1,300 exhibitors from 66 countries, 4,879 trade visitors from all over the world were in attendance, according to the official figures for the 46th Children's Book Fair in Bologna. The fair felt a bit quieter this year, but no less full of activity. The organisers may have received last-minute cancellations from a few overseas exhibitors, but exhibitors and rights professionals were satisfied nonetheless. The 33 German-language publishers that showcased around 500 titles on the German collective stand summed it up positively. As Ina Feist from the publishing house Jacoby & Stuart put it, "In consistence with colleagues and the press, I found this year's fair much quieter than usual and the mood was clearly more restrained. […] I couldn't complain myself at all and had around 50 meetings, which were, without exception, positive and, in all likelihood, will result in various licensing agreements and co-productions."

"Paranormal romance" and books with appeal across all age groups are still seen as guaranteed to sell, and no new trends emerged in Bologna.
Digital products were also found only upon second glance, even though the potential has already been recognised, as revealed in a quick non-representative survey of exhibitors in Bologna on the importance of mobile phones for the children's and young adult book sector. After all, half of those questioned rated "mobile content/mobile communications" as "important" for the publishing sector, just as many see the mobile phone as both a marketing tool and an additional outlet for the distribution of literary content. Just under 25 per cent are planning to use mobile phone formats in the future for their children's and young adult book programmes. "It is already possible to make use of various editions of the Bible on the iPhone via our website www.die-bibel.de. And we are currently in the process of testing out this possibility for children's products, too", says Mathias Jeschke, editor at German Bible Society [Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft]. "Cartoons of about three minutes’ duration qualify and will be available starting this fall in our bookshop programme."

Experts see the digital distribution of literary content as a modern method for encouraging people to read. The youngest readers, above all, would dip into fiction on electronic devices as well, according to Klaus Willberg of the –Children’s Book Publishers Group [Arbeitsgemeinschaft von Jugendbuchverlagen , avj], in his introduction of the 2009 trend report on children's and young adult books at the Leipzig Book Fair in March. A glance further afield confirms this prognosis. In Japan, so-called cell phone novels have been a firm fixture on the literary scene since 2002. The key target group: adolescents and young adults. And in the USA too, it is (not only) kids who are using their smart phones to read. The big content providers have already responded, with Google offering a mobile version of Google Book Search since the beginning of the year. One mustn’t turn a blind eye to the issue, but the industry has struggled with this, expressed Stefanie Schnürer, programme director for books at edelkids, in summing up the attitude among German publishers.

Entirely tangible and not particularly virtual was how the illustrators – the secret stars of the children’s and young adult book fair - presented themselves in Bologna. The annual exhibition in the foyer was once again a visual attraction. Organised by the Frankfurt Book Fair and the avj, with funding from the German Federal Foreign Office, the German collective stand also featured a special focus on illustrators, alongside its international contact programme and "Quick Rights" seminar. "Creative in Germany" provided a glimpse at the work of design and illustration students at the Mainz University of Applied Sciences, while the exhibition "Illustration in Pocket Size" presented a selection of products designed by illustrators. More illustrative art from Germany was displayed on a collective stand for design colleges, among them the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg.