Our experience at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2026 has just come to a close, and we’re back in the studio with our backpacks full of business cards and our heads brimming with new ideas.
For us at Kairostudio, the Bologna fair is nothing new, but this edition marked a turning point. We found an event that was bigger, more international, and more well-attended than ever, a sign of an industry—children’s publishing—that never stops reinventing itself and seeking new forms of expression.
Norway: Guest of Honor
This year, the beating heart of the fair was Norway. Norwegian publishing, with its bold approach, clean design, and ability to tackle profound themes with extreme sensitivity, was a great source of inspiration for us. Immersing ourselves in this culture allowed us to view our content production work from a fresh and different perspective.
The Heart of Our Work: Portfolio Reviews
One of the most intense moments we experienced at the fair was at the Illustrator Survival Corner. Here, we actively participated in the so-called “portfolio reviews.”
What is a Portfolio Review? For those outside the industry, it’s an opportunity for professionals (like us at Kairostudio) to meet artists face-to-face. It’s a chance for illustrators to show us their artwork, their styles, and their unpublished projects. For us, it’s a crucial “scouting” opportunity: we’re looking for that unique touch and visual sensibility capable of bringing the stories we have in mind to life.
We’re happy to say we met some very young talents. We reviewed portfolios from many artists who surprised and inspired us, and we hope to launch concrete collaborations with them in the near future.
A Look at Kairostudio’s Future
We didn’t go to Bologna just to observe, but also to build. The fair was fertile ground for national and international networking: we made valuable connections and laid the groundwork for partnerships that could bring our projects into the publishing sector as well.
Right now, we are busy picking up the threads of a project we care deeply about, one we had temporarily put on hold and which is now ready to restart with renewed energy. That was precisely the goal of our trip to Bologna: to find the missing pieces to bring our strategy to fruition.
The energy in the exhibition halls and the connections we’ve made over these past few days confirm that now is the right time to bring our plans to life. Something is about to return, enriched by everything we’ve gathered over these past few days…
Stay tuned to find out what’s next!