Books published by the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House (USTPH) were featured both in exhibit and official catalogs of the National Book Development Board (NBDB) for the Frankfurter Buchmesse (FBM), the largest book trading and rights selling fair in the world, held recently in Frankfurt, Germany.

As part of the official Philippine delegation to the fair, USTPH director Benedict Parfan participated in panel discussions at the Asia Stage. He was a speaker in the session “How free is academic publishing in Asia?” with Loren Agaloos of the University of the Philippines (UP) Press, Michael Duckworth from Hong Kong University Press, and Wei-Han Yvonne Chen from National Taiwan University Press, where the panel delved into how their respective challenges are being addressed, and how they are navigating complex political landscapes. He also moderated the session “Freedom to Publish, Freedom to Read: Banned Books in Asia,” where speakers from the Philippines, Singapore, Egypt and India talked about how institutions exhibited subtle and concrete examples of censorship.

Several USTPH authors were also present in their various roles as creatives, speakers, cultural workers and publishing professionals. These included Jose Dalisay Jr., Ambeth Ocampo, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Sir Anril Tiatco Pineda, Andrea Pasion-Flores, Khavn dela Cruz, Edgar Calabia Samar, Kristian Cordero, Angelo Lacuesta, Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta and Eric Zerrudo, the executive director of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts which funded the grants for the Philippine delegates. Thomasian publishers Nida Ramirez of Avenida Books and Jun Matias of Lampara Books also represented their respective publishing houses at the fair.

Translation grants

To entice foreign publishers to pick up Philippine titles, the NBDB is providing translation grants for Filipino-authored works. Associate Professor Chuckberry J. Pascual of the UST Department of Creative Writing, also a USTPH author and member of the Philippine delegation to Frankfurt, said that we can learn from South Korea “because they were able to effectively disseminate Korean culture worldwide because of strong government support. Han Kang won the Nobel Prize because of her talent, but also because the Korean government put up the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, an agency dedicated to translating Korean literature into different languages, especially English.”

Collaborations among university presses

On the sidelines of the Asia Stage, the USTPH attended business meetings with international publishers and distributors along with delegates from the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Press and the UP Press.

Speaking on their collaborative efforts, ADMU Press director Rica Bolipata Santos, also a USTPH author, said, “There’s a tension between being faithful to our mandate as academic presses and the opportunity to share our books with a wider market. As academic presses we must continue to support our researchers and writers; engage in our specific and local contexts, enrich conversations with our work. But we must also find ways to engage with the larger world and the wider market because our interconnectedness as countries and societies remind us that we cannot make decisions and choices solely from our own contexts.”

She added, “Frankfurt Book Fair allows us to see these rich opportunities and also these very complex dynamics. The fact that the conversation happens through the written word means that we are in the sphere of thinking, philosophizing and creating.”

On the role of university presses at the fair, UP Press director Galileo Zafra stated, “Kasabay ng paglahok ng Filipinas sa Frankfurt Book Fair, lalo na sa paggayak sa FBM 2025, nagiging mas masigla at maigting ang ugnayan ng mga publisher, manunulat, manlilikha, ahensiya ng gobyerno, at iba pang bahagi ng paglilimbag ng mga aklat. Samantalahin sana natin ang pagkakataong ito para matalakay at masuri ang iba’t ibang usaping may kinalaman sa papel ng bawat sektor sa produksiyon ng karunungan — kabilang na ang pangangalaga sa karapatan ng mga manunulat at manlilikha; ang tunguhin ng paglilimbag para mag-ambag sa pag-akda ng bansa; at sa partikular na konteksto ng mga university press, ang pagtatanggol sa kalayaang akademiko (Along with the participation of the Philippines at the Frankfurter Buchmesse, especially in preparation for FBM 2025 when the Philippines will be Guest of Honor, the links between publishers, writers, creators, government agencies and other publishing professionals become stronger and more vibrant. We should take this opportunity to discuss and assess the various issues that relate to the role of each sector in knowledge production — including the support for the rights of writers and creatives; the objective of publishing in contributing to the writing of the nation; and in the particular context of university presses, the upholding of academic freedom).”

Onward to FBM 2025

Charisse Aquino-Tugade, NBDB executive director, said UST’s representation in Frankfurt is important, citing UST’s unique standing as the oldest university press in the country. She said she is hoping for a bigger participation from the university the following year. She mentioned the possibility of funding the production of facsimiles of treasured titles from the UST Archives, to be part of the national exhibit this year when Philippines will take center stage as Guest of Honor.