Several comic and illustration artists from Taiwan won recognition at the 2023 Bologna Children’s Book Fair, which kicked off March 6 in the Italian city, Taipei City-based Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) said.
According to TAICCA, Chen Wei-hsuan, Huang Liang-hsin and Pan Hsin-ping are among the 80 winning illustrators selected from 4,345 participants representing 91 countries and territories for the 57th Illustrators Exhibition, which is widely hailed as the Oscars of the industry.
Equally impressive, “Whose Sock?” by Sun Jun won the Comics-Early Reader Award. It adapts the style of an early reader narrative to the comic book format as it tells the story of a small black cat searching for the owner of a yellow sock.
In addition, “Let’s Pretend We’re Fish” by Bei Lynn, “Somewhere” by Egretllu, “Hide and Seek: The Search for the Clouded Leopard” by Page Tsou, “Unexpected” by Yang Yun-ping and Spring Wang and “Still Young Still New” by Higo Wu and Chen Pei-hsiu are among the 100 works featured in the BRAW Amazing Bookshelf exhibition.
To help the local sector expand its global reach, TAICCA and Taipei Book Fair Foundation set up the Taiwan Pavilion at the fair to showcase 238 works by 48 local publishing firms, up 40 percent from last year.
Besides holding international copyright matchmaking sessions, TAICCA also arranged for Taiwan’s award-winning illustrators to take part in BCBF workshops and book signings, the agency added.
Launched in 1963, BCBF is one of the most important international events dedicated to children’s publishing and the multimedia industry. A total of 68 local artists have been selected in the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition since 1989, according to TAICCA. (SFC-E)
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