The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The National Book Development Board (NBDB) is set to hold the 7th annual Philippine International Literary Festival (PILF) on April 28 and 29 at the Quezon Memorial Circle’s QCX Museum, and it will have “Against Forgetting” as this year’s theme.
Through its chosen theme, the PILF is underscoring the role of creation as a person’s attempt at breaking silence, as an act of bravery against seeming futility.
This year’s festival will feature a plenary session on the theme, a workshop on literary editing, and roundtable discussions on writing, publishing, rights trading, and readership.
Among those scheduled to speak during the festival are comic artist, painter and illustrator Sonny Liew; poet and essayist Bei Ling; editor, publisher and Tu Books founder Stacy Whitman; and Claudia Kaiser, vice president for business development of the Frankfurt Book Fair.
A landmark project of the NBDB, the PILF celebrates literature and promotes best publishing practices through discourses on issues of authorship and readership shaping the local book industry.
Since its inception in 2010, the festival has become a major gathering and focal point for authors, illustrators, publishers, and lovers of literature in the Philippines and beyond.
The PILF has featured such literary luminaries and publishing experts as Chris Abani, FH Batacan, Jose Dalisay Jr., Robin Hemley, Christopher Cheng, Juliet Grames, Noelle de Jesus, David Parker, Vikas Swarup, Tim Tomlinson, Mia Alvar, Tina Narang, Okky Madasari, National Artists for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera and Virgilio S. Almario, and Pulitzer Prize winners Junot Diaz and Edward P. Jones.
For the past six years, the festival has been celebrated as a highlight of the Philippine Book Development Month, which is observed every November. For the first time, the festival will be held during the celebration of National Literature Month, which is April.
Admission is free for all PILF sessions. However, everyone is encouraged to bring book donations. Since slots are limited, please register online by sending an e-mail to litfest@nbdb.gov.ph with the subject line “SIGN ME UP FOR THE 7TH PHILIPPINE INTERNATIONAL LITERARY FESTIVAL” and the following information: full name, affiliation, and contact numbers.
For more details, visit litfestphilippines.wordpress.com.