Geolette Marie Esguerra

From Manila to Frankfurt: The Philippines' Moment on the World Literary Stage

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As the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/people-culture-events/2025/10/15/the-77th-frankfurt-book-fair-opening-with-the-philippines-as-guest-of-honour-0906" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Frankfurter Buchmesse 2025</a> unfolded last week, it would be no exaggeration to describe this year’s iteration as a total Philippine takeover! With the Philippines as Guest of Honor of the 2025 book fair, our National Book Development Board’s Executive Director Charisse A. Tugade had left no stone, or page, unturned, in ensuring there would be a diversity of representation from our creative industries and content creators.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1760869686284Metro.Style Frankfurt Book Fair.jpg" style="width:800px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Philippines at the Frankfurter Buchmesse 2025</div>Fiction and Nonfiction authors, Komiks writers and graphic artists, film and visual content producers, publishers and poets, and those in the government and private sector who actively promote and market Philippine creativity—it was like a roll call could have been announced, and most anyone you could think of was present and accounted for.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1760869143599Metro.Style Frankfurt Book Fair Jeepney.jpg" style="width:800px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>A jeepney in FrankfurtWelcome to the ‘Filipinized’ Frankfurter Buchmesse 2025! And if you still needed an indicator that one was in an alternative Frankfurt Buchmesse, one had to merely visit a city center plaza to find that a colorful Filipino jeepney was parked there, being used as a meeting point and platform for particular activities. </div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1760869219999image1.jpeg" style="width:800px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Senator Loren Legarda at the Opening Ceremony</div>Here then was that window of opportunity to put Filipino creativity and imagination on the world map—to negotiate global publishing rights and translation rights, and to effect deals that would help monetize our fertile creative industries. For Senator Loren Legarda, it was the realization of a decade-long dream of having our country as the Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Guest of Honor.We have watched Japan transform its manga and anime into a vibrant industry of global proportions over the decades. We’ve observed how literary fiction will have phases of being obsessed with output from a particular country or region—like in the case of India, stretching from the time of Salman Rushdie and Amitav Ghosh, to the current love for Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai. And don’t get me started on K-Drama, and how it has spawned an industry of Korean content creators—from writers to animation artists. So why not the Philippines? Our Komiks is a vibrant example of how we could generate a stepping stone to achieve that kind of international recognition.Spread over five glorious days, our Philippine Pavilion at the Buchmesse Forum and our Philippine Stand at the International Hall were beehives of activities throughout the whole day. On the one full day I was in attendance, the day literally started at 10 am, and every hour by the hour until 7 pm. There were multiple discussions, cultural recitals, or symposiums to attend. One had to make hard decisions, as more often than not, there would be at least four Philippine-related activities happening during the same hour. <div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1760870134979image0 (1).jpeg" style="width:800px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Mookie and Sarge Lacuesta</div>For the ones who had traveled to Frankfurt, this was no picnic or junket. It was all hands on deck—acting as resource speakers, as moderator, as featured artist, or being part of a panel—and this would be a case of Press On Repeat, over the five days. I espied Mookie and Sarge Lacuesta during the October 14 Opening Ceremony, and looking at their schedule from October 15th to the 19th, there were a slew of activities with their names attached to them, for each day of the Bookfair.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1760870039539image2.jpeg" style="width:800px" id="isPasted" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/>Poetry reading during the Opening Ceremony</div>Mookie was even part of a trio of Women Poets (with Merlie Alunan and Marjorie Evasco) who took to the stage to do a reading during the Opening Ceremony. At the Philippine Pavilion the next day, she would join National Artist Virgilio Almario and Paul Acoseba Castillo in a reading, Poetry for Freedom, Justice, and Peace. With Fr. Albert Alejo and Roby Alampay, Mookie would be at Paghilom: Justice in Pursuit of Healing, a discussion on the aftermath of the Philippine drug war. And still later in the week, she would join Charisse A. Tugade and publishers Ani Rosa Almario and Andrea Pasion-Flores on a panel that would discuss Women and the Future of Publishing.Sarge had his own appearances to contend with. On October. 15, he joined Tanya Yuson for Film and Literature: Tension and Translation. He talked about his experience bringing his short story The Errand to screen, while Tanya is one of the producers behind Trese, the Filipino anime series that was avidly followed, and can still be viewed, on Netflix. And Sarge was especially excited to be joining Nick DeOcampo, Patrick Flores, and Vincent Paul-Boncour for a discussion on the Films of Mike de Leon: Visuality and Intertextuality. <div> </div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1760870272240image6 (1).jpeg" style="width:800px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Tanya Yuson and Sarge Lacuesta at their discussion on Film and LiteratureThat’s just a snapshot of what was happening during the Bookfair as seen through the prism of the Lacuestas. Ambeth Ocampo had an even more packed schedule, one that included a walking tour of Frankfurt, as seen through the eyes of Jose Rizal during his time in Germany. I loved how so many people would stop Ambeth and request a selfie with him—in this book fair, he was the rock star.</div>Danton Remoto, Miguel Syjuco, Claude Tayag, Butch and Beng Dalisay, Patricia Evangelista, Maria Ressa, Yvette Tan, Ino Manalo, Jeremy Barns, Eric Zerrudo, Kidlat Tahimik, Xandra Ramos-Padilla, Noelle Sy-Quia, Alya Honasan—I could go on and on; and you get the gist. They were all at the Frankfurter Buchmesse to proudly say, ‘We are the Philippines!’So if it’s exposure on a global platform, the Philippine Government has done its part in putting that spotlight on us. Our authors and content creators have made their presence felt, offering the ones attending the Bookfair a glittering showcase of what Filipino creativity and imagination are all about. So I can only pray that the publishing companies and artists’ representatives can strike the right deals during their negotiations, and bring home the proverbial bacon.

The Frankfurter Buchmesse 2025 saw the Philippines as its Guest of Honor, marking a significant moment for Filipino creativity and imagination on the global stage.

The Frankfurter Buchmesse 2025 saw the Philippines as its Guest of Honor, marking a significant moment for Filipino creativity and imagination on the global stage.

From Manila to Frankfurt: The Philippines' Moment on the World Literary Stage

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From Manila to Frankfurt: The Philippines' Moment on the World Literary Stage

Philip Cu Unjieng

Published Oct 19, 2025 06:41 PM PHT

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Frankfurt Book Fair

Philippines

creativity

imagination

National Book Development Board

Charisse A. Tugade

authors

Komiks

publishers

Senator Loren Legarda

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