By Mark Seavy 

A blurring of the children’s publishing and videogame categories, once starkly different businesses, was highlighted at the recent Bologna Children’s Book Fair. 

The tradeshow featured a Game Business Center dedicated to connecting publishing and videogame executives, and the growing partnership between the two businesses was clear. These collaborations create significant new licensing opportunities, with videogame companies turning to beloved books for inspiration and many publishers launching books inspired by popular gaming titles.  

Scholastic Corp., for example, is fielding a Pokémon Essentials Handbook title as well as Diary of a Roblox Pro, while YouTuber Daniel “DanTDM” Middleton has released several Minecraft-related children’s books including Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal. Bologna Game Farm, a project by Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region and the City of Bologna to promote videogame development and commercialization, was also at the show and sharing space with developers, including Studio Pizza and its Monster Chef title 

“Initially, digital products were far from the quality of book illustrations, but the quality has improved dramatically,” Elena Pasoli, Exhibition Manager at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, told Publishers Weekly. “Many illustrators familiar with books have become acquainted with the digital world, opening new business opportunities for publishers while also improving the quality of videogames.”  

Among the other publishing categories that gained favor at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair were graphic novels, which are far from new to the business but had an expanded presence at this year’s event.  

The added emphasis on graphic novels comes as demand for the format has grown significantly. In fact, the market for graphic novels is ten times larger in Italy than it was in 2014 when publisher Editrice Il Castoro published Smile, the first of American cartoonist Raina Telgemeier’s graphic novels, according to Editrice Il Castoro CEO Renata Gorgani. Telgemeier now has 15 titles, including Facing Feelings Inside the World of Raina Telgemeier, which is set to be released in October.  

Scholastic Corp., meanwhile, is marking the 20th anniversary of its Graphix imprint this year and has sold 2.5 million copies of author Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man: Big Jim Begins since the title’s release in December. Pilkey’s graphic novels have been a longtime staple for licensing both under the representation of MerryMakers and, more recently, Joester Loria Group. 

As graphic novels have grown in popularity, there has been less work required for publishers to explain the format’s appeal to potential buyers or licensing partners, Gorgani said. 

“When we first started doing graphic novels, there was a certain amount of reluctance sometimes among librarian and teachers and particularly among parents as to whether graphic novels are ‘real books,’” Scholastic CEO Peter Warwick said during a panel discussion at the book fair. That resistance diminished as graphic novels gained acceptance, he said. 

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair itself also has grown increasingly popular. Attendance at this year’s fair rose to 33,318 while the number of exhibitors reached 1,577 (up from 31,575 and 1,523, respectively, a year earlier). There were 95 countries represented at the show with 13 new participants, including Albania, Ecuador, Georgia, Iceland, North Macedonia, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand. 

The show’s Licensing Trade Fair section also added a matchmaking service as well as an Arts Licensing Area for illustrators and licensing executives. And the show marked several anniversaries this year, including the 50th for Francesco Tullio Altan’s Italian comic strip Pimpa and the 80th anniversary for Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking.