The Bologna Children’s Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition 2027 is the 61st edition of the international illustration showcase presented as part of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Organised by BolognaFiere S.p.A., the exhibition is designed to bring illustrators and publishers together and to promote contemporary children’s book illustration within the international publishing community.
Entrants submit a coherent sequence of exactly five illustrations based on the same theme and intended for use in children’s books. Works may be created in black and white or colour using traditional, digital or mixed techniques, giving illustrators considerable creative freedom while presenting their work as a focused visual project.
An international five-member jury drawn from publishing houses, art schools, museums and the illustration profession reviews eligible submissions, first selecting approximately 300 finalists before making the final exhibition selection. The initiative connects emerging and established illustration practice with the professional environment of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, which takes place in Bologna from April 5 to 8, 2027.
Entry fee: €25 + VAT if due per application covering the mandatory set of exactly 5 artworks; participation is free only for students holding a valid BCBF code supplied through their art school or course.
Eligibility
Open to illustrators of any nationality born before December 31, 2009, submitting exactly 5 same-theme illustrations intended for children’s books that are unpublished or were published after January 1, 2025, are entirely the entrant’s own original creative work, were not submitted to previous editions, and were created without the use of AI tools.
Prize
Illustrators selected as winners for the 2027 Illustrators Exhibition receive a free four-day admission ticket to BCBF, have two pages dedicated to them in the Illustrators Annual, and have their selected work included in the Bologna exhibition and its international touring programme, including Japan, South Korea and China. Selected illustrators under 35 are automatically considered for the Bologna Children’s Book Fair–Fundación SM International Award for Illustration, whose winner receives €15,000 and an assignment to illustrate a children’s book for Grupo SM, followed by presentation of the book and a personal exhibition at the subsequent fair; eligible unpublished illustrators under 30 are also automatically considered for the ARS IN FABULA Grant Award, whose winner may attend the ARS IN FABULA First Level Master Degree Course in Illustration for Publishing free of charge.