The Iloilo Mega Book Fair 2019 is set to open its Year 2 on November 8 (Friday) at the Festive Walk Mall, Megaworld Iloilo and the events will run until November 11, 2019.
This year’s theme: “Labaw sa Aton Kaugalingon” (Beyond Ourselves) highlights literature in all aspects including children’s rights, teachers and librarian education, history, heritage, film, comics, food culture, environment, and artists’ rights.
“Together, let us exchange ideas on how we can elevate and continue to promote our local literature in Western Visayas across the globe. We look forward to having you at the upcoming book fair as we tackle issues about children’s rights, teachers and librarian education, history, heritage, film, comics, food culture, environment, and artists’ rights,” said the event organizers on its Facebook post.
The four-day Mega Book Fair is a learning event and so it is packed with talks, lectures, workshop, book reading and book launching.
How IMBF started
According to the iloilomegabookfair.home.blog, the event was launched in 2018 as the biggest gathering of literary scholars, writers, cultural workers, and artists. It was supported by the Megaworld Iloilo, hence, the Iloilo Festive Walk Mall has become the Book Fair venue.
The event was realized through the initiative of groups like Hubon Manunulat, Junior Chamber International-Metro Iloilo Dinagyang, and the Kasingkasing Press
True to its intention, the maiden event held last year was a blast for it gathered West Visayan scholars in the fields of education, literary tourism, creative industry, and the arts and culture. The event opened the venue for participation, interaction, and discussion among stakeholders in the literary industry of the region.
Among the key concern that were emphasized during last year’s discussions was about the position of cultural producers in preserving West Visayan cultures within the backdrop of a developing literary tourism in the region.
Also discussed were various topics, such as; knowledge from locally produced book, the rich publication history of Western Visayas, and the emerging art culture in Iloilo City as the regional center of Western Visayas.
The 2nd Mega Book Fair
The 2nd Iloilo Mega Book Fair will further enrich the gains of the first event and it is anticipated to become a much more bigger event considering the number of participants who has confirmed to attend. For this year, the event has earned the partnership of the Iloilo City Tourism and Development Office, Iloilo City Public Library, and Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU). It is jointly presented by Festive Walk Mall Iloilo, Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art, Hubon Manunulat, Book Latte and Kasingkasing Press.