IMAGINATION PEOPLES THE AIR: PH Brings Unique Narratives to the Biggest Global Book Fair

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Over 400 Philippine delegates—official and independent authors, illustrators, artists, creatives, and publishers—will travel to Frankfurt, filling the halls of the world’s most important book fair with a Philippine perspective rich in unique stories and imagination.

The 2,000-square-meter Philippine Guest of Honour Pavilion (PHL GOH), with the theme “The imagination peoples the air”, is a living, immersive stage brimming with Filipino creativity, rather than just a static exhibition.

Curated by Patrick Flores and designed by Stanley Ruiz, the Pavilion highlights the integrity of Philippine materials and technologies, conversing with industrial elements, and the ingenuity to repurpose and refunction. The open communal space, with modular rattan and bamboo seating, offers visitors a flexible setting to explore 500 Philippine book titles on display. The translucent walls double as a canvas for works by Gary-Ross Pastrana, Mervin Malonzo, and seminal artist David Medalla.

The PHL GOH Pavilion will feature over 100 talks, readings, and performances curated by Karina Bolasco, exploring urgent global issues, including human rights, democracy, climate change, geopolitics, children’s literature, religion, race, queer stories, and more, from the perspective of our diverse culture and multiple languages.

A distinctive element of the Philippine GOH program is that conversations end with performances that echo the topics. An example is the discussion How Do We Write About Climate Change? featuring poet Marjorie Evasco, with Maria Paz Luna and Red Constantino that ends with a performance of National Artist Ryan Cayabyab’s song Paraiso by The Philippine Madrigal Singers and Song Weavers Philippines.

Panels on human rights and democracy are extensive: Framing Stories: Art and Film Resist, Philippine Media: Struggles for Freedom, and West Philippine Sea: Ecology and Assertion, among others.

Poetry for Freedom, Justice, and Peace will run twice a day to present readings and performances as expressions of solidarity with Gaza and Ukraine, and all other struggles in the world. A Solidarity for Hope will feature National Artist Virgilio Almario, Turkish writer and President of PEN International Burhan Sönmez, and Indonesian author Ayu Utami.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa and trauma journalist Patricia Evangelista will hold talks at the Philippine GOH Pavilion, as well as central stages.

Performers span traditional and contemporary sounds: Morobeats (hip hop), violin duo Justin and Janna Texon, Kuwerdas Filipinas (symphonic rondalla), and Akayu (Kalinga music), to name a few. National Living Treasure Rosie Sula joins the world-renowned choir The Philippine Madrigal Singers and Song Weavers Philippines.

Beyond the PHL GOH Pavilion, the Philippines extends its presence at the book fair with the Philippine Stand, the Asia Stage, and the Comics Stand. The Philippine Stand serves as the central hub for business and rights negotiations, bringing together 52 major, indie and academic publishers. They will present titles under the genres of fiction, graphic novels, children’s books and young adult, nonfiction, poetry and new adult.

The Asia Stage (co-sponsored by Rex Education and FBM) hosts hourly B2B talks on the Southeast Asian market, covering topics like censorship, comics, and generative AI in universities. Across the three venues, there will be 65 sessions of talks, workshops, and discussions.

Outside the Fairgrounds: Across Germany and Beyond

The Philippines has joined the Frankfurt Book Fair since 1998 and yearly since 2014, but its Guest of Honour role brings greater visibility and demands a broad literary and cultural program across Germany and Europe.

The country partnered with leading German institutions and museums to represent Philippine art, scholarship, and exhibitions on topics such as ethnographic collections, photography, architecture, folklore, comics and graphic novels, and Rizal’s ties to Heidelberg, alongside film screenings, concerts, performances, and publications.

The offsite literary program features readings and signings by translated authors, conversations, discussions and workshops, and participation in German and Swiss literary festivals. Highlights include Jose on the Go: A Rizal Stroll with Ambeth Ocampo in Frankfurt and Booked at Zentralbibliothek: Filipino Plot Twists with writers Jose Dalisay and Beverly W. Siy.

At Romanfabrik, Komiks Live! brings graphic novels to life. In Hanau, Liwaliw at Kulturforum offers Filipino games, food, and music.

The Philippines as a Creative Hub in Asia

The Philippines enters Frankfurt with one of Asia’s fast-growing creative economies, valued at PhP 1.94 trillion in 2024—7.3 percent of Philippine GDP[1]. It covers industries such as media, digital services, advertising, publishing, music, visual arts, traditional culture, and cultural events.

While publishing’s contribution is small in terms of numbers, publishing plays a key role in visibility, opening markets for film, music, design, and tourism. In 2023, enterprises registered with the NBDB reported sales of ₱13.76 billion, an uptick from 2020’s all-time low sales of ₱4.97 billion. Central to the GOH presentation is the NBDB’s Translation Subsidy Program, which has supported the translation of 173 titles sold across languages and genres since 2024.

A Visionary and A Dream Realized

In 2015, Anvil Publishing Manager Bolasco sought Legarda’s support for a modest 60-square-meter stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Legarda later envisioned a bolder goal for the Philippines to become Guest of Honour—only the second Southeast Asian nation to do so. Legarda aligned cultural agencies, secured funding, and rallied institutions behind the cause.

Today’s Guest of Honour participation would not have been possible without the visionary leadership, dogged determination, and unrelenting passion of Senator Loren Legarda, the primary moving force of arts and culture in the Philippines. The vision is executed by PHL GOH co-directors: NBDB’s Executive Director Charisse Aquino-Tugade and NCCA’s Aurea Brigino Lopez. In support is a core team composed veteran players in publishing and creatives themselves—Bolasco, Ani Almario, Kristian Cordero, Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz, and Nida Ramirez, alongside a broad coalition of cultural workers and partners.

The PHL GOH is a project of the National Book Development Board (NBDB), the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda. The book fair will run from October 15 to 19, 2025.

For updates, visit philippinesfrankfurt2025.com and buchmesse.de.

*Interviews with the curators and key figures are welcomed and can be arranged.

[1] https://psa.gov.ph/content/philippine-creative-economy-expands-87-percent-2024-accounted-73-percent-gross-domestic