Philippine Book Festival expands local publishing

NOW on its fourth year, the Philippine Book Festival (PBF) is set to return on March 12 to 15 at the Megatrade Hall in SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City. It will serve as a marketplace for all-Filipino books and published works and a shared space where publishers, writers, illustrators, readers, and educators can gather.

There will be over a hundred exhibitors bringing with them an extensive collection of books. A diverse range of talks and workshops is also lined up over the four-day event.

“Across our previous editions, we welcomed more than 120,000 attendees and generated an estimated P80 million in retail sales,” said Charisse Aquino-Tugade, executive director of the National Book Development Board (NBDB), at the festival’s press conference on Feb. 26 in Quezon City.

She emphasized the real stories behind the numbers. “Think about the child clutching a newly signed book as if it were gold, the teacher who discovers a locally produced title that fits her classroom perfectly, the small regional publisher whose books flew off the shelves,” she said.

The first day will welcome all readers alongside the Department of Education (DepEd) and its book evaluators from across the country.

The festival will organize its offerings under four signature realms within a rainforest-inspired setting. “Aral Aklat” highlights textbooks and teaching guides; “Booktopia” invites visitors to explore Filipino fiction and nonfiction; “Kid Lit” provides interactive, child-friendly books and experiences; and “Komiks” celebrates the visual richness of Filipino comics and graphic storytelling.

“These represent different audiences, different genres, under one forest — interconnected, thriving, and alive,” said Ms. Tugade.

National Artists for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricky Lee and for Literature Virgilio Almario, and prominent historian Ambeth Ocampo will be on hand to sign books alongside trade-book superstars Jonaxx and Ron Canimo, children’s literature authors Eugene Evasco and Luis Gatmaitan, and komiks legends Manix Abrera and Pol Medina. GMA Network, together with PaperKat Books, will also launch Encantadia Chronicles: Sang’gre, the first collectible book based on the Encantadia TV franchise, at PBF 2026.

The area will be divided into special nooks: Lugar Lagdaan for book signings and reader-author meetups; Bahay Ilustrador for a look into the world of visual storytellers; Gubat ng Karunungan for workshops, talks, and masterclasses; the Fiesta Stage for major programming and performances; and Umpukan for informal community conversations.

The NBDB, in cooperation with the National Library of the Philippines, will also exhibit facsimiles of Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere, Doctrina Christiana, and Fr. Manuel Blanco’s Flora de Filipinas, all rare works that anchor the festival in the Philippines’ deep literary heritage.

A highlight of the four-day run is the 43^rd National Book Awards, to be held on March 14 at the Fiesta Stage, recognizing the works of authors, illustrators, editors, translators, and publishers whose books have helped shape the country’s literary landscape.

Ms. Tugade said at the press conference that, over the last four years, the NBDB saw an increase in the number of books being published, trackable using their International Standard Book Number.

“The titles are growing, and that means that there are more people reading. We’re looking at the work of the publishers, and we’ve seen their titles expanding as well,” she said.

Another indicator of growth is the number of registrants in the publishing industry, which the NBDB reported has “seen a surge” as well.

As part of its efforts to improve readership locally, the PBF will be open to the public from March 12 to 15. For more information on the Philippine Book Festival and to register for free, visit www.philippinebookfest.com. — Brontë H. Lacsamana