Read Lit District at the Philippine International Literary Festival

READ LIT DISTRICT -- a play on the term “red-light district” -- is the name of this year’s annual Philippine International Literary Festival which will be held on Nov. 14 to 16 at the Ayala Museum, courtesy of the National Book Development Board (NBDB).

Among the literary hot shots expected to be at the festival are poet and professor Chris Abani who wrote Virgin of Flames, Riverside; Tim Tomlinson, fictionist and co-founder of New York Writers Workshop, and co-author of The Portable MFA in Creative Writing; Merlinda Bobis, author of Banana Heart Summer and professor of Creative Writing at the University of Wollongong; and Ken Spillman whose young adult novels include Love is a UFOand Blue, as well as the immensely popular Jake series for younger readers.

Read Lit District is the highlight of the Philippine Book Development Month which features book fairs, contests for students and teachers, conferences, lectures, and literary tours, all of which are participated in by publishers, authors, students, teachers, and the general public.

For details, contact Camille Dela Rosa at 920-9853 local 815, e-mail cvdelarosa@nbdb.gov.ph, or log on to www.nbdb.gov.ph.

Reposted with permission from panitikan.com. Photo by Alvin J. Buenaventura.

NBDB to Exhibit Highly Recommended Supplementary Materials

In its continuing effort to recognize quality books and supplementary materials, the National Book Development Board (NBDB) will launch its Highly Recommended Supplementary Materials List on November as the country celebrates the Philippine Book Development Month. “Almost two hundred titles were submitted a week after we announced the call for nominations,” said Ma. Asena Galang, officer of the agency’s Accreditation and Incentives Division (AID) which serves as the coordinator for the upcoming list.

This is the first time NBDB will release such a list that aims to recognize quality books and supplementary materials written and published by Filipinos. NBDB and its partners headed by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Network of Outstanding Teachers and Educators (NOTED) want to inform the  members of the academe that excellent books and supplementary materials for various academic subjects and levels are in existence and just need to be brought to the attention of buyers. This list is also expected to help publishers in their pursuit of excellence in producing quality content for  books and supplementary materials.

The said list will include materials that have undergone strict evaluation by members of the NOTED, an honor society composed of all the winners of Metrobank Foundation’s Search for Outstanding Teachers (SOT) since 1985. NOTED is committed to foster creativity and academic excellence at all educational levels and to contribute to the solution of education, social and cultural problems of national and international concerns. NOTED has a total of 306 members from the elementary, secondary, technical-vocational and higher education levels since it was founded in 1997.

All the materials in the list will be exhibited in an academic book conference on 12-13 November 2012. The conference is organized by the NBDB and it will feature the best speakers and the latest trends in the publishing industry and education sector. SM Megatrade Hall is the tentative venue. Around two hundred authors,  school teachers, publishers and other members of the academe will grace the event.

The academic conference and the exhibit aim to equip the participants with sufficient knowledge to incorporate textbook development in support of DepEd policies to shift to K-12 (from K-10), including the teaching in the mother tongue of the respective regions (at least from K to Grade 3), to build capacities of stakeholders especially focusing on public school teachers, small publishers and universities within technological developments in publishing; and to discuss relevant issues and concerns/address identified gaps seen by stakeholders,  the NBDB and the DepEd.

NBDB has been administering book awards to support and ecourage the production of quality books and materials in the Philippines, such as the National Book Awards, National Children’s Book Awards and NBDB Quality Seal.

For details, please call Miss Asena at 920-9853 or check the www.nbdb.gov.ph.

Reposted with permission from panitikan.com.ph. Photo by Alvin J. Buenaventura.

FILCOLS member Anvil Publishing to launch children's book Tabon Girl

Anvil Publishing, Inc. will launch a delightful children's book  entitled  "Tabon Girl" (Batang Tabon) on October 14, 3pm  at the Bestsellers, Robinson's Galleria, Pasig City.

Written by Irene Carolina A. Sarmiento and illustrated by Manix Abrera, the book contains elements of adventure that capture the imagination of children and encourages them to pursue their dreams. The book is also something teachers can share with their students as it brings a young mind back to life in prehistoric Philippines.

According to Sarmiento, the book “teaches kids a thing or two about archaeology, the Tabon caves, and artifacts from the Philippines and serves as a reminder to grownups that children’s dreams need to be nurtured”. It received the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. "Tabon Girl" uses English as well as Filipino texts and contains guide questions for storytelling and classroom use.

Sarmiento published her first children’s book entitled "Spinning," a story about autism in 2009. Her stories have won awards from the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Foundation, Philippine Press, and Philippine Graphic/ Fiction Awards.

Manix Abrera graduated from the University of the Philippines. His comic strip “Kikomachine” runs in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Their book is available on National Book Store, Powerbooks, and Bestsellers.

Reposted with permission from panitikan.com.ph. Book cover photo from Anvil Publishing.