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This October, Bay Area literature fans have something to celebrate: the 6th Filipino American International Book Festival (FAIBF), the largest of its kind in the country. More than 40 authors and artists from the United States, and as far away as the Philippines, France and the United Kingdom, come together at San Francisco Public Library's Main Library throughout the weekend of October 15-16. The festival's keynote speakers include Gina Apostol, Newbery Award winner Erin Entrada Kelly and Meredith Talusan. The festival opens with a live performance from Larry the Musical, a much-anticipated musical about labor activist Larry Itliong. The festival culminates with Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Ressa in a special pre-recorded one-on-one interview about democracy, press freedom and her upcoming book How to Stand Up to a Dictator.This year, the theme is "Hiraya/Emergence: Writing Towards the Future." "Hiraya" is a Tagalog word for imagination, for dreaming, the emergence of the flower and the fruit. "Having postponed the festival for a year due to COVID-19, this festival is a coming together, an emergence from the difficulties and isolation of the past 3 years, to celebrate Filipino/a/x literature and art in community. The Filipino/a/x writing community has seen phenomenal growth in the past few years. Together we move towards the next, despite the uncertainty of current times," said Edwin Lozada, President of the Philippine American Writers and Artists (PAWA) and festival organizer.
Historically, FAIBF has been held in-person at the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) every two years. Founded by Gemma Nemenzo and Literacy Initiatives International Foundation, Inc. (LIIF) in 2011, with PAWA taking over its organization since 2013, this festival is unique in that it brings together Fil-Am writers, both emerging and established, as well as writers from the Philippines and the global diaspora.
For the 2022 festival, the children's program is bigger than ever and offers teen programming for the first time. Must-see panels for kidlit fans and readers include "Coming of Age on the Page: A Young Adult Author Roundtable" with Candy Gourlay, Laurel Flores Fantauzzo, and Cynthia Salaysay, and "Writing the Awkward Years: A Middle Grade Author Roundtable" with Tracy Badua, Cookie Hiponia, Erin Entrada Kelly, Sophia N. Lee, and Mae Respicio. These panels are moderated by Randy Ribay (National Book award nominee for Patron Saints of Nothing) on the mainstage.
"As San Francisco's home to the literary arts, the Library is proud to host this stellar lineup of authors who have dreamed, imagined and written about the Filipino experience, past, present and future. Our hope is that this festival helps to cultivate even more inspiration for budding writers and artists for years to come," said Abraham Ignacio, librarian and manager of SFPL's Filipino American Center.
Other themes that run through several authors' work include the personal as political in novels, Asian American and Filipino/a/x identities + ethnic studies, queer identities, language and translation, the pre-colonial and mythologies.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
San Francisco Public Library, Main Library - 100 Larkin St,San Francisco,CA,United States
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