Bolo Klub

The Bolo Klub is a long-term project that supports an emerging generation of picture-book artists in Switzerland. 

The path is long and sometimes difficult between the first ideas at the origin of a project and its concretisation in a publication. This is why the Bolo Klub proposes several activities by organising exchanges between peers, meetings with more experienced authors and illustrators as well networking with publishers. In short, the Bolo Klub enables the developing of an engaged and self-supportive community for the making of high-quality picture books. Join the Bolo Klub and…

… become a Bolo member

Every two years, the Bolo Klub invites to apply for the Bolo Klub Program, a program reserved for eight illustrators chosen by a jury. The Bolo members are accompanied over the course of a year by established illustrators and authors from throughout Switzerland that help them develop an illustrated book. Besides this mentorship, the Bolo Klub Program enables the Bolo members to exchange, provides networking opportunities with professionals from the publishing world, and sets deadlines for completing a book.

→ Interested? The next call for applications will be released in November 2023.

These are the eight members selected for the Bolo Klub program 2022/2023: Pilar Contreras, Anna Schmid, Marisa Zürcher, Sarah Infanger, Ariane Nicollier, Dale Forbes Molina, Cilgia Zangger, Sophie Hofmann.

The mentors are: Francesca Sanna, Johanna Schaible, Isabelle Pralong, Nadine Spengler et Katja Alves.

… or be part of the Amici

Amici can attend the Jour fixe meetings, a platform for picture book illustrators that provides room for meetings and encourages the exchange of feedback, ideas and know-how between peers. Anyone who attends can present a work in progress and receive feedback from the group. Jour fixe take place every two months approximately, each time in a different location across Switzerland’s linguistic regions, in the studio of an illustrator.

→ interested? Apply any time here by sending an email to and we will keep you informed about the dates of the Jour fixe.