Bologna Illustrators Exhibition announces its winners

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair has announced the winners of the 60th Bologna Illustrators Exhibition. 

A total of 20,790 works by 4,158 artists representing 95 countries and regions were submitted to the 60th Exhibition of Illustrators. Of these, 317 illustrators were selected as award finalists, including 75 winners from 31 countries, among them are Rizak Mariia (Ukraine), Babilaite Ieva (Lithuania), Máray Mariann (Hungary), Neacsu Veronica (Romania), Runde Aleksandra (Latvia), Lučanská Lucie (Czechia), and others. South Korea leads among the winning countries with nine illustrators, followed by Japan with seven and France with five.

Umeda Yoshino – Japan

Gurrutxaga Otamendi Maite – Spain

Neacsu Veronica – Romania

One of the longest-standing and most successful initiatives of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the Illustrators Exhibition was established in 1967 as a showcase for discovering new talent and has accompanied the evolution of the illustration world for decades.

Cavalcante Felipe – Brazil

Runde Aleksandra – Latvia

Lučanská Lucie – Czech Republic

Rizak Mariia – Ukraine

Babilaite Ieva – Lithuania

The Illustrators Exhibition offers unparalleled visibility for the selected artists. At the end of the fair each year, an international tour begins, bringing the works to major cultural venues in leading capitals and cities around the world over the two years that follow.

Ji Mi Ran – South Korea

As reported earlier, five Ukrainian illustrators were finalists in 2025. Maria Hayduk won the competition and was later awarded the International Illustration Award from Fundación SM. 

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Image: Book fair website

Copy editing: Ben Angel