Dates: 1 - 2 October 2011
On October 1 and 2 this year, the filbookfest will take place at the San Francisco Main Public Library, 100 Larkin corner Fulton St. in the Civic Center area of San Francisco.
Organized by the Literacy Initiatives International Foundation (LIIF), a nonprofit dedicated to the promotion of cultural literacy, in cooperation with the Philippine Consulate of San Francisco and the Filipino American Center of the San Francisco Public Library, Filbookfest is a free-to-the-public literacy event that will display and sell printed books and e-books of various genres for children, young adults and adults; and a variety of book-related cultural materials, including magazines, comic books, videos, music, movies, art and crafts. Non-Filipino authors who have published books about the Philippines will also be invited to participate.
The organizers envision Filbookfest to be the largest gathering of authors of Filipino heritage from various countries, outside of the Philippines. They will be networking with publishers (both Philippine- and U.S.-based), librarians, vendors, literary agents, academics and the huge multi-cultural and multi-generational community of booklovers in San Francisco. The festival’s main goal is to showcase the richness of Philippine culture through its literature, visual and culinary arts, and music. Its long-term objective is to put Filipino-authored books and other cultural materials in all public libraries in California.
The Filipino American Community in the Bay Area
The Filipino-American community is about four million-strong. In the San Francisco Bay Area alone, it is about 500,000. The community is highly educated; a large majority of first-generation immigrants are college-educated, and it is inherent in Filipino culture to emphasize a good education for their children. Unfortunately, a large segment of this demographic remains untapped by libraries and book dealers. While there is a growing number of Filipino-American authors supported by mainstream publishers and a fast growing number of self-published works, the market for these books is still small. Thus, Filbookfest intends to light the spark that will hopefully result in a vibrant partnership between libraries, vendors, publishers and authors.
The Patrons of the San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library system has almost 400,000 registered patrons, the bulk of which use the Main Library on Larkin St. The Main Library gets about 770 visits an hour, or a yearly average of 2.2 million.
About LIIF
The Literacy Initiatives International Foundation, Inc. (LIIF) is a San Francisco Bay Area-based non-profit committed to promoting cultural literacy in ethnic communities, particularly the Filipino American community.
About the Filipino American Center of the San Francisco Public Library
Opened in 1996, the Filipino American Center provides an extensive collection that highlights the Filipino American experience and features materials related to Philippine history, culture and politics. Acting as a gateway to other Filipino resources within the San Francisco Public Library system and the community at large, the Center sponsors engaging and informative programs, events and exhibitions for the public.
The two-day Filbookfest will feature:
· Vendors’ booths that will display and sell books, art, music, videos, Filipino food and other cultural materials;
· Book launches and signings
· Author talks and signings
· A poetry reading session
· Workshops on writing, publishing and marketing
· Music, Spoken Word and drama performances
· Storytelling, and arts and crafts for children
· Lectures on Filipino cuisine
· Culinary demonstrations
· Health and wellness lectures and demonstrations
· Jeopardy (game) on Filipino culture
· Two sessions of “Three Minutes,” where aspiring, unpublished writers can read three-minute excerpts of their works-in-progress
Every hour, there will also be [raffle] drawings of donated gifts. For each day of the festival, there will be a single draw for a major prize, such as plane tickets to the Philippines (still being arranged).
To encourage visitors to go to every booth, each one will be given a Filbookfest Passport that should be stamped at every booth. All completed Passports will be part of the main draw of the day.
The highlight of Filbookfest will be A Tribute to Filipino Literary Greats, featuring video clips of the honorees and authors in attendance reading excerpts from the honorees’ works.
More information here.
On October 1 and 2 this year, the filbookfest will take place at the San Francisco Main Public Library, 100 Larkin corner Fulton St. in the Civic Center area of San Francisco.
Organized by the Literacy Initiatives International Foundation (LIIF), a nonprofit dedicated to the promotion of cultural literacy, in cooperation with the Philippine Consulate of San Francisco and the Filipino American Center of the San Francisco Public Library, Filbookfest is a free-to-the-public literacy event that will display and sell printed books and e-books of various genres for children, young adults and adults; and a variety of book-related cultural materials, including magazines, comic books, videos, music, movies, art and crafts. Non-Filipino authors who have published books about the Philippines will also be invited to participate.
The organizers envision Filbookfest to be the largest gathering of authors of Filipino heritage from various countries, outside of the Philippines. They will be networking with publishers (both Philippine- and U.S.-based), librarians, vendors, literary agents, academics and the huge multi-cultural and multi-generational community of booklovers in San Francisco. The festival’s main goal is to showcase the richness of Philippine culture through its literature, visual and culinary arts, and music. Its long-term objective is to put Filipino-authored books and other cultural materials in all public libraries in California.
The Filipino American Community in the Bay Area
The Filipino-American community is about four million-strong. In the San Francisco Bay Area alone, it is about 500,000. The community is highly educated; a large majority of first-generation immigrants are college-educated, and it is inherent in Filipino culture to emphasize a good education for their children. Unfortunately, a large segment of this demographic remains untapped by libraries and book dealers. While there is a growing number of Filipino-American authors supported by mainstream publishers and a fast growing number of self-published works, the market for these books is still small. Thus, Filbookfest intends to light the spark that will hopefully result in a vibrant partnership between libraries, vendors, publishers and authors.
The Patrons of the San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library system has almost 400,000 registered patrons, the bulk of which use the Main Library on Larkin St. The Main Library gets about 770 visits an hour, or a yearly average of 2.2 million.
About LIIF
The Literacy Initiatives International Foundation, Inc. (LIIF) is a San Francisco Bay Area-based non-profit committed to promoting cultural literacy in ethnic communities, particularly the Filipino American community.
About the Filipino American Center of the San Francisco Public Library
Opened in 1996, the Filipino American Center provides an extensive collection that highlights the Filipino American experience and features materials related to Philippine history, culture and politics. Acting as a gateway to other Filipino resources within the San Francisco Public Library system and the community at large, the Center sponsors engaging and informative programs, events and exhibitions for the public.
The two-day Filbookfest will feature:
· Vendors’ booths that will display and sell books, art, music, videos, Filipino food and other cultural materials;
· Book launches and signings
· Author talks and signings
· A poetry reading session
· Workshops on writing, publishing and marketing
· Music, Spoken Word and drama performances
· Storytelling, and arts and crafts for children
· Lectures on Filipino cuisine
· Culinary demonstrations
· Health and wellness lectures and demonstrations
· Jeopardy (game) on Filipino culture
· Two sessions of “Three Minutes,” where aspiring, unpublished writers can read three-minute excerpts of their works-in-progress
Every hour, there will also be [raffle] drawings of donated gifts. For each day of the festival, there will be a single draw for a major prize, such as plane tickets to the Philippines (still being arranged).
To encourage visitors to go to every booth, each one will be given a Filbookfest Passport that should be stamped at every booth. All completed Passports will be part of the main draw of the day.
The highlight of Filbookfest will be A Tribute to Filipino Literary Greats, featuring video clips of the honorees and authors in attendance reading excerpts from the honorees’ works.
More information here.
