Around 30,000 people are said to have flocked to the 2024 Philippine Book Festival (PBF), held from 25 to 28 April at the World Trade Center Manila in Pasay City. This number is quite heartening despite the conception of Filipinos being generally non-readers, with a survey that attests to this, and the low ranking of students on reading comprehension.

This second book fair of the National Book Development Board Philippines (NBDB), the government agency that focuses on the development of the book publishing industry, was longer and appeared to be bigger with 220 booths, 170 exhibitors and more than 100 programs and special events, bringing together publishers, authors, artists, educators, creatives, performers and readers.

While the Manila International Book Fair remains to be the Philippines’ largest and longest-running book fair, and the Malaysia-based Big Bad Wolf Books, which has been held in the country, is touted to be the world’s biggest book sale, PBF is said to be the country’s biggest traveling book festival and includes different features educational activities, entertainment, exhibits and food, with touristic thrust and targeting also families.

“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,” said NBDB executive director Charisse Aquino-Tugade prior to the opening, adding that the PBF serves as the NBDB’s way to get more people reading.

PBF is also dedicated to highlighting Philippine literature, languages, culture and content.

“We have called the PBF a ‘first -of-its-kind’ event, and it’s not just because of the lineup of activities, talks, workshops and exhibits that it comes with, but mainly because of its insistence that Philippine books and Philippine authorship are worthy of being the center of a big celebration, of a nationwide gathering where families and just about anyone can enjoy. I don’t think we have ever dedicated this much time and space to the celebration of Philippine content, and it’s about time that we start doing so. The country needs more reading spaces that encourage conversation, creation and collaboration,” Aquino-Tugade said during the opening.

A venue inspired by literary world-building

Aside from the exhibitors’ booths, the cavernous venue also had spaces to reading, meeting and having conversations.

The children’s books section had a “courtyard” strewn with bean bags in different colors for kids and parents to read and rest. The center space had rows of tables and benches for discussions, networking and negotiations.

NBDB is working with the Department of Education 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 went to PBF to look at the range of educational books for students intheir regions, which also accounted for the extended run of PBF.

The festival venue was designed graphic designer and children’s book illustrators Marc Vincent Soriano, Liza Flores, and Beth Parrocha, who created the gateways to the different sections, which organizers refer to as “realms” such as Kid Lit for children; Komiks, housing Filipino komiks, graphic literature and other products of the subculture; Booktopia, containing different kinds of books; and Aral Aklat, which was devoted to textbooks and educational materials.

Parrocha took inspiration from the four classical elements of ancient cultures for the look of the realms — water for Kid Lit; earth for Komiks; fire for Aral Aklat; and air for Booktopia. Each realm had its own color as well — pink, purple, yellow and aqua.

At the center of the venue, which could have served as the plaza, was a giant replica of opened Noli Me Tangere, the iconic novel of famous Filipino revolutionary and writer Jose Rizal, serving as background to the display of facsimile copies of the book’s manuscripts and its sequel, El Filibusterismo, which was part of the exhibit of the National Library of the Philippines (NLP).

The NLP exhibit, which started at the entrance of the festival, displayed items from its rare books collection including Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang, Pepe and Pilar Visit the City, illustrations of Rizal’s story “The Monkey and the Tortoise” and others.

Another exhibit, “Guhit Pambata,” spotlighted selected children’s book illustrations.

Other features of the festival were the Creators Lab, the Main Stage and Kids-at-Play, where different talks, activities, performances and workshops were held.

For the first time, a food and dining section, called Tabuan Food Hall, was included.

At the lobby, the Book Bar was set up, a makeshift library with books and seats where attendees could read.

Different events and highlights

PBF was jam-packed with different events and activities, aside from the sale of books from respected, established and independent publishers, cultural insitutions and bookstores.

A decline in reading

A main driver for the PBF is the desire to promote a stronger culture of reading among Filipinos, as the development of the publishing industry depends on it.

According to the results of the 2023 National Readership Survey (NRS) of NBDB, there is a significant decline in non-school book readership among Filipino adults and children. Adult readership is at 42 percent while children is at 47 percentin 2023. Cited primary reason for this decline is access to books. Awareness of public libraries is limited as well as there are constraints to visits such as time and distance.

It must be noted that, as a 2018 study by the National Library of the Philippines says, only three percent of local government units in the country have local libraries, despite the enactment of Republic Act 7743, which aims to establish congressional, city and municipal libraries, as well as barangay reading centers nationwide.

Enlisted by NBDB, the Social Weather Stations conductedthe 2023 National Readership Survey from 14 to 20 November 2023, with a sample size of 2,400 adults aged 18 and above, and 2,400 children aged eight to 17. The survey is said to be the most comprehensive examination of Filipinos’ reading habits and preferences and is expected to provide insights to guide NBDB on its initiatives.

With this data, NBDB is gearing to intensify its efforts with several programs, including PBF, and is urgingpolicymakers, educators, community leaders and stakeholders to prioritize readership and literacy initiatives, while also involving parents in efforts to make reading more accessible to all segments of the population.

The NBDB noted that, according to the survey findings, overall attitudes towards books and reading remained positive. The majority of respondents recognized the importance of books beyond educational and professional contexts. Key insights from the survey included the most popular non-school book genres among adults (the Bible) and children (picture books), the preferred reading language (Filipino for both age groups), preferred formats (printed books for both age groups), and primary considerations when selecting non-school books (availability for both age groups).

Addressing the reading crisis

During PBF, the NBDB has established the National Alliance of Reading Advocates (NARA), a network that gathers readership advocacy groups and individuals from all over the country, to collaborate on promoting readership initiatives and addressing the reading crisis.

An official launch is planned for November, but alliance had a soft launch on 26 April, during which the involved groups and individuals pledged commitment to the alliance, and Aquino-Tugade delivered the State of the Reading Nationaddress.

“There is a reading crisis — and it is high time that we all started working together to address it. We have a systemic problem when it comes to building and nurturing reading habits in our society, and so we must therefore face this with a cohesive strategy,” she said.

NARA aims to be a platform dedicated to nurturing a robust national reading culture that will mount readership campaigns through an online community (called NARA Connect) and hold regular meetings and conferences on the state of readership in the country. Other plans include supporting adaptations of Philippine literary works in different media, creating

fan-based markets, and popularizing home-grown literary characters.

“With the decline of readership in non-school books, it is high time for the NBDB to gather all advocates and like-minded people who promote readership in the country. We at the NBDB dream of a community of reading advocates who support each other,” said Daniel Mariano, chief of the NBDB’s Readership Development Division, which is responsible for the Book Nook project.

He added: “Many Filipinos love stories—be it in the form of film, TV, or literature. As reading advocates, we call on all our allies to enrich this interest in stories and use it to create a stronger national reading culture.”

The NARA soft launch also served as the alliance’s first wide-scale orientation, which was attended by representatives from UN SDSN (United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network) Youth Philippines, ASEAN Youth Organization, READ to Achieve Foundation Philippines Inc., Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation, Binhi English Literacy Foundation, Magbasa Tayo Movement, AHA! Learning Center, The Storytelling Project, Libro Mo, Kaalam Ko project, Project Pearls Inc., School Readers Club, Pinoy Reading Buddies, IBBY Philippines, Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities, Association of Progressive and Orthodox Literature and Literature Originators, Laguna Province Private Schools and Administrators Association, Inc., Rizal Library of Ateneo de Manila University, Saint Mary’s Publishing Corporation, Claretian Communication Foundations Inc., InteligentePublishing, Paper Katz, FDM Vision Care Research and Training Institute, Beyond Books Publication, 8 Letters Bookstore and Publishing, and DIWA Learning Systems Inc.