Inaugural 6200 BookFest to bring publishers, booksellers to Dumaguete

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — The Arts and Design Collective Dumaguete (ADCD), alongside the Duma LitFest team, will launch the inaugural 6200 BookFest from July 17 to 19 at Filinvest Mall in Dumaguete City, gathering national publishers, independent booksellers, authors, and readers in the Philippines’ first UNESCO Creative City of Literature.

The three-day fair, themed “Across the Shores,” marks an expansion of Duma LitFest’s literary initiatives by establishing a dedicated marketplace for publishers and booksellers while positioning Dumaguete as a meeting point for stories and literary communities from across the Philippines and beyond.

Historian and author Ambeth Ocampo will serve as the fair’s keynote speaker. Ocampo, a professor at the Ateneo de Manila University and longtime Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist, is best known for his writings on national hero José Rizal, including the bestselling Rizal Without the Overcoat. He is also a three-time National Book Award recipient and was awarded the 2016 Fukuoka Prize for his contributions to Philippine history and culture.

The event will also feature book launches, author talks, and workshops for readers, writers, and educators alongside the publisher and bookseller marketplace. 

The festival is organized by ADCD and the Duma LitFest team in partnership with the Dumaguete City Local Government Unit and its Tourism Office, the National Book Development Board, and Futura Shores.

Organizers said additional details on programming, exhibitors, and ticketing will be announced through the official channels of ADCD and Duma LitFest ahead of the event.

The 6200 Book Fest will also serve as a host event for the National Book Development Board’s (NBDB) Philippine Book Festival in the Regions, making it the first regional book fair of its kind in the Negros Island Region. 

Through the initiative, the NBDB will mount a “collective stand” featuring publishers and authors from across the country, alongside the fair’s local exhibitors.

Participating exhibitors include Anvil Publishing, Vibal Group, Silliman’s Sands and Coral, Everything’s Fine, Haring Ibon, 8Letters Publishing, and Dum Alt Press, alongside independent bookshops LibrAria, Lost Books, and Utopia.

Among those joining the NBDB Collective Stand are ABC Educational Development Center Children’s Books, Aklat Alamid, Central Book Supply Inc., Johnny and Hansel Publications, Santo Niño de Cebu Publishing House, Dumaguete-based author Kate D. Pirate Books, and Capiz writer Joanna Leah S. Villamor, further expanding the range of books and literary voices represented at the fair.

ADCD is a volunteer-run creative collective based in a preserved 1950s family home in Dumaguete City, dedicated to supporting the city’s identity as the Philippines’ first UNESCO Creative City of Literature.

Meanwhile, Duma LitFest is the city’s official literary festival, bringing together writers, readers, and the local creative community through readings,talks, and workshops.

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