For the first time ever, Philippine publishers are collaborating to represent the country during the 2015 Frankfurt Book Fair (Ger: Frankfurt Buchmesse). The German book fair is the world’s largest and most significant trade fair for books. Every October, publishers, literary agents, authors, illustrators, media professionals, and trade associations flock to Frankfurt for the five-day event that gathers thousands of exhibitors from over 100 countries to negotiate publishing rights and licensing. This year’s book fair will be held from October 14 to 18 at the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Among the Philippine delegation to Frankfurt are powerhouses in the local publishing industry: Abiva Publishing House, Inc., Adarna House, Anvil Publishing, Inc., Diwa Learning Systems, Inc., Lampara Publishing House, Inc. Precious Pages Corporation, Rex Group of Companies, University of Santo Tomas Publishing House. This collaboration has materialized through the advocacy and support of the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP), Philippine Educational Printers Association (PEPA), and the National Book Development Board (NBDB). With the purpose of highlighting the Philippines as the best source of content in Asia, the delegates will exhibit a wide range of content that includes literary fiction, poetry, culture and the arts, graphic novels, history and politics, cookbooks, travel literature, reportage, children’s literature, reference material and much more.
The booth will be located in the International Publishers Hall No: 4 Stand No. B88, and is positioned to garner the attention of the 10,000 accredited journalists who will be present at the event. A special reception hosted by NBDB will take place on October 15, 4PM. Exhibitors and visitors to the fair will be provided copies of the Philippine Catalogue, which features the participating publishers and other local presses that won’t be physically present at the fair.
Indonesia, the Guest of Honor (GOH) country, will be the first Southeast Asian country to take center stage at Frankfurt. The coveted position will garner the attention of the 10,000 accredited journalists who will be present at event.
Philippine participation in Frankfurt will stimulate interest in Philippine literature and culture, and encourage increased participation of Philippine publishers in subsequent international book fairs. This momentous event will foster diplomacy and cultural discourse by highlighting the Philippines on the global stage.
The Adarna House Blog 