OH! You did such a good job of capturing the feelings of this beast. I agree with you 100%. Although I had no idea about the croissants! We always brought lunch because the lines for food were so long and the one time we left to get food they ALMOST didn't let us back in! I'm so sorry about your bus experience. A mutual friend got pickpocketed on the bus, so it could've been worse.
Ugh I heard about pickpockets on the buses so I kept everything really close. And yes! next time you go (hopefully I'll be there too) get a croissant! There were a bunch of the little snack bar places open so the lines weren't long at all.
That boat photo looks like it belongs in a magazine! New dust cover pic? 📸
I know my mom was really hoping to attend this year. I’ll need to make sure she sees this post and gets all your helpful tips/thoughts for the future! Thanks for always being so generous with your readers. ☺️
Haha Thank you! 😊 I hope she gets to go! It’s a children’s book lovers dream for sure! And it’s even better if you go with a friend or have a group to meet up/hang out with!
Thanks for this lovely recap of Bologna (an event on my checklist since forever). As someone closer to comics than illustration I have however attended Angoulême's festival in France —twice— and have written extensively about it too (it's in one of my newsletter's posts). At least I want to think Europe is a tad better in April than late January (dead of winter, ugh). Same as in Bologna, last time I went there I carried on pitches and cards and whatnot in hand only to find out the rights market pavilion is all about publishers buying and selling rights to one another — not artist-authors trying to woo publishers. Oh well, live and learn. That didn't stop me from grabbing some key contacts I hope to be proven useful in a relatively near future.
I've heard Bologna is opening more to middle grade comics/GNs which is my main turf rather than kidlit illustration, so I'm increasingly interested to attend -- and yes, hopefully in a participant role.
I feel like I did see a good amount of graphic novels in the publisher booths at Bologna!
Aww yeah same for the cards, we just handed ours out to publishers that seemed like a good fit (if they were accepting them). Fingers crossed something comes from that in the future, but who knows 😅.
I hope you do too! Make sure to plan a lot of other travel around it if you can! Now I'm wondering if there are any big faires or book conferences like it here in the US?
I'm a big cryer when it comes to creativity- so glad to hear I'm not the only one! I had so much fomo and hope to attend next year. Thanks for sharing your experience!
I went the the fair this year and cried in the toilets because it was so overwhelming 😅.
For next time, on the busses can you can tap in with your debit card!
Ah I totally get it! I hope you didn't have to wait in too long of a line for the toilet cry. haha
And REALLY?! Ugh I'm glad I know now for next time! I wish they would have just let us pay for a ticket—we wanted to.
I found that language barrier can also make things tricky like on the bus. Sorry you had to pay that fine!
I did walk around the fair quite a bit before I found one without a massive que 😅 Memorised it for next year, the good-place-to-cry-loo haha
What a dream trip this was . I can't wait to get the chance to visit it one day. It looks like you had a great time
This was a fantastic recap! Thank you!
You’re welcome!! I’m glad you liked it!
OH! You did such a good job of capturing the feelings of this beast. I agree with you 100%. Although I had no idea about the croissants! We always brought lunch because the lines for food were so long and the one time we left to get food they ALMOST didn't let us back in! I'm so sorry about your bus experience. A mutual friend got pickpocketed on the bus, so it could've been worse.
Thank you!!
Ugh I heard about pickpockets on the buses so I kept everything really close. And yes! next time you go (hopefully I'll be there too) get a croissant! There were a bunch of the little snack bar places open so the lines weren't long at all.
That boat photo looks like it belongs in a magazine! New dust cover pic? 📸
I know my mom was really hoping to attend this year. I’ll need to make sure she sees this post and gets all your helpful tips/thoughts for the future! Thanks for always being so generous with your readers. ☺️
Haha Thank you! 😊 I hope she gets to go! It’s a children’s book lovers dream for sure! And it’s even better if you go with a friend or have a group to meet up/hang out with!
Thanks for this lovely recap of Bologna (an event on my checklist since forever). As someone closer to comics than illustration I have however attended Angoulême's festival in France —twice— and have written extensively about it too (it's in one of my newsletter's posts). At least I want to think Europe is a tad better in April than late January (dead of winter, ugh). Same as in Bologna, last time I went there I carried on pitches and cards and whatnot in hand only to find out the rights market pavilion is all about publishers buying and selling rights to one another — not artist-authors trying to woo publishers. Oh well, live and learn. That didn't stop me from grabbing some key contacts I hope to be proven useful in a relatively near future.
I've heard Bologna is opening more to middle grade comics/GNs which is my main turf rather than kidlit illustration, so I'm increasingly interested to attend -- and yes, hopefully in a participant role.
Oooh France seems fun!
I feel like I did see a good amount of graphic novels in the publisher booths at Bologna!
Aww yeah same for the cards, we just handed ours out to publishers that seemed like a good fit (if they were accepting them). Fingers crossed something comes from that in the future, but who knows 😅.
So fun and I’m so happy you were able to go this year!
How wonderful you got to go to Bologna!! I'm completely jealous! Thanks for sharing your experience. I hope to make it one day! <3 <3
I hope you do too! Make sure to plan a lot of other travel around it if you can! Now I'm wondering if there are any big faires or book conferences like it here in the US?
I'm a big cryer when it comes to creativity- so glad to hear I'm not the only one! I had so much fomo and hope to attend next year. Thanks for sharing your experience!
ha! That makes me feel better! And of course! I hope you go next year and get to experience it all and cry! 😅