Javier Zabala (León, Spain, 1962) studied at the Art Schools of Oviedo and Madrid, where he moved in 1984. Since then, he has worked as an illustrator for the most important Spanish publishing houses and with the most prestigious ones in Europe, America and Asia.
He has illustrated more than 90 books, some of which he has also written. His books have been translated into 19 languages.
Silvia Molteni was born in 1986 in Brianza, Italy. A lifelong lover of drawing and nature, she earned a degree in Biology before turning to illustration as a self-taught artist.
She held her first exhibition in 2017 in Cantù, at Spazio Libri La Cornice.
She illustrated La cura del ghiro by Antonella Capetti and Alla mia altezza by Barbara Ferraro for Edizioni Corsare. She illustrated Il viola delle violette by Valentina Pellizzoni for La Cornice Edizioni.
She has a clear fondness for greenery, water, and the hidden life of small ponds.
Born in Conselve (Padua) in 1978, Alessandra Lazzarin is an Italian illustrator. After several years as an architect, she established herself as an author and illustrator. In 2021, with Un gioco da ragazze (Orecchio Acerbo), she won the Bitritto Prize in the Children’s category and the gold medal at the Autori d’Immagini competition in the children’s publishing category. In 2022, she was selected among the best emerging illustrators who exhibited at the ILLUSTRI exhibition in the Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza.
Issa Watanabe was born in Lima, Peru. Her picture books have been translated into 20 languages. Her works have been exhibited internationally in many cities, such as New York, Berlin, Rome, Taipei, Tokyo, Washington, Madrid, Frankfurt, and Vienna.
Francesca Ballarini was born in Bologna in 1995. She studied Illustration at ISIA Urbino with Chiara Carrer. She illustrated Un enfant comme un jardin by Beatrice Masini (Éditions La Joie de Lire, 2024). The Italian edition, Bambini e Giardini (Timpetill Edizioni, 2024), was selected as a finalist for the Premio Strega Ragazze e Ragazzi 2025 in the picturebooks category. Her illustrations are part of exhibitions promoted by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair: Matite Giovani tra Illustrazione e Fumetto, Frankfurter Buchmesse 2024 and Eccellenze italiane.
Katsumi Komagata was born in 1953 in Shizuoka (Japan) and studied Graphic Design at Nippon Design Centre. After collaborating with design studios, television and communication agencies in the United States, first in Los Angeles and then in New York, he returned to Tokyo, where he founded his graphic design studio, One Stroke, in 1986. In 1990, after the birth of his daughter Ai, Katsumi Komagata created the Little Eyes series, one of his most famous and innovative works, consisting of wordless books to encourage parent-child interaction.
Born in Terni in 1984, Giulia Ceccarani graduated in Industrial Design at the Istituto Statale d’Arte and later in Scenography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome.
After taking courses at Ars in Fabula in Macerata with Simone Rea and Anna Forlari, she began illustrating and writing books for children. She holds workshops for children and adults and participates in Contemporary Art exhibitions.
Ranging from graphics to illustration, from murals to mixed media works, she always reasearches a personal and unique style made up of multiple forms.
Born in Paris in 1959, Paul Cox is a self-taught artist and graphic. In parallel to painting, he has produced children's books, posters, sets, installations, games, logos and much more. He is passionate about printing techniques, in particular lithography and silkscreen printing. In 1999, he won a prize at the Bologna Children's Book Fair for his book History of Art.
Flavia Ruotolo graduated in animated cinema at DAMS in Bologna, sure that moving images would have been her future. But after working for a few years as animator and videographer for the TV, she discovered her love for still images too. So she dedicated herself to graphics and illustration. Some of her picturebooks have been published in France, USA, Germany and the United Kingdom, for MeMo, Hélium Editions and Princeton Architectural Press.
Mario Onnis nasce in Sardegna dove frequenta il Liceo Scientifico e si laurea in Lingue. Dopo aver seguito dei corsi con Francesca Ghermandi, Carll Cneut, Roberto Innocenti e Pia Valentinis si diploma al Master Ars in Fabula. Ha pubblicato in Italia e all'estero e collabora dal 2015 con la scuola di illustrazione Ars in Fabula di Macerata.