Book festival back and bigger than ever
FOR the second year running, the National Book Development Board Philippines (NBDB) is bringing together publishers, authors, artists, educators and readers at Philippine Book Festival (PBF), the country’s biggest traveling book festival.
Taking place at the World Trade Center in Pasay from April 25 to 28, the PBF is a four-day celebration showcasing the richness of Philippine literature, culture and arts. This unique book fair integrates education, entertainment, tourism and shopping into a single family-friendly event.
In addition to the extensive collection of published works and titles from the Philippines, this year’s festival offers a diverse range of talks and workshops.
Highlights include A Day with Gwy Saludes,
featuring an exclusive book-signing and meetand-greet session with the author. Historian and bestselling author Ambeth Ocampo will lead Ambeth Without the Overcoat, a book-signing session. National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricky Lee will present Trip to Quiapo, while Dahling Nick: A Tribute to National Artist Nick Joaquin will honor the renowned writer. Other sessions include Aklat Para Sa Accla: New Trends in Boys Love and Girls Love, Comics Can Change the World with Patti Ramos, and Zine-making 101,
a workshop on crafting independently-produced fanzines led by Komiket’s Bunny Luz.
Attendees can anticipate the comeback of the Rare Book Collection by the National Library of the Philippines, which will feature a new selection of rare manuscripts and facsimiles; the Book Bar, a library of sorts filled with award-winning books; Cosplay Filipiniana, a cosplay competition allowing fans to portray their beloved Philippine literary characters; and Guhit Pambata, an exhibit highlighting the creations of some of our best children’s book illustrators.
This year, the PBF will launch the Tabuan Food Hall, wherein guests can feast in between pages.
The festival brings back its four popular realms: Kid Lit, a land just for children; Komiks, which puts the spotlight on Pinoy komiks; Booktopia, home to an abundance of fiction and non-fiction titles; and Aral Aklat, which is devoted to textbooks and educational materials. There will be a Creators Lab, Main Stage, and Kids-at-play that highlight exciting talks, activities, and workshops more specific to the interests of readers and fans of those genres.
Panels, puppet shows, storytelling with surprise television and movie celebrities, and live performances are also scheduled throughout the fourday festival.
“This year, we have more authors and we bring together the best of Philippine content for the entire family. The country needs more reading spaces that encourage conversation, creation and collaboration. Ang Philippine Book Festival ang nagsisilbing panghikayat ng NBDB sa iba pang mga organisasyon na lumahok at makiisa sa mga programang nagtutulak sa mga Filipino na magbasa dahil ang aklat ay para sa lahat,” said NBDB executive director Charisse Aquino-tugade.
The event is longer this year to give ample time for teachers, librarians, and organizations to research the books they need for their schools. Similar to last year, NBDB is working closely with the Department of Education (Deped) to train more than 750 book evaluators and procurement officers to scope and evaluate books to purchase for public school libraries and library hubs. Evaluators from all over the country will fly in to source educational books for the students of their regions.
The fair is open to the public from 8 am to 8 pm on April 25 to 28, with no entrance fees.
More information on the Philippine Book Festival and registratuib can be found at www.philippinebookfest.com.