A Book Fair to Remember (and Get Ready For)
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Photo taken at the Philippine Reception -- l-r: Cecilia Brainard, Ned Parfan, Butch Dalisay, Beng Dalisay
Held annually in Frankfurt Germany, the German-run FBM has roots dating back 500 years when Frankfurt was the center for sales of handwritten books. The book fair is known as the largest of its kind in the world. Unlike most book fairs, FBM focuses on sales of translation and reprint cross-media rights to promote international trade in licenses and transfer of literature.
L-r: Cecilia Brainard, Petra Hardt (German Consultant), Dimitris Tsoukatos (Greek Publisher Lemvos Editions)
The fair runs for five days in a huge area of around 400,000 square meters. There are over 7,000 exhibitors from over 100 countries, and there are around 300,000 visitors. The first three days are trade days, exclusively for publishers, literary agents, and scouts; this is when energetic buying and selling of rights occurs. The last two days are open to the public and have familiar book fair elements — book talks, book sales, and author signing. This year, there were young people cosplaying, which added to the levity of the place.
Philippine participation in FBM started in 2015, muscled primarily by Karina Bolasco, Neni Sta. Romana Cruz, and Ani Almario. Realizing the importance of Philippine participation, Karina solicited help from Senator Loren Legarda. With the senator’s support and subsequent assistance from other government agencies such as the NBDB, NCCA, DFA, and others, Philippine participation has grown. The 2024 Fair, had over 70 delegates and 70 publishers from the Philippines displaying over 700 Filipino books.
I experienced the fair from a grantee-delegate’s point of view. I’ll sum up the event with the word “energy.” There was plenty of it, at times making the fair almost frenetic; but there was also a lot of creative energy. I left tired, but inspired, with creative ideas brewing in my head.
The Philippine grantee-delegates (publishers, creatives. and writers) had been carefully vetted by the National Book Development Board (NBDB). We had to undergo training for almost six months. The NBDB had committees to help us in all aspects of our participation, from travel, understanding rights-sales and contracts, publicity, pitching, and providing opportunities to connect with publishers and other professionals in Frankfurt. This training involved numerous Zoom as well as on-site meetings.
Group photo with Patricia Evangelista, author of Some People Need Killing -- Seated l-r: Ned Parfan, Patricia Evangelista; Standing l-r: Cecilia Brainard, Neni Sta. Romana Cruz, Karina Bolasco, Stephanie Coo, Rica Bolipata Santos, Ivy Banzon Abalos (Consul General).
The Frankfurt experience was heady and exciting. This was not a place for sleepyheads. I arrived in Frankfurt midday, and by 3 p.m. that afternoon, I met other delegates and Philippine Consular officers so we could go together to the Opening Ceremony. Entrance to the huge auditorium was strict, with an invitation pass and ID required. The place was packed, the atmosphere formal. There were numerous speeches, many of them about the dangerous time we are now in with threatening autocracy.
Generally before the fair begins publisher, agents, and scouts have already done a lot of groundwork. They have prepared their materials, made appropriate connections, and scheduled appointments. Many are there for face-to-face meetings and to seal deals.
The first day started with long lines at the entrance, security checks. Inside, the numerous stands had handsome books on display, catalogues and promo materials, and people bustling from stand to stand. The succeeding days were filled with greetings, introductions, discussions and lectures, meetings, and vigorous networking. I had the good fortune to have acquired a literary agent before getting to Frankfurt, and she did all the rights selling for my books. My agent arrived with two translation offers for my work, and she left with five translation offers for my novels: Magdalena and The Newspaper Widow. That’s how briskly rights deals can occur at the FBM.
Photo taken at the Philippine Reception -- l-r: Mara Coson, Ned Parfan, Senja Pozar (Literary Agent), Cecilia Brainard, Zala Stanonik (Publisher Pivec)
The grantee-delegates had duties to fulfill: attend the Philippine Press Conference, Philippine Reception, Handover from Italy and the Philippines, as well as participate in lectures/discussions. We had to schedule one-on-one meetings with other professionals. I’m sharing my schedule for my third day to give you an idea of what went on:
· 9:30 am – meeting with my literary agent, German Consultant, and Greek Publisher;
· 9:45 – meeting with German Publisher and NBDB Official;
· 11 am – meeting with officer of LitProm;
· 1 pm – meeting with NBDB Director and Canadian Publisher;
· 2 pm – Photo shoot by the Harald Krichel Photography team with another delegate Renato Tranquilino for Wikipedia Germany;
· 3 pm – meeting with the poet Menorca Chaturverdi who wanted my advice on how to get her book published;
· 4 pm. – attended the panel discussion on Young and Indie Publishers with Michael Balili, Nic Yeo, Yasmin Arquiza, Prashant Pathak, moderated by Sarge Lacuesta;
· 5:30 pm – meeting with UK writer Gene Alcantara to talk about UK-Filipino matters;
· 7 pm – Philippine Embassy reception on board a tram with live entertainment and music;
· 9 pm – back at my hotel, wired-up from the day’s events.
The other days were less hectic, and I had the chance to visit the other Philippine stands, talk to other delegates, attend talks, and network. I was part of a lively panel that discussed “Can Fiction Change the World?” with Eliza Victoria, Khavn de la Cruz, RM Topacio as co-panelists, and Kristian Cordero as moderator.
Panelists and Moderator after the Talk on “Can Fiction Change the World?” -- l-r: Khavn de la Cruz, Eliza Victoria, RM Topacio-Aplaon, Dominador Buhain (of Rex Education), Cecilia Brainard, Kristian Cordero, Sonia Santiago
Aside from all these activities, there was something else going on that was important and which concerns next year’s fair. We grantee-delegates were aware of it and may have benefited from the extra-attention the Philippines got. Let me explain.
The FBM has a program called the Guest of Honor or GOH. In 1976, organizers of the Frankfurt Book Fair began the Guest of Honor program, meaning a country is chosen to be the focus of interest. Initially, the Guest of Honor program ran every two years, but in 1988 it became an annual event.
Indeed there is a lot of work to prepare as Guest of Honor 25. The Philippines will have a larger space; it will double the number of delegates.
This special literary program highlights a specific country via readings, arts exhibitions, public discussion panels, media programs. The Guest of Honor occupies a special exhibition hall, a huge space of around 2,300 square meters. This GOH status has many privileges. The program allows greater attention to the GOH’s literature and culture. The country’s book industry is presented to an international audience. The GOH program encourages translations from the guest country into German and other foreign languages.
Past Guest of Honors include Canada, Spain, Slovenia, and Italy. Last October, Italy handed over the GOH position to the Philippines.
In a recorded talk at the Philippine Press Conference, Senator Legarda noted that while Indonesia was the first Southeast Asian country to be Guest of Honor in 2015, ten years later, it was high time for another Southeast Asian to be given the limelight–the Philippines.
Dante Frances Ang II, Chair of the National Book Development Board echoed that sentiment: “It’s indeed time that the stories of our archipelago of over 7,000 islands be put under the limelight in the international arena.”
The Philippine’s theme as GOH in 2025 is: The Imagination Peoples the Air, a quote from Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere. (The quote in the book is: “Night favors belief, and the imagination peoples the air with specters.”)
In fact, the name of Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal has been invoked in connection with the Philippines as GOH in 2025. Rizal had lived in Berlin, and it was Berliner Buchdruckerei-Aktiengesellschaft that published Rizal’s first novel, Noli Me Tangere, in 1887. Maximo Viola funded the printing. Historian Ambeth Ocampo noted in a talk that the cost of publication was kept low because the type-setters were women.
Rizal’s second novel El Filibusterismo was published in 1891 by F. Meyer-Van Loo Press, in Ghent, Belgium. Valentin Ventura helped fund this second novel. Rizal’s two novels contributed to the downfall of Spanish colonialism in the Philippines.
Commenting on the Philippines as GOH 2025, Executive Director of the National Book Development Board Charisse Aquino-Tugarde said the Philippines “will tell the story of the Filipinos: from our rich mythological history, the nationalistic novels of Jose Rizal, the empathetic post-ecological climate stories of our contemporary fiction, down to the colonial origins of capitalism and the humanity of our growing diasporic populations.” She added, “We are excited for this new chapter of Philippine literature and culture.”
A light moment at the Philippine Reception -- l-r: Hope Sabanpan-Yu, Senja Pozar (Literary Agent, standing), Cecilia Brainard, Prashant Pathak (of Publishers Without Borders)
Karina Bolasco, who early on knew the significance of Philippine participation in this world’s largest book fair, said, “As Guest of Honor, we want to showcase the best books that historically represent a unique and singular aspect of our literature, arts and culture at different points in time. We want to help launch the foreign editions, especially German and Spanish, of our titles by bringing their authors for launches and book signings at the Frankfurt Book Fair.”
Indeed there is a lot of work to prepare as Guest of Honor 25. The Philippines will have a larger space; it will double the number of delegates. The details and logistics are mindboggling. But Filipinos can do remarkable things–imagination peoples the air–and come October 2025, the Philippines will be ready as the Guest of Honor at the 77th Frankfurt Book Fair to share our literature, culture, history, and all the fine things that the Philippines has to offer.
Photos courtesy of the author and the NBDB.
Cecilia Brainard is the author of three novels (When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, Magdalena, and The Newspaper Widow). Her Selected Short Stories was awarded a 40th National Book Award. She runs a small press, PALH (Philippine American Literary House). Her official website is ceciliabrainard.com. She is grateful that her work has been translated into Turkish, Finnish, and there are at least five forthcoming translations of her novels.