This past week, several members of our team attended the 56th annual Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy. With more than 28,000 attendees and over 250 events in four days, this world-renowned fair is the central event of the year for everyone involved in publishing children’s content.
“The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is one we look forward to attending every year because it is one of the only shows focused just on children’s content.” said Molly McNamara, Marketing Manager at Highlights International. “There’s a certain kind of energy and excitement because everyone has the same goal that we at Highlights love, which is helping children become their best selves”
Our team got the opportunity to meet our customers, agents, licensors, authors, illustrators, and teachers from all around the world. This year we showcased our new digital reading content, including Highlights Library, and new additions to our digital readers collections, Read with Highlights and Reading Quest. Additionally, we launched our new product, Hello Library, a reading box set created to introduce reading to babies and toddlers. This box set is comprised of 24 books and corresponding expert videos, as well as a parent guide that gives tips and activities for parents to do with while reading to their baby. “Anything we can do to encourage a love of reading from a young age is important, so we were happy to introduce Hello Library and see the positive reactions from our customers,” said Vandana Agrawal, our Senior Director. For a look at this new product, check it out here.
Working in person alongside our peers was a fantastic experience, one we always look forward to. Reading was a dominant theme at the fair this year, which we love to see, given our commitment to help children discover a love of reading. “As usual, being in Bologna was a great opportunity to meet with our partners in person and, of course, get to eat really great food!” said Agrawal.
Don’t forget to check out what book fairs and conferences we’re attending here, so we can meet you at the next one.
