Anyone attending Bologna children's book fair 2020

xin li

I plan to go to Bologna children's book fair in 2020. Anyone is going? I am going to travel there alone. Would really like to meet up with other SVS members if anyone is going there.
I am going to bring my portfolio, postcards, and 1 or 2 picture dummy books with me. I have no expectations. My main goal is to get inspired, get input for my portfolio from people working in inductry, and possibly networking with other artists.

If anyone have experiences, tips, and advices for attending these type of fairs, I would love to hear from you.

Elena Marengoni

I am planning to go as well! I live in Milan, so it will be quite easy for me to get there and I am also happy to meet anybody who is planning to land in/stop by Milan.

xin li

@Elena-Marengoni great! Let's keep in touch and meet up at Bologna this year. I am a first-time children's book fair goer, good to know there will be another svs fellow artist there.

Elena Marengoni

Same situation! It will also be the first time for me!

MichaelaH

I was this year in Bologna for 2 days, flew in from Germany. It was really great experience and I full recommend it for us illustrators. I still don't know if I will be coming next year.

eriberart

I went to Bologna in 2017 as a student and in 2018. I didn't get to go last year as I couldn't get time off my day job, but I'm planning to go again this year hopefully I wrote a blog post (one of the few blog posts I ever actually wrote ) with tips if there is anyone who is interested and hasn't been before!

xin li

@eriberart Awesome. Thank you so much. Hope to see you at the fair in 2020.
By the way, I have heard booking accommodation can be really hard. How much time ahead did you book the accommodation with Airbnb?

eriberart

I think both times I booked before Christmas. I definitely wouldn't leave it to the last minute as things will fill up! I had friends who went last year and left it too late to book accommodation and ended up not having much choice and paying for an expensive air bnb.
I would recommend looking at places to stay near the city centre. The fair is about a half hour/45 minute walk from the city centre but there are buses that run so it is easy to get to. It is so much nicer to be able to go out in the city in the evening for food and a drink

xin li

@eriberart thank you so much for the tip. I will look into accomodation later this week, trying to get it booked by the end of the week :-).

Phil Cullen

I'm in Japan so too far to go, I would live too go, i've never been but I heard there is a wall where you can put up a postcard/business card if you find space, that year was 2016 or 2017 when i heard this, I think so not sure if that is a thing that happens every time, but might be good to look out for that.

eriberart

@Phil-Cullen I am pretty sure it happens every year! It was there in both 2017 and 2018 when I went, but it fills up very quickly so you need to get there early to get a good spot

LauraA

It happens every year. I went in 2018, and I said I would go back once I got my portfolio ready to show. Not sure I'm there yet, but if I decide to go, I'll let you know. I'm definitely going back when I do, though. It's crazy, but quite a good learning experience!

Nyrryl Cadiz

This is so exciting! But as always, I live too far away and I can’t afford the trip. Maybe next, next year? Lol it’s on my bucket list.

arent-draper

I am planning on going in 2022, so I would love to keep in touch with you and Elena!