BCBF participants speak…

I have been attending the BCBF since 2007, either as an exhibitor or as a visitor. It has shaped my sensibilities towards picture books; it helps in rights sales as one gets an idea into global sensibilities – what makes books travel and catch a publishers interest. Our aim is to create books for our audience and if the books also have a global audience and appeal, that is wonderful. On one such visit, we collaborated with a Dutch Publisher with whom we created an imprint of the tactile books called “Dreaming Fingers” where we make braille and tactile books of the classics for eg- The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Gruffalo etc.We put the braille on it and created the illustration as touch and feel. Our Dutch Collaborator brings in partners who buys the books.

-Shobha Viswanath, Co-founder and Publishing Director Karadi Tales Company

The first time I came to BCBF was 2014 and since then have been coming here every year except the pandemic years when I attended it virtually. I get to see the best from all over the world and it is very aspirational for me as it inspires me to do the wonderful things with my books which I want to create. It makes me feel validated when people like my books. The interactions here happen beyond sales of rights, in terms of exchange of ideas and feedback. I measure my creative growth with every fair I attend. I have made lovely collaborations with illustrator for my books right sales to publishers from different countries.

-Richa Jha, Founder and Publisher, Pickle Yolk Books

This is my first time at BCBF; it’s been very intriguing in terms of sensory and visual aspects as there is great work from world over. My interest is in picture books, so have been walking around, absorbing the lovely work from the illustrator’s gallery, the silent book content and the beautiful art from South Korea and Taiwan which are simply stunning. I had some very interesting meetings and conversations.

-Bijal Vachharajani , Commissioning Editor, Pratham Books

Manoj Publications started 25 years back with graphic novels and comic books and as consumer demands changed, we ventured into children’s books in 2004. This is our 5th fair and we have formed different collaborations with many publishers across the globe and are currently exporting to 20+ countries. Our portfolio consists of 3000 books across all categories.

-Sanyam, Manoj Publications

We have been participating here since last 15 years; our collaborations here have led to our exports expanding to 75+ countries. We have been doing co-editions business in 15 foreign languages. We have got a very good response on our new range of books and have been busy selling rights.As per the buyers’ specifications, we are customising the books for the European market. We are also printing books and supplying to publishers at very competitive prices.

-Aman Chawla, Director, Dreamland Publications

We started Koral Books in 2017 for books for kids of ages 8-10 years. This is my third visit here and have been able to get a lot of business and am currently exporting to 10 + countries.

-Amit Sehdev, Koral International

We are participating for the fourth time. In earlier three shows, I felt we had to go after people and ask them to come but now things have changed and people are looking for us. The illustrators we meet at BCBF are trained specifically for children books which I feel is still not present in art courses in India. I have met and started working with few International artists. We start with a step and with the right connect work on different projects together.

-Payal Jaipuria, Associate Art Director, Wonder House Books

I have 30+ years of experience in publishing books on human sciences, art, illustrated titles and quality children’s books. I travelled a lot for international collaborations. In 2015, I opened my own organisation as an international publishing consultant,connecting publishers worldwide and in 2023 January, we have founded Acoma Book with titles on classic stories, Christmas, pop ups, picture books etc. We plan to diversify into different genres and segments.This is my 32nd year at the BCBF; in my experience the BCBF has always grown each year and more so in the last 10 years. The fair keeps innovating itself in terms of exhibitors, topics and events; it’s a meeting and learning space where we enlighten each other.

-Silvia Vassena, SILVIA VASSENA @ MILANO9 International Publishing Scouting & Consulting