The Philippines unveiled its theme, The imagination peoples the air, at the press conference on October 17. It will formally assume the Guest of Honour status from Italy during a handover ceremony on October 20.
Throughout the 2024 fair, the Philippines will present its vibrant literary and cultural scene, featuring over 70 Filipino authors, illustrators, and publishers. Many of these creatives will participate in talks across key stages, including the International, Art+, New Adult, and Asia stages.
Moreover, attendees can explore new and significant titles at the Philippine stand and other locations.
Additionally, after the fair, there will be a launching program titled In the air in Heidelberg and Wilhelmsfeld, a four-day event that officially signifies the Philippines’ Guest of Honour role.
Guests can find 700 Filipino titles at the various stands within the fair. Aside from the national stand there will also be four other stands dedicated to specific genres of publishing, materializing a preview of how large the display of the Philippine Pavilion will be in 2025.
The Philippines will stage the following talks at the respective stages. These talks will reflect on publishing trends and current issues in the industry today, from gender representation, trauma journalism to Netflix anime adaptations.
This bestseller chronicles the thousands of Filipinos killed by extrajudicial death squads under Rodrigo Duterte's presidency, while also telling the stories of grieving families and the author's mission to bring their voices to light.
Moderator: Karina Bolasco
José Rizal’s revolutionary novel Noli Me Tangere (1887) has long been a model for Filipino fiction. This conversation between a leading Rizal scholar and a multi-awarded fictionist explores the intersections of history and literature.
Moderator: Angelo Lacuesta
A lectures in Gender Studies at Coventry University (England), interrogates the challenges of gender politics and optics in international publishing.
Moderator: Kristian Cordero
In an increasingly globalized world, diversity and representation have become central to children’s literature and creativity is facing new priorities.
Two illustrators from the Philippines engage in a lively discussion on the issues confronting their work, and its implications for both their local markets and those that serve a global audience.
Moderator: Ani Almario
Many of the world’s top fiction writers also have roots in journalism. The intense realities they report often shape and inspire fiction that provokes and challenges. A journalist, fiction writer, and translator discuss where journalism meets storytelling.
Moderator: Dinah Roma
Advertising director, now creative director at LEGO (Denmark), shares the journey of comics art from his bestselling book Trese on to animé. The film, available in Filipino, English, and Japanese, became one of the top ten most viewed on Netflix.
Moderator: Marina Cruz Garcia
Two young Asian women behind FairyLoot and #RomanceClass share their adventures in starting and growing creative business models that are now breaking into the literary world market.
Moderator: Charisse Tugade
Rex Book Store Inc., one of the Philippines’ top educational publishers and bookstore chains, has co-sponsored the Asia Stage at the 2024 Frankfurter Buchmesse. This platform will host discussions on key trends, topics, and insights shaping the region and the world. Philippine publishers, authors, and creatives will actively contribute to these conversations, lending their voices to the dialogue.
Full information here: https://www.buchmesse.de/en/highlights/professional-programme/stages/asia-stage
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 10:00 to 11:00 | The Journey of Rex Education and the Philippine Book Publishing Industry |
| 11:00 to 12:00 | Rex Education Opening Toast & Reception |
| 12:00 to 13:00 | What Asia Reads: A Deep Dive into Trends |
| 13:00 to 14:00 | Guest Of Honor: An Asian Conversation |
| 14:00 to 15:00 | Overview Of Book Markets in Asia |
| 15:00 to 16:00 | Books And Government in Asia: Whose Narrative Is It Anyway? |
| 16:00 to 17:00 | Cross Interactions Between Asia and The West |
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 10:00 to 10:45 | Asia's Bestsellers Showcase |
| 11:30 to 12:30 | Copyright And Open Access in Asia |
| 14:00 to 15:00 | AI And Education |
| 15:00 to 16:00 | Educational Publishing and The International Student Assessment (Pisa) Ratings |
| 16:00 to 17:00 | Asia: A Vibrant Literary Market |
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 10:00 to 11:00 | Knowledge Publishing in Asia |
| 11:00 to 12:00 | How Free Is Academic Publishing in Asia? |
| 13:00 to 14:00 | Women And Publishing in Asia |
| 14:00 to 15:00 | Freedom To Publish, Freedom to Read: Banned Books in Asia |
| 15:00 to 16:00 | Translations: A One-Way Street? |
| 16:00 to 17:00 | A Conversation: Young And Indie Publishers in Asia |
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 10:00 to 11:00 | Dragon's Haunting: Fantasy And Speculative Fiction From Asia |
| 11:00 to 12:00 | Science Fiction In Asia |
| 13:00 to 14:00 | Children's Book Art And World Issues |
| 14:00 to 15:00 | Spirituality? Still A Topic? |
| 15:00 to 16:00 | Queering The Text: Queer Literature And Storytelling In Southeast Asia |
| 16:00 to 17:00 | Laughing Back: Humor & Satire in Asian Lit |
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 10:00 to 11:00 | Young, Bold, And Asian: Writers on The Rise |
| 11:00 to 12:00 | Diversity In Asian Comics |
| 13:00 to 14:00 | Can Fiction Change the World? |
| 14:00 to 15:00 | How Do Books Engender Films? |
| 15:00 to 16:00 | Performance |
The Philippine activities at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2024 will culminate with the handover ceremony, from Italy as this year’s Guest of Honour. The program will feature a cultural exchange between the two countries with an artists’ talk featuring Filipino artist Isabel roxas, whose books have been translated into various languages, and Alessandro Sanna, considered one of Italy’s leading contemporary illustrators.
The handover ceremony will include musical performances by the international award-winning musical group Philippine Madrigal Singers and Datu Rodelio “Waway” Saway, a master artist, educator, and musician from the Talaandig community in Lantapan, Bukidnon.
The Philippines will present a four-day program called In the air that will go beyond the confines of the Frankfurt Book Fair and extend to Heidelberg and Wilhelmsfeld.
In the air surveys the roles of Heidelberg and Wilhelmsfeld in Rizal’s works in more intimate detail. The program extends this examination to the concepts of home, exile, and international solidarity and how they animate the world of Filipino literature and nation.
All events are FREE to the Public.
To participate in all activities, please email PhlGoHFBM2025@gmail.com
To reserve a seat for Talking Heads, email info@talkingheads.live
Press accreditation: www.artefakt-berlin.de
Authors engage the participants in conversation and presentation of their works, marking the opening of the 4-day program.
In partnership with Verlag das Wunderhorn and the City of Heidelberg
Filipino historian Ambeth Ocampo leads a walking tour through the streets of Heidelberg, Germany, retracing the footsteps of Dr. José Rizal during his time studying ophthalmology at the University of Heidelberg.
Talking Heads stimulates collaboration and exchange between artists and scholars. It highlights the potential and connecting points Heidelberg can offer, especially for contemporary artists, and in turn, the great potential that the confrontation with new positions in contemporary art offers scholars for their research and thinking.
Reserve a seat: info@talkingheads.live
Presented by
Talking Heads e.V.
in partnership with
Völkerkundemuseum-Heidelberg
Presenting the works in progress of Joscha Steffens and Stephanie Misa as they speak about their collaborative exhibition inspired by Dr. José Rizal’s time in Heidelberg while studying ophthalmology.
In partnership with the Völkerkundemuseum-Heidelberg
Messages from stakeholders and performances of Filipino artists that officially launches the Philippines as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2025
In partnership with the Völkerkundemuseum-Heidelberg
Featuring the Philippine Madrigal Singers and indigenous musician Waway Saway and his group The Talaandig Republic.
Kalanganan is an important gathering among the Talaandig people of Bukidnon in the southern Philippines that involves playing indigenous music and instruments, weaving, chanting the Ulaging epic, and performing traditional practices.
A performance tableau set in Wilhelmsfeld depicts scenes from Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and dramatizes his correspondence with his closest friend Ferdinand Blumentritt and his family. It culminates in Pastor Karl Ullmer’s house (vicarage), where Rizal lived for three months in 1896.
Talks by German and European scholars, artists, and authors whose works focus on José Rizal. The discussions will be interwoven with captivating performances of Filipino music and poetry.
In partnership with the Municipality of Wilhelmsfeld, Church Council, and Pastoral Council of Wilhelmsfeld
