Bologna: Seven popular Taiwanese illustrators and three intellectual property (IP) licensors are being featured at this year's Bologna Children's Book Fair, the world's largest international rights fair for children's literature that opened Monday. The creators are being showcased at the show's Taiwan Pavilion, which aims to expand Taiwan's reach in the global children's publishing industry, according to Theodore Huang, head of the international marketing division of the Taiwan Creative Content Agency, which organized the pavilion.
According to Focus Taiwan, the seven Taiwanese illustrators include 2025 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award nominees Chang Yeou-yu and Liu Hsu-kung, as well as Ballboss, Chang Hsiao-chi, Lin Wei-ting, Dong Dong, and A-Meow. Liu expressed his excitement about participating in the children's book fair in Italy for the third time, highlighting the opportunity to engage with content creators and publishing companies from around the world.
In addition to the illustrators, three Taiwanese IP licensors are present at the Taiwan Pavilion, aiming to elevate the international visibility of Taiwan's content creators. Among them are Lee Yu-chieh, who oversees the international licensing operations of the cartoon character Takokuma, and her husband, Tsai Wei-hsin, the designer and copyright owner of Takokuma.
Takokuma, a unique blend of an octopus and a bear, is the central character in an animated series and storybook titled "Takokuma's Adventure Story," produced by Lee. The story emphasizes themes of self-identity, friendship, and embracing differences. Lee shared that following the release of the picture book, there have been numerous international collaborations, including the launch of capsule toys featuring Takokuma in Japan.
Furthermore, special Takokuma stickers in the colors of the Italian flag were created for the illustrators' exhibition at the book fair. The Bologna Children's Book Fair will continue until Thursday.