The Bologna Children's Book Fair's decision to name Rafał Kosik — one of Poland's most commercially successful science fiction authors, with nearly two million copies sold across 14 languages — as its 2026 Author Ambassador is a deliberate statement about the relationship between speculative fiction and artificial intelligence. Kosik has been writing AI as a narrative subject for almost three decades; his appointment signals that BolognaBookPlus intends its AI Summit to be a conversation shaped by creative practitioners, not only by technologists and executives.

The Summit programme, announced on March 17 and scheduled for the morning of April 14 as part of the BolognaBookPlus professional track, reflects that ambition. The five panels span the full arc of AI's impact on publishing: from operational questions about agentic systems in editorial workflows, to strategic questions about data-driven acquisition decisions, to the ethical and legal questions around AI-generated content, author compensation, and creative rights. The presence of Regina Brooks — President of the Association of American Literary Agents and founder of Serendipity Literary Agency — on the rights panel, alongside Piero Attanasio of the Italian Publishers Association and Friederike Fuxen of dp DIGITAL, brings a practitioner's perspective to what could otherwise become an abstract policy discussion.

The leadership conversations panel is particularly notable for its composition. Paul Kelly of DK UK, Emma House of Oreham Group UK, and Mary McAveney of Abrams Books represent three distinct publishing models — illustrated reference, independent general trade, and illustrated children's — all of which face different AI pressures and opportunities. Edward Nawotka of Publishers Weekly as moderator ensures the conversation will be grounded in current trade realities rather than aspirational projections.

Summit Curator Brooke Dobson of Shimmr AI framed the event's ambition precisely: 'AI is no longer just a tool for efficiency, but a new medium for creativity and decision-making.' Whether that framing is accepted or contested by the authors, agents, and publishers in the room will be one of the most revealing indicators of where the industry's centre of gravity currently sits on the AI question.