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Quirky Kid’s The Best of Friends® was selected for the Hello! from Australia exhibition and catalogue at the 2015 Bologna Children’s Book Fair, placing the emerging program alongside a curated selection of Australian children’s publishing.
The 2015 exhibition selected illustrations from 32 books submitted by 24 Australian publishers. The Best of Friends® was included ahead of its wider release, giving Quirky Kid an early international platform for its publishing work.
The 52nd Bologna Children’s Book Fair opened on 30 March 2015 and brought together publishers, agents, illustrators and other children’s publishing professionals from around the world.
Australian publishing on an international stage
Hello! from Australia was developed to showcase Australian children’s books internationally, support rights and publishing opportunities, connect Australian publishers with overseas industry professionals and highlight the depth of Australian illustration and publishing.
For Quirky Kid, inclusion was significant because The Best of Friends® sat at the intersection of psychology, education and publishing. The program combined child-focused psychological content with original Australian writing, illustration and design.
An early milestone for The Best of Friends®
The Best of Friends® was being developed as a structured social and emotional learning program for children, using stories, illustrations and interactive activities to support friendship, communication and emotional skills.
The Bologna selection became one of the program’s earliest external publishing milestones. It preceded a series of later recognitions, including the 2016 Australian Book Industry Innovation Award and independent evaluation through the University of Wollongong.
As a major international marketplace for children’s publishing and rights, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair gave the selected Australian work meaningful exposure to an international professional audience.
From exhibition selection to a broader program
The Best of Friends® has since developed well beyond its original publishing launch. It is now part of Quirky Kid’s suite of psychologist-developed programs used in schools and psychology clinics across Australia.
The 2015 Bologna selection remains an important part of that history, marking an early moment when Quirky Kid’s approach to combining psychology with engaging publishing was presented to an international audience.
