The National Book Development Board of the Philippines (NBDB) is once again bringing together publishers, authors, educators and readers at this year’s Philippine Book Festival (PBF).
Touted as the country’s “biggest traveling book festival,” the PBF is happening at the World Trade Center in Pasay City until Sunday, April 28.
For its second edition, the book festival, that opened last April 25, is said to be bigger than last year’s. It features the rich Philippine literature, culture and arts with diverse range of talks and workshops.
There will also be panels, puppet shows, storytelling with surprise television and movie celebrities, and live performances are also scheduled throughout the four-day festival.
Aside from the extensive collection of published works and titles from the Philippines, there are several highlight activities in the past days which include the following:
- “A Day with Gwy Saludes,” – exclusive book signing and meet-and-greet session with the author
- “Ambeth Without the Overcoat” – a book signing session with historian and bestselling author Ambeth Ocampo
- “Trip to Quiapo” – Presented by National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts, Ricky Lee
- Dahling Nick: A Tribute to National Artist Nick Joaquin” – Honor the renowned writer.
- “Aklat Para Sa Accla: New Trends in Boys Love and Girls Love,” “Comics Can Change the World” with Patti Ramos
- “Zine-making 101,” – Workshop on crafting independently-produced “fanzines” led by Komiket’s Bunny Luz
Here are the events scheduled today, the day 4 of the event:
Attendees of the festival can also marvel at 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.
The PBF also launched Tabuan Food Hall, wherein guests can feast in between pages.
Aside from these, festival also returned 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.
NBDB Executive Director Charisse Aquino-Tugade said that the event is slated to be bigger this year with more authors as they aim to bring together the best of the Philippine content.
“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 Aquino-Tugade.
NBDB also aims to promote a culture of reading and develop the publishing industry in the Philippines.
“The Philippine Book Fair is a program that, on the one hand, is about celebrating Philippine culture, but on the other hand, encompasses our agency’s long-term plans: improve access for every Filipino reader, democratize distribution, and enable our publishers and authors to keep producing Philippine books,” said NBDB chair Dante Francis Ang II.
Organizers said the PBF is also longer this year to give teachers, librarians and organizations more time to research the books they need for the schools.
The NBDB is once working 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 flew to Manila to source educational books for the students of their regions.
The PBF is open to the public until 8 p.m. today, with no entrance fees. Those who wish to go to the fair can read more information on the Philippine Book Festival and register for free on its website, visit www.philippinebookfest.com. — Rosette Adel