The Polish Book Institute

We informed earlier that due to the coronavirus epidemic, the organisers of the 57^th Bologna Children's Book Fair decided to postpone the event until 4-7 May 2020. Yesterday, however, this year's edition was entirely called off.

Elena Pasoli, exhibition manager, informed the media about the organisers' decision on March 11^th: “Unfortunately, the spread of the Coronavirus epidemic both in Italy and internationally has dashed every hope of holding the Fair even on the recently announced rescheduled dates. We have therefore taken the difficult decision to wait no further and act now to enable all the professional community awaited – publishers, authors, illustrators, designers, digital content creators, agents, licensors, licensees – to rethink their plans.”

“In these days we are dealing with a genuine emergency,” said Antonio Bruzzone, general manager of BolognaFiere, “one that involves not only our country but, unfortunately, has an international dimension. The need to contain the spread of the coronavirus has made it necessary to introduce strict limits on travel between countries, thus having a significant effect on all forms of business.”