International publishers attending the fair were delighted to find solidarity in their shared mission to entertain and educate children—while keeping a close eye on AI, America, and world events.
Honored to Be Here
Tauno Vahter, editor-in-chief at Tänapäev Publishers in Tallinn, Estonia, said that he was “delighted” to see that Estonia has such a prominent presence as the guest of honor at the fair. “It is expensive to do this and while I don’t necessarily think it will help us sell more Estonian books to publishers abroad—we already sell a lot—I do think that it may help Estonian illustrators get more attention for their work and get hired to work from publishers abroad.”
The sentiment was echoed by Kadri Rahusaar, managing editor of Koolibri, another publishing house from Tallinn. “I know that many of our illustrators are getting queries.” Rahusaar was especially excited to see two Koolibri titles included in the BRAW Amazing Bookshelf: Ita ja Piuks by Ulla Saar and Natuke suur by Kairi Look, illustrated by Anne Pikkov. “It was the first time this happened in the 34-year history of our publishing house. I literally started to cry when I saw them in the exhibition.”
On the subject of AI, Vahter of Tänapäev remarked that AI translation is reliable enough that he feels confident using it as a tool to assess manuscripts that have been submitted to him for translation. “I don’t rely on outside readers as often as I used to and I’m reading far more books—some from start to finish—using AI. It has become quite a useful tool. What this implies for the future may be that publishers may no longer need to submit as many sample translations to have their work given serious consideration.”
A panel on Monday titled “John the Skeleton: An International National Treasure” highlighted how the picture book John the Skeleton by Triinu Laan, illustrated by Marja-Liisa Plats, has been adapted for different markets while maintaining its core appeal. The U.S. edition was published by Yonder Books, an imprint of Restless Books, and won the 2025 Batchelder Award, given to the most outstanding children’s book originating in a language other than English.
Jennifer Alise Drew, editor at Restless Books in the U.S. who appeared via video message, said, “We were really taken with the image of Jonathan, which is such a kind of morbid image, but he is so sweet and endearing.”
Drew explained that Restless made several adaptations to better suit American audiences. “We decided to shorten the work a little bit,” Drew said. “We also were not sure that younger children could really get the allegorical way that the book is addressing death in the last story, which uses carrying out a slop bucket as an analogy, so we decided to cut the last section.”
Triinu Laan, the Estonian author, acknowledged cultural differences in children’s literature. “This was my first encounter with the American editing culture,” Laan said. “In Europe and in Estonia, our children’s literature tradition gives more space to children to think for themselves. And I like the original edition more, but I understand there are different cultures.”
Despite the alterations, Laan expressed satisfaction that the work had reached U.S. audiences. “When I wrote this book, it was very local to me. That this made it to Americans makes me happy.” She noted that she was able to convince Restless to keep one word in Estonian—the local expression that means “Linden blossom tea”—which she felt was important to convey a sense of both Estonian culture and foreignness to American children.
Stephanie Barrouillet, the panel moderator and a literary agent from Israel, highlighted the importance of translation support programs in helping the book to travel. The question of support for U.S. translations came up time and again, with publishers at the fair asking if President Trump is going to try to tax grants that pay for translation or other forms of literary labor, potentially putting a chill on the market for translations in the U.S.
Middle East Voices
Invisible Publishing, based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, is shifting its strategy toward international translations and graphic works, with plans for a complete brand redesign in 2026, according to publisher Norm Nehmetallah.
The independent press was in Bologna presenting its first graphic novel, Beirut by Barrack Zailaa Rima=. “We sold through the first two print runs, totaling 2,000 copies,” Nehmetallah said. “It’s sold into places that we’ve never [sold] before. We had a bunch of Scottish bookstores ordering books from us. It has me thinking we should do more books like this. “
Nehmetallah, who is Lebanese Canadian, is working to give his small house a stronger identity, one focused, at least in part, on Arabic translation. Invisible Publishing’s translation program has also gained momentum, having had its first book translated into Italian—the debut horror novel Tear by Erica McKean. “I get to meet the publishers here and see the book in person, which is really exciting,” Nehmetallah said.
Nehmetallah said that Bologna had provided space for several Palestinian publishers as part of its invitation program. This included Interlink Publishing, the Massachusetts-based Palestinian-owned publishing house. “Given the juncture we find ourselves in the world right now, attending book fairs like this and representing voices that don’t often get a seat at the table is vitally important,” said Harrison Williams, Interlink’s design and production director, during an interview at the fair. “When we look around this booth, we’ve got a number of publishers with Palestinians at the helm, which is very rare.”
Williams noted the stark contrast with the London Book Fair, where Palestinian representation was minimal. “As far as I recall, maybe three books on shelves were representing a Palestinian voice in all of London,” Williams said.
Among Interlink’s highlighted titles is Everything Grows in Jiddo’s Garden by Palestinian journalist and social media influencer Jeanett Matari, scheduled for release in July. The children’s book has already garnered approximately 1,500 pre-orders since the social media promotional campaign launched earlier this week, with the publisher expecting that number to reach around 28,000.
Interlink publishes across various categories, including children’s books (which comprise about 30% of their list), fiction, nonfiction, and cookbooks. He explained that of these categories, “middle grade is still a bit challenging,” and cited competitive price points as an obstacle. “As an indie publisher, how are you supposed to compete with the big ones? It’s really, really tough.” Even so, Williams said Interlink was pleased with the reception of Wondrous Journeys to Strange Lands by Sonia Nimr, translated by Marcia Lynx Qualey. “It’s an Arabic classic, so it was important to bring it to the market, and we’re gratifying to see people are enjoying it as much as we are.”
Canada Still Committed to Diversity
Margie Wolfe, publisher of Second Story Press of Toronto, Canada has been vocal about her commitment to publishing challenging and potentially controversial titles despite the difficult climate facing the industry. Asked about the threat of book bans in the U.S., Wolf said that the response from librarians has been, “If you are going to be brave [in what you publish], then we’ll try to be brave.” She added that they all said, “Sometimes we’re going to get into trouble, but it’s worth it.”
Wolfe said there was strong interest in The Fabulous Edweena by Edwin Dumon, illustrated by Melissa Cho, which is about an Indigenous cross-dressing child and based on a true story. The U.S. rights have been acquired by Scholastic. “Edwin runs the hair salon where I get my hair done. I knew he was gay, and when he said, ‘I have a story,’ I knew I had a book,” Wolfe said. Another significant upcoming release, titled Can Posters Kill?, examines “antisemitic propaganda in World War II” covering pre-war, during, and post-war periods. “My hope is that the book will serve to convey that once you’ve seen the consequences of hate, you’ll stop—we need to understand that’s for today,’ ” Wolfe said.
