More than 30 professionals will represent Uruguay at the Bologna Children´s Book Fair 2019

Uruguayan publishers Silvia Soler from Banda Oriental, Estefanía Canalda from Fin de Siglo and Julia Ortiz from Criatura were selected by the investment, export and country brand promotion agency, Uruguay XXI and the National Direction of Culture in Uruguay, to participate in the the Bologna Children´s Book Fair 2019, which will take place from Monday 1st to Thursday 4 April in Bologna, Italy.

Both institutions also support the participation of illustrators Cecilia Rodriguez Oddone and Sabrina Pérez and illustrator Alfredo Soderguit who are part of the prestigious exhibition of illustrators that makes the fair since 1976. There, 70 illustrators will be chosen from more than 3,000 who apply each year.

The delegation is completed with the presence of the illustrator Jorge Mato (Ca- teter), winner of the illustration prize awarded by the Institute of Visual Arts, Laura Carrasco, Juan Manuel Díaz, Natalia Cardozo, Sebastián Santana and María Concepción Algorta (Maco).

This is one of the most relevant events for publishers, authors, illustrators, literary agents, distributors, translators and other professionals working in the world of editing and publishing stories aimed at children and adolescents.

In this edition, Uruguay will have for the first time a country stand of 16 square meters that will show a diversity of proposals from illustrators and publishers. In addition to the four publishing houses that will participate in person, another 20 projects will form part of a catalogue of Uruguayan children's and young people's literature and 15 models of children's books made by Uruguayan illustrators will be exhibited at the stand.

The companies Aguaclara, Alter Ediciones, Basilisa, Amanuense, Cooparte, Carajito, Cacciatore, Ediciones Hamster, Carolina Curbelo, Nino Fernández, Alejandra Fort, Gráfica Trocadero, La Tapera Estudio, Mas Pimienta, Palermo Estudio, Penguin Random House, Genoveva Pérez Volpe, Sebastián Santana, Topito Ediciones and Zona Editorial will be part of the stand.

The Uruguayan publishing industry has a long tradition both in literature and in the written press. The maturity of the sector is reflected in the experience and commitment of its human resources, as well as in the quality of its publications and the low piracy rates registered in the country. On the other hand, Uruguay has the largest reading habit in the region and is the country with the highest number of bookstores per inhabitant in Latin America.

In the literary field, the industry has achieved the recognition of authors in the regional and international scene, who are distinguished by their literary quality, and the originality and singularity of their productions. Independent publishers and distributors in Uruguay mark the imprint in the publication and distribution of new generations of writers. Also present in the country are the main groups of the international publishing industry who, in addition to commercializing their international titles, publish Uruguayan authors.

In recent years, the market has registered a remarkable dynamism in the segment of children's and young people's literature, representing 15% of Uruguayan book sales and being considered the new boom in national literature.

The development of the industry in Uruguay is vigorous in comparison to the rest of Latin America, and places the country in first place in the publication of titles per inhabitant.

Learn more about Uruguay's publishing industry here.