From 6th to 9th of March, the 60th International Children’s Book Fair will be held in Bologna, Italy. At its 57th illustration exhibition you can also admire the works of Estonian illustrator Pamela Samel.
A total of 4,345 artists’ works from 91 countries were submitted to the competition of the fair’s illustration exhibition. The jury selected 315 illustrators for the final round of the competition. The works of 80 artists from 28 countries around the world were selected for the exhibition. In addition to Pamela Samel, illustrators Gertrud Oberg and Ulla Saar from Estonia also reached the finals of the final round.
Pamela Samel submitted illustrations to the competition from Liis Kivirand’s book “Toru” (2022), which is a work that stimulates imagination and interest in the world. It directs the child to notice the surrounding environment and to ask questions about it. The book contains witty pictures from which the child discovers many familiar things, but also some surprising ones. In 2021, the idea of the book also won the third place in the Põlvepikuraamat competition. “Toru” was also selected for the fair exhibition “The 2023 BRAW Amazing Bookshelf”, where a selection of 100 works will be displayed for professionals to discover. In addition, the book was selected as one of the 100 outstanding picture books of 2023 by dPictus, an online platform for international picture book publishers.
“I am glad that I waited one year to send the Toru book illustrations, because Liis Kivirand’s Toru book had not yet been published by the deadline of the previous competition. Now it’s even nicer to represent Estonia with these drawings at the exhibition,” said Pamela Samel.
At the end of the fair, the exhibition will travel to the cultural centers of many cities around the world for two years, with the first stops being in Japan and China.
The illustration exhibition of the Bologna International Children’s Book Fair took place for the first time in 1967. At the exhibition, you can familiarize yourself with the latest world trends in the field of children’s book illustration and explore the work of both experienced book artists and talented newcomers. This year, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair is already celebrating its 60th anniversary. The fair highlights high-quality children’s literature, including good book illustration, and has been a meeting place for children’s literature professionals and a breeding ground for new talent for decades. At the previous, 2022, Bologna International Children’s Book Fair’s 56th illustration exhibition, the works of Estonian illustrator Marja-Liisa Plats from Triinu Laan’s book “John the Skeleton’s Goings-On” could also be seen.
Illustration by Pamela Samel for Liis Kivirand´s book “Toru”
