction, non-fiction, commercial and literary titles, and includes many prize-winning international authors.
Helen Wang (UK)

Children's Literature Translator

Helen Wang translates contemporary Chinese literature, including novels, picture books and graphic novels for children and young adults. Her translation of Cao Wenxuan’s Bronze and Sunflower won the 2017 Marsh Christian Award for Children’s Literature in Translation Award. She also received the Chen Bochui Special Contribution Award, at the Shanghai Children’s Book Fair (CCBF) in 2017. She works collaboratively with the China Fiction Book Club, Paper Republic, and the Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing. In 2016, she co-founded Chinese Books for Young Readers. She lives in London, and is Curator of East Asian Money at the British Museum.
Chen Hui (China)

Chinese Language and Literature Professor, Research Centre on Picture Books Director, Beijing Normal University

Chen Hui holds a PhD in Chinese literature. She is a professor and PhD tutor at the Beijing Normal University’s School of Chinese Language and Literature, and the director of the university’s Research Centre on Picture Books. Her academic research on literary theory and childhood education resulted in two books—The Art of Telling Stories with Picture Books and How to Teach Children about Love and Empathy. She is also the editor of several other books, including Literature for Young Children, Picture Books for Children and Levelled Reading and Evaluation for Children. Chen Hui penned novels for young readers, including Little Stories, Little Sky and Little Dreams, Blooming Little Flowers, My Name is Doudou and Doudou’s Pinwheel. She is also the author of four picture books: Puppy, My Puppy; Balcony with a View; The Legion of Huzi and Letter Home.
Yang Liping (China)

Editor-in-Chief, New Buds Publishing House

Yang Liping has got 20 years’ experience in children’s books and magazine publishing, and is currently editor-in-chief at New Buds Publishing House. Over the past ten years, Yang has overseen a large number of children’s publications, including novels, books on culture and popular science titles. Her passionate commitment to her profession was recognised by many important awards, including the “Five Top Cultural Products Award”, the China Publishing Administration Award and the National Excellence Award. Additionally, some titles have been selected for the China Classics International Publishing Plan and the Silk Road International Book Project, among publishing plans. New Buds’ books are translated in many countries, thus ensuring the company a solid reputation and economic benefits.
Hedwige Pasquet (France)

CEO, Gallimard Jeunesse

Holding Masters’ degrees in law and economics, Hedwige Pasquet started her carreer with young children, creating a kindergarten in Trinidad and Tobago.

Back to France at the publishing house Gallimard, she took actively part in the creation of two subsidiaries: Gallimard Guides, which she she led until 2009, and Gallimard Jeunesse, of which she is today the CEO.

15:00 16:30

Illustrators Survival Corner

PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Reviewers:
Katsumi Komagata (Japan), Author and Publisher, One Stroke
Sabine Louali (France), Rights Manager, Éditions Des Grandes Personnes
Leonard S. Marcus (USA), Children's Book Historian and Critic
Zhou Xiang (China), Illustrator, President, Eastern Babies magazine

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Katsumi Komagata (Japan)

Author and Publisher, One Stroke

Born in Shizuoka, Japan in 1953, Katsumi Komagata followed a stint at Nippon Design Center, Inc., before moving to the United States in 1977, where he worked as a graphic designer. He returned to Japan in 1983 and three years later founded One Stroke, which began as a graphic design studio and later expanded into publishing.

The birth of a daughter prompted him to take up picture book authoring and he is now world-renowned for his exquisitely crafted books. He has also created picture books for children with disabilities, including tactile and sign-language books.

He has held shows and workshops around the world, and won numerous honours, including an ADC Silver Cube (New York), the Prize for Creativity (Paris), a New Art Prize as well as a BolognaRagazzi Award Mention at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, an International Children's Book Award (Switzerland) and two Good Design Awards (Japan).
Sabine Louali (France)

Rights Manager, Éditions Des Grandes Personnes

Sabine Louali was born in 1966. She is working in children’s book publishing since January 1990.

After a brief start at Albin Michel, she worked in the illustrated and children’s book department of Seuil Jeunesse, where she stayed for more than a decade.
Since 2010, she is part of Les Grandes Personnes, a tiny company formed by only two people specialising in pop-ups and novelty books.

The core of her work is to make books travel all over the world through co-editions and translations from the USA to Japan, and from Spain to China. Additionally, she often brings support to the publisher in editorial tasks as well.

In the last few years, her collaboration with Chinese publishers has grown steadily, generating enthusiastic cooperation on both sides.
Leonard S. Marcus (USA)

Children's Book Historian and Critic

Leonard S. Marcus is one of the world’s foremost writers about children’s books and the people who create them. He is the author of more than 25 award-winning books, including Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom; Golden Legacy: The Story of Golden Books; Show Me a Story: Why Picture Books Matter; Maurice Sendak: A Celebration of the Artist and His Life; and Helen Oxenbury: A Life in Illustration.

Leonard is a frequent contributor to The New York Times Book Review and Horn Book and was Parenting magazine's book critic for 21 years. He is a founding trustee of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and has curated numerous exhibitions including the New York Public Library’s landmark The ABC Of It: Why Children’s Books Matter.

Leonard has judged the New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year Award (four times), the National Book Award, the Ragazzi and SM Illustrator Prizes of the Bologna Book Fair, the Fondacion SM's Catalogo Iberoamerica Ilustra, Scholastic Asian Book Award (jury chair), and Chen Bochui Award.
Zhou Xiang (China)

Illustrator, President, Eastern Babies Magazine

Zhou Xiang has been working in children's publishing for more than 30 years. His works have been showcased in numerous contemporary illustration exhibitions. As Director of the Jiangsu Sino-Japanese Children's Literature and Art Exchange Association, Zhou has also engaged in cultural exchange with many Japanese picture book makers. At Oriental Baby (《东方娃娃》)—a monthly children’s illustrated magazine he contributed to found in 1999—, he undertakes a wide range of duties: he creates and edits illustrated stories, promotes reading, mentors Chinese picture book editors, scouts for new talents discovery etc.

Zhou also illustrates picture books for children. Among them, The Day Vegetables Became Goblins (《一园青菜成了精》) and The Morning Market at Lotus Town (《荷花镇的早市》), which are inspired by his childhood experiences, were distinguished in the first Feng Zikai Chinese Children's Picture Book Award held in 2010.

15:15 16:45

Illustrators Survival Corner

MASTERCLASS: Focus on Norwegian Illustration: Tales and Stories behind the CCBF Illustration Residence

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Speakers:
Mari Kanstad Johnsen (Norway), Illustrator, Writer and Artist
Kristin Roskifte (Norway), Illustrator and Picture Book Author
Bjørn Rune Lie (Norway), Illustrator
Svein Storksen (Norway), Founder and Publisher, Magikon Forlag

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Mari Kanstad Johnsen (Norway)

Illustrator, Writer and Artist

Born in Bergen, Norway in 1981, Mari Kanstad Johnsen holds a BA in Visual Communication from KHIO (Oslo) and a MA in Storytelling from Konstfack (Stockholm). She lives and works in Oslo as an illustrator, artist and writer. Since graduating in 2010 she has illustrated 20 picture books—five of which she has also written—and two artist books.

Kanstad Johnsen has participated in several exhibitions in Norway and abroad, among others at the Norwegian Drawing Association Gallery (Tegnerforbundet), KODE, Fotokino and Le Signe. She also does editorial and commercial commissions and is represented by Heart Agency in London and New York. Her books have won several awards in Norway’s “Årets Vakreste Bøker” (the Year’s Most Beautiful Books). Jeg Rømmer (I’m Out of Here) won a special mention in the BolognaRagazzi Awards in 2017. ABC won a prize from the Norwegian Council of Culture and was nominated for the Brage Award. Vivaldi was on Flavorwire’s list of 20 most beautiful books of all times.
Kristin Roskifte (Norway)

Illustrator and Picture Book Author

Kristin Roskifte (born in Oslo, 1975) is an illustrator and picture book author with a BA in Illustration from Anglia Polytechnic University in Cambridge, UK, and a MA in Illustration from Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames, UK.
She has been working as a freelance illustrator since 2002. She has written and illustrated eight picture books. Her books are experimental and full of details, visual puns and puzzles. Her last book, Everybody Counts appears to be a counting book, but is in fact a fictional, philosophical title about humanity and diversity. It has been published in 23 countries and has won the Gold award at “Visuelt” Festival and the “Årets vakreste bøker” (Most Beautiful Books of the Year). It was also shortlisted for the “AOI’s World Illustration Award”, the “Brage Prize” and the “Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize”.
Kristin Roskifte uses sketchbooks on a daily basis to record ideas and observations from everyday life. She considers the sketchbook her most important tool as an illustrator and author, along with a strong sense of curiosity and a big love of drawing.
Bjorn Rune Lie (Norway)

Illustrator

Bjorn Rune Lie is a Norwegian illustrator who now lives and works in Bristol, England. Since graduating from Falmouth College of Arts in 2001, Bjorn has slowly developed a unique and personal visual language that is instantly recognisable.
A frequent collaborator of ‘The New Yorker’, Deus Ex Machina and The Green Man Festival, he also has a passion for children’s book illustration.
He loves to experiment and always searches for new ways to approach his books and his personal art projects. Inspired by childhood memories, folk art and film noir, Bjorn’s pictures tend to be playful, yet rich in detail and texture. They often feature “anatomically incorrect” characters and strangely beautiful scenery....and lots of trees.
Svein Storksen (Norway)

Founder and Publisher, Magikon Forlag

Svein Størksen is the founder and editor-in-chief at the publishing company Magikon Forlag.

He has also more than fifteen years of experience as a freelance illustrator, photographer and graphic designer. His work has been varied, from commercial work to free artistic imagery. He is holding the equivalent of a Master degree from the National College of Art and Design in Oslo.

Nov 17 2019

09:00 16:00

Children Plus—Toddlers’ Books

“A is for Art, B is for Beauty, C is for Culture, D is for Design” Book Exhibition

Hybrid Zone

This exhibition showcasing about 80 original books from 17 countries and territories, selected in close cooperation with the Bologna Children's Book Fair.

09:45 11:45

Illustrators Survival Corner

WORKSHOP: The Kids Corner

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Come explore the wonders of collage! Led by great artist and paper engineer Katsumi Komagata, this workshop will show both children and adults to compose beautiful and unique collage art by merging creativity with basic skills. All participants will be invited to kick start their inventiveness by cutting, pasting, colouring and playing with this enchanting versatile material.

Tutor:
Katsumi Komagata (Japan), Author and Publisher, One Stroke

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Each workshop is open to 15 children aged 6-12. Each children must be accompanied by one adult.
The accompanying adult is also invited to participate in the workshop.
Workshop Participation fee: 150 CNY for 1 Child + 1 Adult. All materials used during the workshop are included in the price.

Katsumi Komagata (Japan)

Author and Publisher, One Stroke

Born in Shizuoka, Japan in 1953, Katsumi Komagata followed a stint at Nippon Design Center, Inc., before moving to the United States in 1977, where he worked as a graphic designer. He returned to Japan in 1983 and three years later founded One Stroke, which began as a graphic design studio and later expanded into publishing.

The birth of a daughter prompted him to take up picture book authoring and he is now world-renowned for his exquisitely crafted books. He has also created picture books for children with disabilities, including tactile and sign-language books.

He has held shows and workshops around the world, and won numerous honours, including an ADC Silver Cube (New York), the Prize for Creativity (Paris), a New Art Prize as well as a BolognaRagazzi Award Mention at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, an International Children's Book Award (Switzerland) and two Good Design Awards (Japan).

09:45 11:15

Illustrators Survival Corner

MASTERCLASS: The Match—A Guide to Understand the Relations Between Creativity and Publishing Rules

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Speakers:
André Letria (Portugal), Illustrator and Publisher, Pato Lógico Edições
Yan Xiaoli (China), Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Dandelion Children’s Book House

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Andre Letria (Portugal)

Illustrator and Publisher, Pato Lógico Edições

André Letria was born in Lisbon in 1973. He works as an illustrator since 1992, regularly making books for children and collaborating with newspapers and magazines. His work has been published in many countries and showcased in numerous exhibitions including the Biennial of Bratislava, the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition, Sarmede or Ilustrarte. He has also directed animation movies and worked as a theatre set designer. He was a jury member in the first two Bologna Ragazzi Digital Awards. As an illustrator, he won several distinctions like the Portuguese National Illustration Award, the Gulbenkian Award, an Award of Excellence for Illustration by the Society for News Design (USA) and a mention in the Bologna Ragazzi Awards.

In 2019, his book titled A Guerra (War) won the Talking Pictures Award (USA), the Little Hakka Prize (China), the Nami Concours Grand Prix (Korea), as well as being selected in the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition. In 2010 he founded Pato Lógico, his own independent publishing house. He frequently visits schools and libraries in and outside of Portugal to talk about his work and hold creative workshops.
Yan Xiaoli (China)

Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Dandelion Children’s Book House

Yan Xiaoli has been a dedicated researcher and editor in children’s literature for many years and was named “Best Editor of 2014” by Phoenix Publishing. Yan Xiaoli is the publisher of many famous Chinese children’s titles such as Sweetheart Xiao Mi, and also introduced a number of international bestsellers into China, including the Magic School Bus series, Maps, and Where the Wild Things Are. In 2016, Yan Xiaoli contributed to bringing the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition to China, providing a platform for the local industry to better understand the value of illustration. Her editorial work on Maurice Sendak’s books led her to undertake a thorough study of Sendak’s stunning style, which she later presented at Beijing Normal University in a conference titled Intensive Reading on Maurice Sendak.

Yan Xiaoli and the books she published won numerous awards including the National Book Award; the Sichuan Top-Five Project Award; the China Outstanding Children’s Book First Prize; the Bing Xin Children’s Book Award and the China Best Seller Award.

10:00 11:30

Illustrators Survival Corner

PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Reviewers:
Julia Eccleshare (UK), Director, Hay Festival
Qu Xiaoxia (China), CEO, Beijing Cheerful Century Co., Ltd.
Sahar Tarhandeh (Iran), Director, Tuti Books
Maria Titova (Russia), Illustrator

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Julia Eccleshare (UK)

Director, Hay Festival

Julia Eccleshare is Director of Hay Children’s Festival, contributing children’s books editor of the Guardian, and a regular commentator on radio and at literary festivals. In addition to chairing the judges of the Guardian Children’s Book Prize she has judged numerous prizes and is the founder and chair of the Branford Boase Award. Her books include A Guide to the Harry Potter Novels, Beatrix Potter to Harry Potter: Portraits of children’s writers, The Rough Guide to Teenage Books, The Rough Guide to Picture Books and 1001 Children’s Books to Read Before You Grow Up. She was appointed MBE for services to children’s literature, 2014 and received a DLitt (Hons) from the University of Worcester, 2014.
Qu Xiaoxia (China)

CEO, Beijing Cheerful Century Co., Ltd.

Qu Xiaoxia is the CEO of Beijing Cheerful Century Co., Ltd since 2007. In the last 12 years, the company has launched more than 800 classic picture books.

Cheerful is the publisher of bestselling picture books in translation, such as My Dad, My Mom, Miss Rumphius, and No David! They also publish successful original content, including New School Songs, Butterfly and Pea Flowers, Antarctic Chalet, Travel Companion, Good Rat-Rabbit, We Together Go to the Stars, etc.

Through her work at Cheerful, Qu Xiaoxia is committed to promote books and reading as a way to help children adapt to social change. She also strongly supports the emergence of a quality picture books production in China.
Sahar Tarhandeh (Iran)

Director, Tuti Books

Sahar Tarhandeh was born in Tehran in 1977. She graduated in 2000 from Azad University of Tehran with a B.A. in Visual Communication & Graphic Design. By becoming a member of Children’s Book Council (Iran’s national section of IBBY) in 1997, she had her first contacts with children’s literature and has been working and researching in this field ever since. She started her career as graphic designer and research assistant at “Picture in Children’s Books” in the Institute for Research on the History of Children’s Literature in Iran. Then she moved to the UK and lived there until 2007, working as an Art & Crafts tutor for the Durham County Council Education Department and the Family Learning programmes. In 2007 she graduated from the University of Sunderland with a M.A in Design: Multimedia and Graphics. She has written and translated several reviews and articles in important scholarly journals, both national and international, mostly on children’s literature, illustration and graphic design. She frequently participates in conferences and workshops. She served as juror for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2012 and 2014 and has an extensive teaching experience. Currently she is director of Tuti Books.
Maria Titova (Russia)

Illustrator

Maria Titova was born in Moscow, Russia in 1988, where she still lives and works as an illustrator, printmaker and teacher. She graduated in 2012 from the Moscow State Academy of Applied Arts and Design (BA in Visual Arts). In 2011 she was granted a Presidential scholarship to study abroad and spent her last year of academic training at the Prague Academy of Architecture, Art and Design. In 2015 she obtained a MA in Visual Arts from the Boris Trofimov Graphic Design Studio.
Masha has worked as an illustrator and designer for two book projects: 1917 — Our Life After (Preobrazhenie Publishing House, 2017) and The Hamster was Walking, (Samokat, 2018).
In 2018 she was selected to participate in the Illustrators Exhibition of the Bologna Children's Book Fair and then to create the visual identity for the 2019 edition of BCBF. As an illustrator she worked as well on the key visual project of the last edition of the New Moscow International Children’s Book Fair. Her artworks are included in private collections in Russia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany and Italy.

10:00 12:30

Official Conferences and Seminars

Learning to Read, Learning to Love Reading—How to Raise Readers for Tomorrow

Official Conference Room (Copyright Zone)

It is an accepted fact that reading is crucial for kids. Study after study shows that babies and toddlers thrive intellectually and emotionally when they’re read to, and that books help children of every age expand their language skills and comprehension of the world, boost their critical thinking and imagination, build empathy and strengthen bonds with caregivers. At the same time, reading can be a source of stress for parents: “Which books should I read to my baby, and how early? Is my child reading soon enough, fast enough, in an advanced enough way? What’s the best way to use reading to give kids a ‘head start’ in today’s competitive landscape? With everything else going on, how can I help my child not just know how to read well, but choose to read on his own?

This session will bring together experts from several nations to offer a cross-cultural perspective on how parents and educators can help make reading for pleasure a central part of childhood—and why it's ever more urgent in our distracted, digital world.

Moderator:
Maria Russo (USA), Children’s Books Editor, The New York Times

Speakers:
Ding Xiaoqing (China), Teacher, Yangzhou Institute of Education, Children’s Literature Promoter
Du Keming (China), Founder and President, Shanghai Dandelion Child Development Center
Jake Hope (UK), Reading Promoter, Children's Book Consultant
Dolores Prades (Brazil), Publisher and Consultant, Instituto Emília
Nick Thomas (USA), Senior Editor, Levine Querido
Kyle Zhang (China), Deputy Director of Children's Book Center at Shanghai Translation Publishing House, Secretary General of Jing'an Parent-Son Reading Alliance

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Maria Russo (USA)

Children’s Books Editor, The New York Times

Maria Russo has been since 2014 the Children’s Books Editor of The New York Times Books Review, where she edits a weekly page devoted to children's books, and writes many reviews and articles herself. She is the co-author, with Pamela Paul, of How to Raise a Reader, published by Workman Books in September, 2019. She previously worked as an editor and writer at The Los Angeles Times, The New York Observer and Salon and has written for publications including the Washington Post and the National Public Radio website. She holds a Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
Ding Xiaoqing (China)

Teacher, Yangzhou Institute of Education, Children’s Literature Promoter

A distinguished teacher from the Jiangsu Province and a prominent promoter of children’s reading, Ding Xiaoqing’s work focuses on teaching and research on children's literature. For the past twenty years, she has been devoting herself to the promotion of children's literacy and to research in the field of family education.

With years of direct involvement in children’s reading and writing, Ding Xiaoqing has participated in the redaction of several sets of children’s reading and writing materials for both in-class and out-of-class learning. She gave more than a hundred lectures on children’s reading to teachers and parents across China, receiving high praises for her work.

She published the monograph A Mind Map of Children’s Reading and other related research articles.

In 2018, Ding Xiaoqing was invited to participate in the 36th IBBY Congress held in Athens, Greece.
Jake Hope (UK)

Reading Promoter, Children's Book Consultant

Named as one of the UK’s top librarians of the future in the National Love Libraries Campaign, Jake Hope is currently the Chair of the National Youth Libraries Group, and is the incoming chair of the working party for Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals, a post which oversees the running and strategic development of the awards. He is a children’s book and reading development consultant and has written extensively including chapters on books about reading development, the School Library Association publication around diversity and inclusion and previews for leading trade magazine ‘The Bookseller’. He enjoys working creatively, has strong network links across the book trade and reading sector and is passionate about children’s books and promoting a love of reading and writing with young people and their families.
Dolores Prades (Brazil)

Publisher and Consultant, Instituto Emília

Publisher and manager focused on literature and reference books for children and youth since 2000, Dolores Prades has an academic background in Social Sciences, a Master in Political Science and a PhD in Economic History. She has conducted research about Children’s and YA Literature and taken part in the main national and international seminars on children’s and YA literature in the last few years.

Currently, she is Visiting Professor for the Master in Books and Literature for Children and Young People at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and coordinates the Caribbean and Latin American Chair of Reading and Writing in Brazil. She is a founding member and publisher of Emília Magazine since 2012 and has been a curator and coordinator for the Conversas ao Pé da Página Seminars since its first edition, in 2011. She served as member of the Jury of the Hans Christian Andersen Awards in 2016 and was a member of the Jury of BolognaRagazzi Award on the same year.
Nick Thomas (USA)

Senior Editor, Levine Querido

Nick began his career as an editorial assistant with Arthur A. Levine and has held positions with Bloomsbury, Chicken House and David Fickling Books. He loves to work on every type of book under the sun and has had the honour and pleasure of editing books from award-winning authors such as Varian Johnson, Kelly Yang, Daniel José Older, Amy Sarig King, Aida Salazar, and Eric Gansworth.

He is now is Senior Editor at Levine Querido, a newly founded independent children’s book publisher based in the United States.
Kyle Zhang (China)

Deputy Director of Children's Book Center at Shanghai Translation Publishing House, Secretary General of Jing'an Parent-Son Reading Alliance

Kyle Zhang is the Deputy Director of the Children's Book Center at Shanghai Translation Publishing House and is the Secretary General of Jing'an Parent & Child Reading Alliance. He is also a member of the Shanghai Board on Books for Young People and the Shanghai Sino-Japanese Association for Children’s Literature & Art.

Through years experience in children's book publishing, Kyle has edited and published more than 60 books, such as Charlotte's Web, Happy Boys, Fantastic Boy: Xu Duoduo, Baozi Bear etc. e has launched activities and workshops in nearly 2,000 schools in China to promote children's reading, and has won numerous awards such as the Best Spokesman for Children's Books in 2017 and was Shanghai Book Fair’s Top Personality in 2013 & 2016.
Du Keming (China)

Founder and President, Shanghai Dandelion Child Development Center

Du Keming is the founder of an education charity, and also a translator in children's literature.

After graduating from Michigan State University with Master's Degree in Child Development, Du founded Pass Love Charity Foundation in the US in 2006 and Dandelion Child Development Center in Shanghai in 2013. Du is committed to applying research-based methods to promote rural education reform mainly in underdeveloped remote hinterlands of China, where high quality educational resources are seriously insufficient.
From July 2008 to September 2019, Du and her team have been creating 193 Dandelion Children's Libraries for more than 200,000 teachers and students in elementary schools in 68 counties of 20 provinces, providing online lifelong education for teachers, and dedicated to renovating the current school education mode into building “Learning Centers”, where the curricula are children-originated and individualized.

In addition, she has completed translating works of children's literature including Cilifford (40 volumes), The Conference of Birds, Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, Millions of Cats and Snow White.

11:30 12:30

Illustrators Survival Corner

MASTERCLASS: The World of Imagination—A Journey around the Art of Lisbeth Zwerger

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Moderator:
Ivan Canu (Italy), Illustrator, Writer and Director of Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan

Speaker:
Lisbeth Zwerger (Austria), Book Illustrator

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Ivan Canu (Italy)

Illustrator, Writer and Director, Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan

Ivan Canu was born in Alghero, (Sardinia, Italy). He works in Milan as illustrator, critic and writer. Previously he served as a graphic designer for the International Balzan Foundation and the magazine Hystrio. He has written children’s books in Italy, France, Japan, China and Korea. As a critic, he collaborates with La Repubblica, Corraini Edizioni and Salani Editore. In 2009, he co-founded Mimaster Illustrazione in Milan, and is the curator of the Illustrators Survival Corner featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair since 2017. Along with Giacomo Benelli, he has published The Illustrators Survival Guide (Corraini). Among his clients are numerous international and Italian newspapers including La Repubblica, La Stampa, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Die Zeit and Courrier International. He also collaborates with Yahoo.com, De Agostini, Feltrinelli y Centauria. He was selected in projects of the Society of Illustrators New York, American Illustration, the Creative Quarterly, Communication Arts and 3x3. He is represented by Salzman International.
Lisbeth Zwerger (Austria)

Book illustrator

Lisbeth Zwerger (Vienna, 1954) is one of the world’s most acclaimed children’s book illustrators, well known for illustrating classic tales.
She studied at the Vienna University of Applied Arts (Hochschule für angewandte Kunst) from 1971 to 1974. Her first book The Strange Child was published by Neugebauer Press in 1977.
Since then she has published more than 40 books. She has brought her brush to The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and The Nutcracker, as well as many Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Andersen fairytales.
In 1990 her work was distinguished by the Hans Christian Andersen Award, becoming one of the youngest illustrators to win this prestigious international recognition.

11:45 13:15

Illustrators Survival Corner

PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Reviewers:
Maria Osorio (Colombia), Publisher and Founder, Babel
Flora Prevosto (France), Editor and Marketing Director, Maison Eliza
Qin Yinzhi (China), Art Director, Graphic Design Department Deputy Director, China Welfare Institute Publishing House
Harmen van Straaten (The Netherlands), Author and Illustrator

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

María Osorio (Colombia)

Publisher and Founder, Babel

Originally trained as an architect, María Osorio made a career shift towards children’s literature in 1986. She started as publishing director of the Colombian Association for Children’s Books (ACLIJ) and served as vice-director of Fundalectura (the Colombian Section of IBBY) from 1990 to 2000. In 2001 she founded Babel, an independent bookstore, library, publishing house and distributor all in one. Between 2014 and 2018, she directed several projects in Colombia, such as the Children’s Book Festival (now in its 12th edition) and the Medellin Children’s Book Fair, which is part of the local book festival. She is a founding member of the Colombian Association of Independent Booksellers (ACLI). In 2017, Babel was awarded the BOP Award as Best Children’s Publisher of the Year for Central and South America. In 2018 she received the “Homenaje al Mérito Editorial” awarded by the Guadalajara International Book Fair as arecognition of her career’s contribution to publishing.
Flora Prevosto (France)

Editor and Marketing Director, Maison Eliza

Flora Prevosto has always been passionate about children's literature. After a career in communication, she partnered with two of her friends in 2016 to create a children's publishing house—Maison Eliza. Maison Eliza is specialising in picture books for children aged 6 months to 8 years old, as well as passionate adults. It offers premium quality colourful books and sweet, poetic stories. Flora is currently in charge of communication, bookstore relations, distribution and foreign rights for Maison Eliza.
Qin Yinzhi (China)

Art Director, Graphic Design Department Deputy Director, China Welfare

Qin Yinzhi is the art director of China Welfare Institute Publishing House. She oversees production and design of the company’s children's books and other publications. A seasoned editor in the field of picture books and illustration, she has won many illustration and design awards, including the National Illustration Award, the Bingxin Children's Book Award, a Special Mention in the East China Book Design Award and the ”Most Beautiful Book in China" Award.

She believes illustration is enriching for both children and adults, and is a strong advocate of diversity and innovation in what refers to styles and techniques.
Harmen van Straaten (The Netherlands)

Illustrator, Author

Born in a family of illustrators, Harmen van Straaten has always loved drawing. Yet he chose to become a law teacher at the HEAO of Amsterdam. But he soon grew tired and went back to his true passion—drawing. Since 1987, he has been working for publishers from the Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain and Germany, illustrating more than 400 books and writing more than 100 of them, for all ages. His work has been translated in more than 12 languages and sold more than 2.5 million copies in the Netherlands.
His work has won several awards, including the BIB Golden Apple and the Sankei Children’s Book Award for A Grandfather You’ll Never Forget.
In 2016 the world premiere of the musical production A Snowman’s Wish (a Chinese/Dutch co-production) was aired in China in Xi’an and toured around Holland afterwards.

12:00 14:00

Illustrators Survival Corner

WORKSHOP: Learn to Make a Pop-up Book! (Children's Workshop)

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Have you ever wondered how pop-up books work? With their ingenious complexity, pop-ups are able to enchant and capture the attention of readers of all ages. Pop-up structures can be used to make inventive books, greeting cards and all kinds of original art work. In this workshop, our two experts will teach you how to give paper new and spectacular dimensions. Through a ludic approach, children will get to learn how to build some pop-up pages with their own hands, and take their creations home as objects to treasure.

Tutors:
Matteo Faglia (Italy), Owner, FGL Consulenze Editoriali
Massimo Missiroli (Italy), Partner in POP-UP SHOW Project, FGL Consulenze Editoriali

*Consecutive translation in English and Chinese

Matteo Faglia (Italy)

Owner, FGL Consulenze Editoriali

Born in Milan in 1951, Matteo has worked for more than 30 years in the world of children’s books publishing, starting with his own firm called Fatatrac, and then continuing as editorial director for two important Italian publishers: Giunti and De Agostini. From these important industrial-cultural experiences he has accumulated knowledge and competence that he uses as a consultant for different clients. He has always been enthusiastic about pop-up books and has produced several pop-up books designed by foreign and Italian paper engineers. Together with collector Massimo Missiroli, he organises and manages the exhibition POP-UP SHOW which has been travelling all around the world.
Massimo Missiroli (Italy)

Partner in POP-UP SHOW Project, FGL Consulenze Editoriali

Massimo Missiroli was born in 1957. Since 1978, he is a collector and scholar focusing on pop-up books. His collection boasts around 4,000 books. In 1997, he started designing pop-up books as a paper engineer. He specialises in creating pop-ups based on already published book with flat pictures. His Pinocchio pop-up book published in 2002 received several awards and was selected by the Movable Society as one of the most beautiful titles published in 2002-2003. Between 2009 and 2010, he created five other pop-up books, which have been published in China since then.

13:00 14:30

Illustrators Survival Corner

MASTERCLASS: The Illustrators Survival Guide: How it's Made—Portfolio and Professional Tools by Mimaster

Illustrators Survival Corner (Copyright Zone )

Speakers:
Giacomo Benelli (Italy), Co-founder and coordinator, Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan
Ivan Canu (Italy), Illustrator, Writer and Director, Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan

* Simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English

Giacomo Bellini (Italy)

Co-founder and coordinator, Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan

Giacomo Benelli was born in Tuscany, Italy, in 1980. In 2009 he co-founded Mimaster Illustrazione, an international training institution for illustrators located in Milan, where he serves as the coordinator of the school’s activities. During his career, he gained experience in advertising and in communication and planning of events related to books, theatre and performing arts.
Ivan Canu (Italy)

Illustrator, Writer and Director, Mimaster Illustrazione, Milan

Ivan Canu was born in Alghero, (Sardinia, Italy). He works in Milan as illustrator, critic and writer. Previously he served as a graphic designer for the International Balzan Foundation and the magazine Hystrio. He has written children’s books in Italy, France, Japan, China and Korea. As a critic, he collaborates with La Repubblica, Corraini Edizioni and Salani Editore. In 2009, he co-founded Mimaster Illustrazione in Milan, and is the curator of the Illustrators Survival Corner featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair since 2017. Along with Giacomo Benelli, he has published The Illustrators Survival Guide (Corraini). Among his clients are numerous international and Italian newspapers including La Repubblica, La Stampa, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Die Zeit and Courrier International. He also collaborates with Yahoo.com, De Agostini, Feltrinelli y Centauria. He was selected in projects of the Society of Illustrators New York, American Illustration, the Creative Quarterly, Communication Arts and 3x3. He is represented by Salzman International.