At PH Book Festival, Filipino authors are the star
Sa buong Pilipinas, halos lahat ng bookstores, ‘pag pumunta ka, ‘yung mga librong sinulat ng mga Pilipino, nasa isang maliit at halos tagong section, samantalang ‘yung mga foreign authors, ‘yung mga libro nila halos sakop na ang buong bookstore, naka-display pa sa unahan at nasa mga window pa (Throughout the Philippines, at almost all the bookstores, books written by Filipinos can be found in a tiny, almost hidden section, while foreign authors take over almost the entire bookstore, with their books displayed at the front and even in the windows),” said Ricky Lee.
The National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts told the publishers, authors, illustrators, journalists, and content creators that had gathered at Pardon My French about how, when he was looking for his bestselling scriptwriting manual, “Trip to Quiapo” (considered a bible by many screenwriters), he found it lumped together with maps of the Philippines. “That happened more than once,” he said.
Lee continued, “Medyo nakakadismaya. Ganun na ‘yung scene nung panahon ko pa, nung bata pa ako, laging ganun na (It’s kinda disappointing. It’s been this way during my time, even when I was younger, it’s always been like this) … Kumbaga sa pelikula, para kaming mga extra lang. Kaya maraming salamat sa National Book Development Board (NBDB) dahil dito sa Philippine Book Festival, mga bida kami (In movie speak, it’s like we’re the extras. So thank you to the NBDB because at the Philippine Book Festival, we’re the stars).”
He added, “Nagagawan nila ng paraan na magtagpo ang Filipino authors at ang mga mambabasa. Nagagawan nila ng paraan na mapakita natin muli ‘yung hindi mapasusubaliang katotohanan na mahusay ang mga manunulat na Pilipino (They’ve made it possible for Filipino authors and readers to meet. They’ve found a way to show the indisputable fact that Filipino writers are great).”
Love letter to PH books
NBDB executive director Charisse Aquino-Tugade said, “The Philippine Book Festival (PBF) is our love letter to Philippine books—its creators and its readers, and the many stories they have told about our people. It’s also our response to our country’s reading crisis, which is largely a problem of access. The PBF creates that marketplace for quality Filipino titles, and serves as a bridge between those books and readers across the country.”
This year, PBF is happening at SM Megamall’s Megatrade Hall on March 13 to March 16. The event will bring together authors, illustrators, publishers, creators, and readers for four days of panels, launches, book signings, exhibitions, performances, and of course, book shopping.
There will be over 600 scopers from the Department of Education who will be at the festival to find Filipino books for schools and libraries in their regions.
“On the first day, we’re celebrating the Department of Education scopers. These are the people that are responsible for buying everyone’s books. We have a very nice opening for them and for everyone to celebrate,” said Aquino-Tugade.
P925 million worth of Filipino books have been purchased at previous editions of the PBF.
The festival is divided into four realms—Booktopia, where fiction and nonfiction books shine; Aral Aklat, where the spotlight is on textbooks and educational materials; Kid Lit, a space dedicated to children’s literature; and Komiks, where fans can dive into the exciting world of Pinoy komiks.
To bring the fiesta vibe, the organizers asked four artists to create visuals inspired by four Philippine festivals. In designing the character and art for Booktopia, Danielle Florendo of Baguio took inspiration from her city’s Panagbenga Festival, while Joffrey “Pepot” Atienza of Quezon designed the visuals for Aral Aklat with the Pahiyas Festival in mind. Juno Abreu was asked to create the design for Kid Lit based on the Dinagyang Festival, and for Komiks, Paul Eric Roca took cues from General Santos City’s Tuna Festival.
Packed program
Just like in previous years, attendees can expect a packed program—on the Main Stage, the Creators’ Stage, the Cinema, and Pakyawan Plaza.
Aquino-Tugade said, “We’ll have programs every hour on the hour, not just in Megatrade Hall but also at the Director’s Club. We did surveys last year and asked what people like and we tweaked our programming based on that.”
Plenty of magic happens at the PBF—onstage and off it.
“All these authors, you’d see them just walking around there. You’ll get to meet them. When you look to the left, there’s storytelling, then you look to the right, there’s a program about film. There’s just so many different things happening there. It’s very exciting.”
Florendo recalled being thrilled to meet historian, bestselling author, and Inquirer columnist Ambeth Ocampo at PBF. “That was probably one of my heart-stopping experiences at PBF.”
Edgar Calabia Samar, author of the Janus Silang series, talked about a memorable encounter he had during one of his PBF book signings. “Nagpapirma sila sa book-signing tapos sabi nila, ‘Sir, nagkakilala po kami sa pila ng book signing’ tapos mag-jowa na sila. ‘Buti pa kayo no.’ May mga ganito din na nangyayari dahil sa same interest. (A couple had me sign their books and then they said, ‘Sir, we met in line at a book signing’ and now they’re a romantic couple. ‘Lucky you.’ Things like that happen too because of shared interest.)”
Wear comfy shoes
You, too, can make your own memories at PBF.
“Bring a tote bag or your maleta because there will be a lot of book hauls, maraming discounts. Bring a pen because you’ll meet your favorite author, you can bump into them at any point in time. Bring cash, of course, and bring bottled water. Make sure you wear walking shoes,” said Aquino-Tugade.
“Bring the entire family and just be happy,” said Florendo.
And you don’t have to go just once. “It’s free, so you can be there every single day,” said Aquino-Tugade. “There’s different book launches every single day. Different authors will be there, different illustrators. So it’s good to look at the program and see which day you want to go.”
It’s an exciting year for NBDB, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in June. Aquino-Tugade said, “We’re so excited about everything. Not only are we trying to hit our own market, but we’re going outside to the international market. We are now guest of honor at the Frankfurter Buchmesse so we are bringing a delegation of more than 100 Filipino creatives to take part, to engage in rights selling, to create programming, and they’ll have a wonderful time. We have a 2,000-sq-m pavilion that the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the NBDB, and the Office of Senator Legarda are working on, along with a national stand and programs so that the world can see what we have. Aside from that, we also have another iteration of the Book Nook. We have 113 sites and now we are adding 22 more sites this year.”
The Philippine Book Festival happens at SM Megamall’s Megatrade Hall from March 13 to 16.
