Potter fans, cosplayers, writers grace book fair

There’s nothing like a charming boy wizard, cute caped crusaders, and prizewinning Filipino writers to turn a book expo into a bestselling event. Real life characters Harry Potter fanatics joined other giddy bookworms at the 30th Manila International Book Fair (MIBF), which was held at the SM Mall of Asia’s SMX Convention Center from September 16 to 20, 2009. Hogwarts Philippines, a group that boasts of more than 1,000 Filipino Harry Potter fans, made the last day of the MIBF memorable for the fans of J.K. Rowling’s beloved hero. They hosted a forum where members discussed both the Harry Potter books and film adaptations. They relived the most awesome scenes and recited their favorite lines.

It wasn’t just Potterphiles who lived out their fantasies. Other MIBF participants joined various cosplay (costume and play) activities throughout the five-day book fair. They showcased their creativity by dressing up as their favorite characters from books, comics, and movies. Cosplay sessions included a workshop on cosplaying, lessons on mask-making, as well as a contest on hairspray techniques. Fun page-turners Primetrade Asia Inc., which organized the event, pronounced it a rousing success, as more than 50,000 bibliophiles participated in the fair and checked out the booths of over 100 exhibitors—ranging from booksellers to computer distributors. Of course, the bookworms also bought books. This year’s most popular titles were inspirational books. Perennial crowd-pleasers such as children’s books and cookbooks also flew off the shelves. Every bookworm’s dream Special events catered to the wide range of interests of the fair’s attendees. Those with serious literary aspirations got to meet the renowned members of the Philippine PEN (Poets, Playwrights, Essayists, Novelists). They talked shop with Ronald Baytan, Butch Dalisay, Marjorie Evasco, Bienvenido Lumbera, Charlson Ong, Elmer Ordonez, Nicolas Pichay, and Victor Torres. History buffs had the time of their lives with the exhibit of pioneering Filipino printer Tomas Pinpin’s Librong Pinag-aaralan nang manga Tagalog nang Uicang Castilla, the first book authored and printed by a Filipino. The exhibit was staged in anticipation of the book’s 400th anniversary in 2010. Book collectors attended workshops on the care and repair of their volumes, while techies checked out the latest offerings in information technology. Likewise, representatives from the National Library, National Museum, and National Archives talked about how they’re working to go digital. [See: RP libraries go digital despite budget, tech woes.] Lifelong readers Despite the advent of technology geared toward a “paperless society," Primetrade vice president Tinette Capistrano happily disclosed that she met some attendees who have been going to the book fair since they were young and that they’re continuing the tradition with their own children. As such, she stated that the popularity of the long-running book fair shows that “people still like reading books amidst [the abundance of gadgets and the popularity of the Web]." Indeed, books have retained their magic. - GMANews.TV