My Not Quite Bologna Fair Report: meeting friends old and new

This (Ryanair's bag scales) is where it all began.

I only went to Bologna because I got a cheap ticket from Ryanair - the reason it was cheap because the return ticket left on the morning of the Bologna Fair's first day.So no fair for me. (Check out illustrator John Shelley's blog post about the Bologna fair)

But I figured the one day SCBWI Symposium was worth the trip.

Publishers of course tend to be too posh to fly Ryanair, except there was a BA strike so they were forced to travel with commoners like me or take long, long train journeys from other parts of Europe. So on the morning of my flight, Ryanair had a field day, stopping editors and publishers trying to sneak books by the ton into their cabin baggage.

Bologna Airport is one of the easiest airports to arrive in. You land, you get your bag, walk out the door, turn right and get on the bus. The bus takes you into the centre of town for ten euros. Sometimes the bus driver forgets to collect your fare. Just saying.

Last year, at the SCBWI conference in Winchester, author Meg Rossoff said once she got published, it became clear to her that she seemed to have a strange power. Everyone she met in the publishing world got pregnant. A warning to all. Indeed, waiting in the queue for baggage, I could hear small groups of publishers chatting away. Their topic? Pregnancy and maternity leave. I looked around but there was no sign of Meg.

I stayed at the I Portici hotel which had a minimalist bed ...

And a not so minimimalist shower.

It didn't beam me anywhere but one of the nozzles did fall off, mid flow.

This trip to Bologna was all by my lonesome. But Bologna is the land of serendipity.

Totally by chance, my friend Susan (above), who I first met at a previous conference 

in Bologna was one door away.

We wandered joyfully around Bologna together.

Then, another bit of serendipity.

I texted Canadian author Jan Markley to meet me at Neptune's statue at half past six. 

The rather shapely figure of Neptune cast 

an attractive shadow at the Piazza Maggiore.

I met Jan the week before in London at the Royal Festival Hall. Except Jan went to the Royal Albert Hall by mistake. So you can imagine, I wasn't hopeful. But at 6.30 sharp, there she was!

Jan Markley

Except she never got my text message. 

It was just that special Bologna vibe, pulling people together everywhere!

It was great to see SCBWI friends who I usually only see at international events.

Bridget Strevens, Kathleen Ahrens, Angela Cerrito

(based in France, Taiwan, Germany, respectively)

Linda Lodding (congrats on the book contract!), manning the brag table where SCBWI members can show their latest work

Laura Watkinson at the SCBWI Netherlands showcase. Photo by Angela Cerrito

Children's book historian and critic Leonard Marcus,

Erzsi Deak, John Shelley at the Egmont party. Photo by Elizabeth Law 

Here's a close up of the brag table at the conference (I put my book Tall Story in the foreground!)

This is the little display about British SCBWI's Undiscovered Voices

competition including a photo of this year's winners. 

The display highlighted the books that have emerged out of the UV competition.

Later at the SCBWI party, I met SCBWI Queensland RA Peter Taylor, Rhiannon Lassiter (Bad Blood) and Mary Hoffman (Stravaganza series). Thanks to John Shelley for the pic.

John Shelley manned the British SCBWI showcase

And here's are shots of the display for all who sent their stuff.

Hooray for us!

More on the symposium soon (ish)!