A fiesta of literary finds: The Philippine Book Festival returns this weekend

The Philippine Book Festival (PBF), the country’s premier all-Filipino book festival, returns for its third edition this 2025 at the Megatrade Hall in SM Megamall, running from 13-16 March.

The highly anticipated event welcomed book lovers, authors, artists, and publishers from across the country for a four-day celebration featuring author meet-and-greets, art workshops, talks, and exhibits centered around Philippine books.

This year’s festival saw over 650 teachers from the Department of Education (DepEd) facilitate the purchase of P2.4 billion worth of books for use in DepEd schools and libraries nationwide.

National Book Development Board (NBDB) Executive Director Charisse Aquino-Tugade emphasized that this year’s focus goes beyond numbers, aiming to ensure that the books reaching students align with their needs and experiences.

“In the past few months, we have been training DepEd teachers to approach book scoping as less of a technical requirement and more of an exercise in imagination and agency,” said Aquino-Tugade.

According to the NBDB, the PBF was specifically designed to address the limited access to quality Philippine-authored titles in bookstores and classrooms. Since its launch, the festival has led to the institutional sale of hundreds of millions worth of books for DepEd schools and libraries.

This year’s PBF embraced a fiesta-style celebration, incorporating vibrant design elements from the country’s beloved festivals — Kid Lit inspired by the Dinagyang Festival, and designed by Juno Abreu, Komiks inspired by the Tuna Festival, and designed by Paul Eric Roca, Booktopia inspired by the Panagbenga Festival, and designed by Danielle Florendo, and Aral Aklat inspired by the Pahiyas Festival, and designed by Pepot Atienza.

“The PBF is that time of the year when we remind everyone working in the book industry and the education sector that it’s not too late to change the statistics and even misconceptions that have long plagued the idea of a reading Filipino, of a robust book industry, and of a readership that can easily access and is able to appreciate stories that emanate from their own culture,” Aquino-Tugade added.

The Philippine Book Festival 2025 is free of charge and runs from 13 to 16 March.