The Bologna sur-prize!

So we’re still processing this one…

It was just a regular April morning at Messy Press HQ… Until we were completely blown away by the news that we’d won the prestigious 2026 Bologna Prize! That’s right, Messy Press was named Children’s Publisher of the Year for Oceania at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair! As a relative newcomer, we were already flabbergasted to have been shortlisted with so many inspiring children’s publishers, so to actually win the top title was a bit surreal. Wow.

Sadly we couldn’t make it over to pick up the trophy, so plugged into the excitement via the social feeds and raised a big glass of prosecco and big bowls of pasta to celebrate Bologna-style. Thank you to everyone in Bologna who voted for this, and for seeing the potential in Messy Press and our upcoming list of books! More on that very soon. We’d love to make the big trip to Italy next year...