📌 Oh, Bologna!
When a children's book fair comes to my mind quicker than a $pendy, multi-award-winning processed meat ad campaign, you know it's something special
The word “bologna/baloney” has, historically, conjured the following for me (in order of prevalence):
Jamie Kincaid’s “Oh, boloney!” catchphrase (which, in delightful sidekick fashion, later helps them solve the Angel mystery)1.
The “My Bologna Has a First Name…” Oscar Mayer jingle.
Weird Al’s “My Bologna” version of “My Sharona2.”
I saw this movie on a plane, and it did make me laugh quite a bit! The word itself and how funny it is that it’s like lasagna—but not? (Like, how in the U.S. you can say bah-lone-ya, or bah-loh-nee, but you can’t say lasahn-nee and be understood?) Which, of course, makes me think of the palindrome: “go hang a salami, i’m a lasagna hog”3
BUT…since I’ve been writing for children, another version has been slowly and steadily inching up the chart: The Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
In fact, I think it’s creeping up on #1—no mean feat! (After all, Oscar Mayer paid MILLION$ for 1980s kids like me to think of them first.)
So what *IS* Bologna (the fair)? Here’s how the organizers describe it.
“…an industry-leading event that has succeeded in bringing together a unique and diverse global audience thanks to 61 years experience. The result is the world’s premium copyright exchange hub when it comes to publishing which also extends to current multimedia and licensing businesses for children’s stories, illustration, animation and related areas.”
Nearly 32k visitors attended their trade show last year, and also last year, I got second-degree FOMO from every single one of their Instagram feeds.
Well! It turns out…maybe I haven’t (yet) gone to Bologna, but my book with illustrator John Ledda, There’s Something Odd About the Babysitter, will be there this year! Sub-right agents will shop it around to see if any international publishers could be interested! How fun to daydream of, say, a French or Korean translation someday? Could three raccoons in a trenchcoat overtake The Hoff as the biggest U.S. export to Germany? (Not likely. But that IS an impossibly high bar, after all. Could anything?)
Still! Fingers crossed / Daumen drücken / Croiser les doigts / Cruzar los dedos!
Your “our book’s going without me to Italy? Oh, Bologna!” friend,
Elayne
My posts are always free, but my focus isn't; if you found this post interesting or useful, please consider ♡' ing it so I know. Thank you!
Along with The Westing Game and The Babysitter’s Club series, I read From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler countless times in grade school.
Goodness, upon reflection, the origin song is crazy problematic.
Hmmm. If there is “author blog TMI,” perhaps honestly sharing how scattered my thoughts are is exactly that. On the other hand, I daresay you are probably not super surprised.
Yes to the Mixed-Up Files and The Westing Game (and all of Ellen Raskin and E.L. Konigsburg on repeat)! and also My Sharona/My Bologna - apparently I haven't reflected/learned the lyrics yet.
Congrats on your far flying book - hope it finds lots of takers!