BRAW: Winners of 2026

The BolognaRagazzi Award competition at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair has announced its winners.

4,120 candidate titles from 73 countries and regions worldwide: these are the 2026 BolognaRagazzi Awards figures, marking a new record with 6.8% more titles and 13% more publishers submitted compared to the previous record set in the 2025 edition.

Winners in several categories included:

Fiction 2026

Ingrávida (Spain)

Author: Fran Pintadera

Illustrations: Raquel Catalina

Publisher: bookolia

Non-fiction 2026

أنا (Jordan)

Author: Qais Hinti

Illustrations: Esraa Hedery

Publisher: Al Salwa Publishers

Opera Prima 2026

Dove andiamo quando moriamo? (Italy)

Author: Samy Ramos

Illustrations: Samy Ramos

Publisher: Corraini Edizioni

RELATED: Bologna Illustrators Exhibition announces its winners

Toddler 2026

Río Viento (Mexico)

Author: Adolfo Córdova

Illustrations: Mariana Alcántara

Publisher: Ediciones El Naranjo

Comics – Early Reader

Casey’s Cases: The Mysterious New Girl (U.S.)

Author: Kay Healy

Illustrations: Kay Healy

Publisher: Neal Porter Books (Holiday House Publishing)

Comics – Middle Grade

Le Journal de Samuel (France)

Author: Emilie Tronche

Illustrations: Emilie Tronche

Publisher: Casterman

Comics – Young Adult 2026

Sentimental Kiss (Belgium)

Author: Camille Van Hoof

Illustrations: Camille Van Hoof

Publisher: L’employé du moi

New Horizons

Village (France)

Author: Julie Safirstein

Illustrations: Julie Safirstein

Publisher: Éditions du livre

Fables & Fairy Tales

오누이 이야기 (South Korea)

Author: Lee Uk Bae

Illustrations: Lee Uk Bae

Publisher: Sakyejul Publishing

Read more about the winners and special awards in each category on the award website.

The book “Half a Word: About Communication and Understanding Each Other” by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv received a special mention at the competition.

“The BolognaRagazzi Award is one of the most prestigious international awards for illustrated books. For us and for our publisher Видавництво Старого Лева, this is already the fourth recognition at the competition,” art studio Agrafka wrote on their Facebook page. 

“This year 4,120 submissions from 73 countries were submitted. We are sincerely thankful to the jury. Our first and deepest gratitude goes to the Armed Forces of Ukraine — thanks to them we have the possibility to live, work, and continue making books. And our warmest congratulations and gratitude to the wonderful team at The Old Lion Publishing House.”

“Half a Word” was originally published by the Old Lion Publishing House  in 2025. The book’s artistic design (concept, cover design, layout) was created by the art studio Agrafka (Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv).

The BCBF BolognaRagazzi Award (BRAW) are an international showcase for the world’s finest, most innovative picturebooks. Adjudicated by international juries made up of experts from the publishing world, the awards acknowledge excellence of graphic design, innovation, and ability to engage with young readers.

In 2018, books by Agrafka won in the non-fiction category. Agrafka first won an award in 2014 in the Opera Prima category for its debut book “Stars and Poppy Seeds.” In 2015, another book by Romanyshyn and Lesiv, “The War That Changed Rondo,” won in the New Horizons category.

RELATED: Children’s book illustration trends: 2025 Bologna Book Fair

Images: The Old Lion Publishing House, Award website

Copy editing: Joy Tataryn