5th PHL Int'l Literary Festival highlights National Book Development Month

To show that the book industry in the Philippines is alive and well and in order to celebrate National Book Development Month, the National Book Development Board (NBDB) and its partners will be holding the fifth Philippine International Literary Festival next week. Publishers, editors, literary agents, teachers, readers, and writers from the Philippines and from other Asian nations are expected to be present at the Bayanihan Center in Pasig from Nov. 12 to 14.

NBDB chair Neni Sta. Romana explained during the Nov. 4 press conference at Uno Morato that the upcoming event will be different from National Bookstore's Literary Festival in that it is wider in scope and is an industry summit.

National Book Development Month was originally slated for June, but was moved because June is usually a busy time for schools.

Sta. Romana added that this will be the first time the NBDB's partners come together for one big event, though the board has dealt with them all individually. They are the Pinoy pride movement Yabang Pinoy, all-Filipino book fair Aklatan, and reader-centric conference the Filipino ReaderCon.

ASEAN integration

Sta. Romana said that the government-recognized festival will be “the leading catalyst for building a culture of reading and the growth of the book development industry.”

“Our theme this year is 'The Pressing Issue,' which is all about publishing amid the ASEAN integration,” she said.

Some of the issues that will be addressed are sustainable book development, working book distribution models, title acquisition, and working reading programs.

All-Filipino book fair

Aklatan is spearheaded by local publisher Visprint Inc., the official seller for all books at the fair.

“Aklatan was started last year,” explained Visprint publishing manager Nida Ramirez. “It began as chikahan between local publishers when we noticed that our books weren't getting much space in commercial bookstores. We thought, 'Instead of waiting for them to highlight our books, why not highlight our own books and bring them forth to the public?'

“We believe that, to bring our books beyond the Philippines, we need to strengthen the local market, support new talents, and explore alternative infrastructures to ensure that readers have access to our books,” she added.

All the books will be sold at a 30-percent discount on that day, except those that will be launched.

Readers take the spotlight

Each day of the festival will have a different focus, with readers being able to listen to and voice their concerns on Nov. 14. The discussion will be headed by the Filipino ReaderCon.

“We started ReaderCon in 2011 because the other conventions did not focus enough on Filipino readers,” said Paolo Chikiamco, who was there in place of head organizer Honey de Peralta. “In those cons, a lot of people often complained that the Philippines is not a nation of readers. Well, you know readers—we're a shy bunch.

“We established ReaderCon as a safe space for shy readers to come out of their shells and meet fellow readers, to combat the perception that Filipinos don't read, and so as not to discriminate on what we love reading. We hope to provide the missing element in cons,” he added.

Chikiamco said that there is usually a panel about authors as readers, which serves to tear down barriers between authors and their readership and for the readers to get to know the authors more. At the festival, while still retaining the original panel, there will be another with the theme flipped will be flipped—the panel will deal with readers who are also writers, thanks to a boom in publishing online.

“The readers are taking over,” said Chikiamco. “And if you miss the third day, which is dedicated to readers, the discussions will extend to Komikon the next day, which is also in the same venue.”

Indeed, with regard to the similarities between the upcoming festival and that of National Bookstore, Chikiamco said, “There shouldn't be a competition between them unless they're happening on the same day. Why go to one only if you can go to both? These book events are like mana from heaven to a reader.”

Legal aspect

Also present at the festival is the Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society (FILCOLS). They will be spearheading a new aspect of the festival, which is the legal aspect of creating literary works. Indeed, the second day of the festival has several hours allotted to contracts counseling, in which writers may ask advice about contracts from publishers (or lack thereof). FILCOLS will also be holding their annual general meeting, as well as electing officers.

“We are a collective management organization that finally received accreditation during World Book Day in April,” said FILCOLS's Alvin Buenaventura. He explained that they also handle the secondary market aspect of books—namely, the photocopying of such, which is rampant in schools.

“Okay kami doon, but we charge a fee for that,” said a smiling Buenaventura.

“Galit po kami sa korupsyon. Our students will not follow what we say, they follow what we do. We must teach them to respect authors.” — BM, GMA News

The Philippine International Literary Festival will be held at the Bayanihan Center in Pasig from November 12 to 14.