Category: Philippines

The Philippine Book Development Board Prepares for ASEAN Integration

30/10/2014

The National Book Development Board (NBDB), the government agency mandated to develop and support the Philippine book publishing industry, is holding the 5th Philippine International Literary Festival and Book Industry Summit from 12-14 November 2014.

With the theme “The Pressing Issue: Sustainable Business amid ASEAN Integration,” the festival aims to ready the local book publishing industry in time for the integration of ASEAN countries into a single market. A book publishing industry roadmap is being prepared and during the event, the state of the Philippine book industry will be reported.

Neni Sta. Romana Cruz, NBDB Chairperson with Graciela Mendoza-Cayton, NBDB Executive Director at Frankfurt this year.

“It is important that all stakeholders in the publishing industry develop and maintain their competitive advantage, especially when they face open regional trade,” says Neni Sta. Romana Cruz, NBDB Chairperson.

NBDB has always envisioned a globally competitive book publishing industry for the Philippines. This festival promotes locally published books and talent, and provides a venue for deeper engagement among stakeholders. It will tackle many facets of book publishing, including issues that stakeholders currently face: best practices, alternative publishing models, a writer's career, rights management, and readership, among others.

Leading local and foreign industry practitioners will be present to share their experiences and insights. Among them are Eric Huang, Development Director at Made in Me, an award-winning digital agency in London specialising in children's entertainment and brand development; Linda Tan Lingard, managing partner of Yusof Gajah Lingard Literary Agency in Malaysia; Robert Henley, writer and Director at the Writing Program at Yale-NUS College in Singapore; and Noelle de Jesus, Filipino writer and editor based in Singapore.

The literary festival and book industry summit is organised by NBDB in partnership with Yabang Pinoy, Aklatan and Filipino ReaderCon.

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Frankfurt Fellow from The Philippines: Andrea Pasion-Flores

3/10/2014

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The famous Frankfurt Fellowship programme was founded in 1998 to mark the 50th anniversary of the fair, and aims to support "information exchanges and networking, while enhancing the professionalism of international publishers, editors, agents and licensing personnel." This year the programme focuses on professionals working in children's and YA book (this is the first time the programme has a 'theme'). A few other firsts are also recorded by first-time countries, Belgium, Lebanon, Serbia, the Philippines and Thailand. Applications for the programme are usually accepted from March to April of the same year.

Andrea Pasion-Flores is this year's Fellow from the Philippines. I first met Andrea at the Asian Festival of Chidlren's Content, Singapore. As a Fellow myself (2012), I was curious to know about Andrea's experience and whether she enjoyed it as much as I did. But first, a brief background information about Andrea:

Andrea Pasion-Flores is a literary agent with Jacaranda Literary Agency. The former Executive Director of the National Book Development Board of the Philippines, Andrea is known for her pioneering work introducing high-impact literary events to the country. Andrea is also a copyright lawyer and teaches English at the University of the Philippines as a member of the faculty of the Department of English and Comparative Literature.

What have you and your fellows been doing for this Fellowship programme so far?

Theses past few days we've been visiting German publishers, big and small, and taking a look at what they're doing and how they're doing it. Publishers here are doing a lot of diverse and exciting things in both print, digital, and transmedia! The German publishing scene is very exciting, with a market that seems receptive to the creativity the publishers are showing. It feels like a vibrant book market with a very deep reader base. It makes me just a wee bit jealous. :)

The 'Kids' Fellows

What do you find most beneficial of the programme and the most treasured take away from it?

For me, I see the publishers' openness to the international market as very encouraging. Obviously, for publication of titles within Germany, they look to those countries who have been known to be writing in English, such as the US, UK, Canada and Australia. However, they seem to be more open to receiving content from the rest of the world, and that's very encouraging for people like me who represent many, many authors from diverse backgrounds. Though the mentioned countries are where the usual titles come from, it seems, at the end, people still look at the quality of the story and its appropriateness for the market. In fact, many of my colleagues keep mentioning how the reading levels of German children are very high. I love it that I'm getting to know a little bit about this market while enjoying the cities were visiting: Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Munch. All these feel like a rare gift.

In all your visits, what left the most impression on you?

The quality of the illustrations is topnotch, mainly because they are unafraid to tap the talent the world is able to offer. I think there's a lot developing markets can learn from the German scene, one of which is being open to cultural and economic exchanges.
Aside from the learnings, I don't think I'll ever forget having spent close to two weeks in the company of colleagues from around the world who have been more than generous in sharing their experiences--both good and bad. It's quite refreshing, really. Aside from the great food, good company, going around Germany to visit the publishers has allowed me to also enjoy Germany.

What are you taking to Frankfurt Book Fair this year?

I'm showing in a powerpoint the diversity of authors Jacaranda has and the variety of content we represent. I am also showcasing a bit of Filipino talent by showing colleagues a Filipino graphic novel series that's a big hit over here--both commercially and critically. Jacaranda didn't represent him, but he has a very interesting story. But showing books to colleagues is going to be tough given that the people I'm with are publishing such fantastic books. Jacaranda also has a few titles we hope editors might be interested in. One such title, I have, in fact, already promised to send an editor for consideration right after the fair. I'm very happy about that--and very hopeful that something might be realised from it. I'm crossing my fingers!

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The Philippine Book Development Board Prepares for ASEAN Integration

Frankfurt Fellow from The Philippines: Andrea Pasion-Flores

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