Something is always stirring in bookland and one of the places to guess what that ‘something’ might be is Bologna. 

The seventh largest city in Italy, the magic of Bologna is, despite its’ size, it holds onto a cosy atmosphere helped by many boutiques and charming corners. Bologna is also home to the largest children’s book festival. 

I like to take public transport there and enjoy some people watching. The ideas that pop into illustrators heads from observing every day life, make it the perfect way to travel for creative cannon fodder. 

As soon as I got off the plane and started looking for the train station it was clear I wasn’t in Germany any longer. This was a small neat world, from the size of the city cars to the water glasses on tables everything was smaller. I felt tall compared to the more petite Italians as if I’d munched one of the ‘eat me’ cakes in Wonderland and shot up in height. In the hotel it was the same, a tiny wardrobe and itty bitty cookies by the kettle were definitely not from the place I’d just left. 

Stepping outside the hotel a pasta restaurant with olive coloured walls beckoned me, how could I not try spaghetti bolognese? Once inside I unexpectedly confused the waiters because the chef had just arrived and dinner menus weren’t out yet. 

I was too hurried and at 7pm way too early for dinner in Italy.Time is set at a slower, warmer, more blurry pace in Bologna compared to pünktlich Frankfurt culture.

After some confused gesturing back and forth a waiter whisked out a table cloth and lit the centrepiece candle. They agreed if I didn’t mind waiting I could have a glass of wine until they officially opened. ‘Stupendo’ I said gratefully as they poured a glass, feeling stupido. It should have been obvious they weren’t open, there was a large ‘Chiuso’ on the door. 

But I’ve found often in my life, simple mistakes have led to some of the most interesting adventures. Experiences that leave me now believing the quest for perfect is pointless, less than perfect situations and people are more interesting. An accidental drop down a rabbit hole sends us to new worlds, this time a ‘peep behind the curtain’ at an Italian restaurant before the diners arrive. 

I’d never seen so many black patent shoes clacking around nor lasagnes being assembled on mass. I loved the kitchen chatter as the waiters and kitchen staff greeted each other loudly. There was a moment I thought two were arguing only to watch them both start laughing, communication being more animated and expressive than Germany. As the wine started to take effect I had an Alice “drink me” shrinking moment. Realising how little I knew about Italy made me feel suddenly small.

A waiter came to my table and offered another glass of wine, his eyes crinkled up in amusement as I accepted “Now I know you’re not from Bologna” 

“Why ?” I asked curiously. 

“Women here worry about gaining weight so they eat nearly nothing and drink only one glass of wine” the waiter explained. 

‘Okay’ I said, not knowing if this was a compliment or a warning to take it easier, until he smiled widely and added “they are so boring”. 

At 9pm two bus loads of Italian teenagers with their teachers arrived and the lasagna bulk order now made sense. As I watched the sociable and lovely kids interacting I reflected on the importance in British culture (and by default Scottish culture) of table etiquette which seemed so stifling next to the free and easy atmosphere I was witnessing. The ‘don’t speak with your mouth full’, ‘elbows off the table’ didn’t exist here. Italian kids went back and forth reaching across the table and each other, speaking and laughing loudly through it all. I could get used to this I thought. 

The next morning I learned why Italian taxi drivers have rosary beads hanging from their car mirrors. After a blindingly terrifying taxi journey and a few hail Mary’s, I made it to the book festival. 

The conference everyone was most interested in was about AI and hosted by tech specialists from China. During a polished presentation about how AI ensures greater efficiency, productivity and profitability, something started stirring in the undergrowth. The audience shifted uncomfortably around, putting things into their laptop bags and slowly, little by little, they got up and left. It wasn’t that the presentation alienated the audience, more that it didn’t mean much. Even publishers I recognised from previous events were only vaguely engaged. For the Italians, and perhaps others as well, art is not about efficiency. Like eating, art is to be enjoyed. Rushing, pushing and finding short cuts isn’t enjoyable. Art is how you decorate space and that means taking up space and time to enjoy and understand what you see. The technology experts were selling a milk business to wine lovers. 

This played out with the art directors I met too. After quickly flicking through my digital portfolio they’d ask, ‘Do you paint?’ ‘‘Do you have anything more ‘raw’ more organic’ There wasn’t much interest in digital work and the featured artists for the exhibitions were not digital. 

The conferences continued with this trend. Growth areas in publishing; audio books, small independent publishing houses, picture books for adults and niche topics were all steering away from AI. Audio books are having a huge boom especially among younger audiences with Podcast generations happier to stream and listen. In the US alone audio book sales grew by double digits in 2024. In audio books the buyer wants real people reading the stories, no matter how good the AI voice is. 

While AI reshapes our work places, a polar opposite effect is happening in bookland creating an uptick in demand for authentic, less curated art and artists. I was surprised by the clauses in my current picture book contracts which stipulated no AI. Clients are quietly quitting AI to some extent because it just doesn’t ‘feel right’.  Many of my discovery conversations with clients centred on what they ‘felt’ rather than on their target audience or goal. 

Maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised by this. Decades of social media allowing society to share their inner thoughts publically, is now faced with a counter culture rejecting it and warnings of the harm it causes. If we gradually leave social media where will those communications go instead? The arts exist to make us ‘feel’ as a means to give shape and form to our collective experiences and imagination. Without social media society may find the arts the new go to. 

AI is fully involved in areas of publishing and this is clear from every conference and talk I’ve attended. Graphic designers, advertising, sales and marketing departments will use it extensively and I believe, not look back. But it seems authors and art directors are, for now, seeking real and authentic for picture books. 

We live in a beautiful world where natural uncultivated spaces of wilderness attract us most. It makes sense that same quality is sought in visual arts and literature.  We are not ready yet, to hand over a this precious unspoiled part of childhood into the hands of machines.

Laura Muncie originally from Scotland moved to Germany in 2012, and currently lives in Obertshausen, near Frankfurt. Laura trained in children’s illustration with Curtis Brown then studied and was mentored by a prestigious German illustrator. In 2021 her first picture book ‘What Love Can Do’ was published by Adelaide Books in Portuguese and English and received recognition from the Montessori network in Portugal.