Elif Shafak Confirmed for BolognaBookPlus Forging Forward Conference
BolognaBookPlus
Elif Shafak Confirmed for Forging Forward Conference
Elif Shafak has been confirmed to join the line-up of speakers at this year’s inaugural BolognaBookPlus (BBPlus), the general trade arm of the acclaimed Bologna Children’s Book Fair, taking place next week from 14-17 June.
The award-winning British-Turkish novelist will be in conversation with President of the International Publishers Association (IPA) Bodour Al Qasimi as part of Monday’s headline conference Forging Forward (14th June, 9:15- 6:00pm CEST), which will welcome over 30 speakers from 25 countries to discuss challenges facing the global industry and ideas for moving forward after the pandemic.
Speakers already confirmed for the programme include Professor Patrizio Bianchi, Minister of Public Education, Chair of Hay Festival Caroline Michel, Barbara Schuer from Penguin Random House Germany, Wattpad’s Allen Lau and Kumuriwor Alira Bushiratu from Learners Girls Foundation. Forging Forward ticket holders will also have access to six additional On Demand events and webinars including Accessibility in Publishing, a look at the significant financial and legal implications of the 2025 European Accessibility Act, and an executive round table with CEOs Hakan Rudels, Bonnier Sweden; Chantal Restivo-Alessi, HarperCollins USA; Roberto Banchik Penguin Random House Mexico, and Louise Sherwin-Stark.
Other highlights from the BolognaBookPlus programme include:
Conferences:
How to Sell Rights and Understand Licensing in Children’s Books (Tuesday 15th June, 1:30-6:15pm CEST. Full details here)
Annual Literary Translation Forum (Wednesday 16th June, 3:00- 5:00pm CEST. Full details here)
Jackets Off! a series of events dedicated to jacket design (Thursday 17th June, 3:00-6:30pm CEST. Full details here)
Reboot: Books, Business and Reading (Tuesday 15th June, 2:00- 5:30pm CEST. Full details here)
Author events:
Author Ambassador: Victoria Hislop in Conversation with Alexandra Shulman (Tuesday 15th June, 6:00pm CEST. Full details here)
Dante 700: Celebrating Dante and his Global Contemporary Greats (Wednesday 16th June, 6:30pm CEST. Full details here)
On Demand events and webinars included in Forging Forward conference pass (Full details here):
Copyright Symposium in partnership with the IPA (online now and available until end of July 2021)
State of the Nations: An Executive Roundtable (online now and available until end of July 2021)
Audio Publishing: Covid’s Impact and Moving on to Greater Growth & Success (online from 14 June and available until end of July 2021)
Accessibility in Publishing (online from 14 June and available until end of July 2021)
A Decade of Diversity in Children’s Books: The Past, Present and Future (online from 14 June and available until end of July 2021)
The Italian Book Market: facts & figures- An overview of the Italian book market in 2020 with data on production, sales, reading, import and export of rights. Produced by the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) (online from 14 June and available until end of July 2021)
BolognaBookPlus is run in partnership with AIE, The Italian Publishers’ Association, and will take place as a digital programme in 2021. For more information visit: https://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/en/about/bolognabookplus/10630.html
ENDS
About Elif Shafak
Elif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist. She writes in both Turkish and English, and has published 19 books, 12 of which are novels. Her work has been translated into 55 languages. Her latest novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and RSL Ondaatje Prize; and chosen Blackwell’s Book of the Year. Her previous novel, The Forty Rules of Love was chosen by BBC among 100 Novels that Shaped Our World. Shafak holds a PhD in political science and she has taught at various universities in Turkey, the US and the UK, including St Anne's College, Oxford University, where she is an honorary fellow.
Shafak is a Fellow and a Vice President of the Royal Society of Literature. She is a member of Weforum Global Agenda Council on Creative Economy and a founding member of ECFR (European Council on Foreign Relations). An advocate for women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights and freedom of speech, Shafak is an inspiring public speaker and twice TED Global speaker. Shafak contributes to major publications around the world and she was awarded the medal of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2017 she was chosen by Politico as one of the twelve people “who will give you a much needed lift of the heart”. Shafak has judged numerous literary prizes, most recently, the PEN Nabokov Prize and chaired the Wellcome Prize. www.elifshafak.com
About BolognaBookPlus
BolognaBookPlus is a new initiative launched by BCBF/BolognaFiere in collaboration with the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) to reach a general publishing audience via a 3 day exhibit and four conferences - among other opportunities - taking place alongside the acclaimed Bologna Children’s Book Fair June 14 – 17 2021. Working closely with the Bologna team, BolognaBookPlus is led by Jacks Thomas as Guest Director, supported by a UK team.
About Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF)
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is the world’s leading trade show dedicated to the children’s publishing and content industry, attracting 1,500 exhibitors and around 30,000 professional visitors from around 100 countries. Created in 1964, BCBF brings every year to Bologna (Italy) a unique and diverse global audience, made of publishers, agents, developers, illustrators, authors, booksellers, librarians and all the other professionals involved not only in the book but also in the multimedia and licensing businesses for children’s content.
About BolognaFiere
BolognaFiere S.p.A. is a leading European exhibition organizer with over 85 events. As a world leader in trade shows across a number of different sectors—including art, children’s publishing, cosmetics, agribusiness, construction and design—BolognaFiere has developed a cutting-edge portfolio of international exhibitions in key Russian, North American and Asian markets, including China with eight exhibitions already established.
About Associazione Italiana Editori
AIE (Associazione Italiana Editori) is the trade association of Italian publishers – and foreign ones operating in Italy – of books, journals, and digital publishing products and contents.
AIE is a member of FEP (Federation of European Publishers), IPA (International Publishers Association ) and Confindustria.
AIE represents, on a national and international level companies producing editorial content and it also constitutes an attentive and updated observatory of the reading habits, as well as of cultural and educational consumption necessary for the growth of Italy.
AIE aims at representing and safeguarding publishers, promoting professional growth, removing obstacles to the development of a modern publishing market, and fighting against illegal phenomena and lack of respect for copyrights. It also supports all concrete initiatives that contribute to the spread of the reading habit and books, to the expansion of the domestic market, and to the internationalization process of Italian businesses and culture worldwide
