Allow me to be brutally honest: When it comes to publishing, local authors get the short end of the stick. Don’t believe me? Just check out the painfully small and ever shrinking Filipiniana section at most bookstores. It’s a real problem, and not even a particularly new one.
In order to promote local storytellers, Fully Booked has partnered with publishing press Adarna House to start their very own book fest specifically catered towards cultivating homegrown talent. Called the “Local Lit Fest,” it’ll run from Aug. 10 to 31 at the Fully Booked Branch in Bonifacio High Street.
What can you expect from the event? Aside from the usual book signings (there’ll be a signing by Becky Bravo on Aug. 10 and another one by Rin Chupeco on Aug 31) and fan meet and greets (Visprint’s biggest authors Eros Atalia, Edgar Calabia Samar, and Manix Abrera will be showing up on the 24th), the fest will be hosting comic and poetry writing workshops as well as a spoken word night.
It’s always exciting to see the start of a book gathering, but what really caught my attention is the fact that Fully Booked is taking a chance on this fest. I hope it shows that readers are finally catching up to the fact that Filipino literature is worth reading.
Featured photo courtesy of Unsplash
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