The Notte di Fiaba Illustration Contest is back

Riva del Garda, September 2, 2026

The call for entries for the 13th edition of the Notte di Fiaba Illustration Contest is now available online. The international competition is dedicated to children’s illustration and promoted by the Notte di Fiaba Festival.

Following the success of previous editions, the contest invites illustrators to take on a new visual challenge: Don Quixote, a timeless character from world literature. The project will result in a traveling exhibition, an accompanying catalogue, and a picture book illustrated by the winner and published by Giunti Editore.

To participate, entrants are required to submit a complete storyboard based on the text provided in the call for entries, along with two final illustrations.

The projects will be evaluated by an international jury of illustrators and experts: Francesca Tancini, president of the jury and an art historian specializing in picture books, as well as coordinator of the European PiCoBoo project; award-winning illustrators Svjetlan Junaković, Matteo Gubellini and Eleonora Cumer; artistic director Chiara Tomasi; and Matteo Rapanà, director of MAG Museo Alto Garda.

The selection will reward original proposals capable of surprising, moving away from characters and visual codes already established in manga and cartoons. Particular attention will be paid to the coherence between text, target audience and stylistic language, as well as to the quality of the storyboard: rhythm, narrative continuity, and a variety of framing and compositions should effectively support the development of the story.

“We would like to evaluate images that are able to open up unexpected possibilities. What will make the difference is a personal perspective, capable of moving away from stereotypes and conveying a strong and unique visual narrative,” emphasizes Francesca Tancini, President of the Jury.

“Each illustrator can choose which moments to portray and how to interpret them. The illustrations must engage in dialogue with the text rather than simply repeat it, otherwise they become redundant,” explains Chiara Tomasi, Artistic Director of the competition.

The results will be announced in Bologna, at the Illustrators Survival Corner of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2027. The award ceremony is scheduled for the end of August at MAG Museo Alto Garda in Riva del Garda, during the Notte di Fiaba Festival. The exhibition will be inaugurated on the same occasion, and the catalogue and picture book will be presented.

The launch of the call for entries is accompanied by an illustration by Marica Maggiotti, selected from the works created during the advanced course taught by master illustrator Svjetlan Junaković in Riva del Garda the previous week.

The complete regulations and an example of a previously published picture book can be consulted on the nottedifiaba.it website and on the Contest’s social media channels.

Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on March 19, 2027.

For further information, please write to concorsonottedifiaba@gmail.com.

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Notte di Fiaba Illustration Contest

With a program that renews the pleasure of imagination every year, Notte di Fiaba has always been at the heart of summer in Riva del Garda. Since 2014, the festival has expanded to include a cultural dimension that combines art and storytelling: the Notte di Fiaba Illustration Contest, which each year offers a contemporary reinterpretation of the great classics of children’s literature – fairy tales, legends, adventure novels and mysteries.

The aim is twofold: to discover new talented illustrators and to promote high-quality picture books as a tool for children’s visual and emotional education. For many young illustrators from all over the world, it represents a unique opportunity, resulting in an illustration exhibition, an accompanying catalogue, and a picture book illustrated by the competition winner and published by Giunti Editore, the historic publishing house founded in Florence in 1956.

Supported by the Region of Trentino-Alto Adige, the Autonomous Province of Trento, and the Municipality of Riva del Garda, the competition is organized by Associazione Manifestazioni Rivane in partnership with Giunti Editore, B.I.M. del Sarca and MAG Museo Alto Garda.

The initiative is made possible thanks to the contribution and support of Garda Dolomiti, Casse Rurali Trentine, Cassa Rurale Alto Garda e Rovereto, and Cartiere del Garda.