Picture books and the people behind them
Yoshitake’s books turn small, familiar puzzles into elaborate possibilities: an apple may be an apple, or it may be something rather less ordinary. The announced guests also include Belgian illustrator Leo Timmers, Norway’s Øyvind Torseter, Canadian artist Matthew Forsythe and Italian painter and illustrator Alessandro Sanna. Chinese artists A Geng and Heimi bring another set of drawing traditions and narrative voices.
The range matters in Shanghai, where the fair brings original work and international publishing into one room. A picture book can be read through its pacing, colour and page turns even before every word is translated. Talks and signings, however, each have their own arrangements; a fair ticket should not be treated as a guaranteed seat at a particular author event.
Comics and new illustration
This year’s Children’s Book Plus exhibition takes comics as its subject, assembling nearly 200 titles from Chinese and international publishers. The Golden Pinwheel exhibition presents 69 finalist illustration projects. Illustrators Avenue adds work, independent publications and objects by around 100 young creatives and studios from more than 20 cities. Those are three distinct reasons to go: the published book, the illustration sequence and the person making the next one.
Dates and admission
The fair runs 14–16 November 2025 at Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Centre (上海世博展览馆), 1099 Guozhan Road, Pudong (浦东新区国展路1099号). Online presales run 9 October–13 November, followed by sales during the fair.
Admission uses the identity document attached to the booking. Children under 1.3 metres also need their own ticket, and tickets allow a single entry. The copyright zone is reserved for professional visitors and excludes under-18s; it is separate from the public-facing fair.