'I'll Wait, Mr Panda'
Last week I went to the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy with Hodder Children's Books for the launch of my next Mr Panda title, 'I'll Wait, Mr Panda'. In this, Mr Panda's second picture book, we discover that GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT. Speaking of waiting, it's not out until January next year.
I was at the fair from Monday to Thursday morning. Lots of things happened in that very short time. Here are 15 things I won't forget.
1. Seeing the mahoosive 'I'll Wait, Mr Panda', poster.
2. Having Very Important Meetings with foreign publishers, UK booksellers and other book folk.
3. Sitting on the floor with Sang-Keun Kim and poring over his utterly amazing work.
4. Chatting philosophically for ages with Sun from Some Books about the importance of picture books.
5. Elena and I bumping into Linda Owen-Lloyd and Marcia Williams, and having dinner together.
6. Meeting lots of author and illustrator friends, and making new friends, too.
7. Emma, my publisher, giving me a Mr Panda plush (picture below)!
8. Watching a truly fascinating and thoroughly entertaining talk by Dav Pilkey at the Scholastic Reception.
9. My agent, Elizabeth Roy, giving me a Compeed plaster for a painful blister on my heel.
10. Introducing Mr Panda's US publisher to Professor Martin Salisbury at the Cambridge School of Art stand.
11. Seeing MA tutors, Marta Altés and Pam Smy, very briefly at the Cambridge School of Art stand.
12. Spilling a full glass of red wine all over the white tablecloth at a dinner with foreign publishers.
13. Spotting Mr Panda bags all over the fair.
14. Chatting with friends from Hachette (and eating Pringles and drinking Coke) in their little hideaway room behind their stand.
15. Biting into the most delicious slice of pizza I think I've ever had.
Below are some photos of my time there, in no particular order. I spent most of my time near or at the Hachette stand, so most of these photos were taken there. Yet again, I wish I had taken more photos of the stands from around the fair.
The big poster for 'I'll Wait, Mr Panda'.
Mr Panda bags could be spotted throughout the fair.
Near the entrance.
A Vespa outside my hotel.
The plane from Bologna to Gatwick.
The 'illustrators' wall' at the fair.
The Hachette stand.
The Hachette stand.
Meg McLaren's brilliant new book at the Anderson Press stand.
The Digital Cafe.
The Hodder Children's catalogues.
Little Brown's section of the Hachette stand.
Patrick McDonnell's new book at the Hachette stand.
The new book by Phil Earle (writer) and Sara Ogilvie (illustrator)
Lauren Child's new picture book.
Holding plushes by Ariane Hofmann-Maniyar.
Matty Long drawing characters from his 'Super Happy Magic Forest' on OUP's walls.
The Illustrators Exhibition. Anglia Ruskin graduate, Maisie Shearring, won the International Award for Illustration.
Cressida Cowell's final HTTYD book.
Jonathan Meres' latest Norm book.
Elise Parsley's hilarious book.
A turtle.
Barbapapa!
Another Mr Panda pic.
More posing by Mr Panda.
The entrance to the fair.
This caught my eye.
Snaps of my hotel.
A magical land awaits inside.
My hotel room.
The hotel stairs.
The hotel harp.
Beautiful architecture just outside my hotel.