Artist's perspective of the 2,000-square-meter Philippine pavilion at the Frankfurt Book Fair from October 15 to 19, 2025.
Kathleen A. Llemit - Philstar.com
September 14, 2025 | 3:13pm
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will be sending a strong 400-plus contigent of authors, artists, creatives, illustrators and publishers who will be bringing 500 titles with them when the country will be participating as the guest-of-honor at the annual Frankfurt Book Fair (Frankfurter Buchmesse).
The Philippines was named as guest-of-honor at the largest and oldest international publishing event, which has been around for over 500 years.
The country has been participating at the centuries-old international book fair since 1998 and yearly since 2014, but it will be the first time that the Philippines has been invited as a guest-of-honor.
As a milestone participant, the Philippine pavilion will occupy a 2,000-square-meter space during the five-day fair, from October 15 to 19, in Frankfurt, Germany.
The Philippine pavilion features an open communal space with modular rattan and bamboo seating curated by Patrick Flores and designed by Stanley Ruiz. Its translucent walls double as canvas for works by Gary-Ross Pastrana, Mervin Malonzo, and seminal artist David Medalla.
Bookworms and visitors can view 500 Philippine titles, as well as listen, participate and watch in over 100 talks, readings, and performances curated by Karina Bolasco. Themes include urgent global issues, including human rights, democracy, climate change, geopolitics, children’s literature, religion, race, queer stories, and more.
Notable Filipino artists and creatives, such as National Artist Virgilio Almario, will lead the Philippine delegation, which also includes notable names like Maria Ressa, Marjorie Evasco, Maria Paz Luna, Red Constantino, Patricia Evangelista, and the Philippine Madrigal singers.
Apart from the main pavilion, the Philippines will also be featured on the Philippine Stand, a central hub for business and rights negotiations featuring 52 publishers; the Asia Stage, which hosts hourly B2B talks on the Southeast Asian market; and the Comics Stand.
The Philippines' guest-of-honor activities at the Frankfurt Book Fair is spearheaded by the National Book Development Board (NBDB), the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
