from 10 to 13 September 2026 in Padua

EXHIBITIONS • WORKSHOPS • MEETINGS WITH AUTHORS • READINGS • ACTIVITIES

Autori in città is a citywide cultural festival held in September across several locations in Padua. It involves independent bookshops, cultural venues, gardens and parks, which during the festival will host solo and group exhibitions, seminars and meetings for professionals, read-aloud sessions, workshops for children, book signings, and opportunities for authors and illustrators to meet the public.

Programme currently being finalised

Exhibitions around the city

Solo and group exhibitions dedicated to illustrators and the creative process behind their work, hosted in various venues and spaces throughout the city, with opening dates and times indicated.

Authors and meetings with artists

The festival’s leading figures—authors and illustrators from around the world—come together in Padua during the four days of the festival, offering a unique opportunity to ask questions and discover more about their work.

Focus / School Focus

Panel discussions, experiential workshops, seminars and meetings with authors and professionals from different fields—including teachers, psychologists and care-home staff—who use picture books as part of their work. An opportunity to introduce the public to another side of the picture book and to explore its potential as an educational tool for addressing specific topics.

Workshops for adults

Illustration and storytelling workshops for adults, led by professional authors and illustrators.

Intrecci

A new collaboration with the LETIN Research Group and Advanced Training Course in Reading and Children’s and Young Adult Literature, based at the FISPPA Department of the University of Padua. 2025 theme: Children’s literature and botany.
The section includes an introductory seminar and five public workshops for children, teachers, educators, librarians and members of the community.

Events in bookshops

Book signings with authors and illustrators, offering opportunities to meet readers, members of the public and curious visitors.

Talks and events

TALKS: authors, journalists, illustrators and cultural commentators discuss current issues and the role picture books can play as tools for understanding, storytelling and dialogue between cultures.
EVENTS: unmissable occasions for experiencing the spirit and identity of Autori in città. From guided museum tours to stop-motion screenings, from the opening event to the closing celebration: “everyone in Piazza Eremitani!”

Workshops for children and young people

Workshops held in bookshops and cultural venues throughout the city, led by authors and illustrators, during which children are invited to create and invent, either independently or together with their parents.

Adopt a publisher

Nine independent publishing houses will be presented by selected Padua bookshops through an adoption project that places their catalogues in the spotlight, giving them special space and attention during the festival and in the days leading up to it. An invitation to discover diverse catalogues, discuss bibliodiversity and strengthen collaboration between publishers and booksellers. The initiative will culminate on Sunday with a major exhibition and book market in Piazza Eremitani, featuring numerous workshops for children and book-signing sessions.

Read-aloud sessions

A space dedicated to children and adults, where authors and illustrators, accompanied by professional actors, read their books to the public.

Venues

Exhibition spaces, cultural venues throughout the city and, above all, independent bookshops that host workshops, events and readings and contribute to the identity of the festival.