mibf2015 – Tara Tries To Write

I attended the MIBF twice this year; first on Thursday (9/17), and then on Sunday (9/20). It wasn't a surprise how SMX was crowded during the weekend, what with a cosplay event happening simultaneously on the second floor. — I attended the MIBF twice this year; first on Thursday (9/17), and then on Sunday (9/20). It wasn’t a surprise how SMX was crowded during the weekend, what with a cosplay event happening simultaneously on the second floor.

MIBF, or the Manila International Book Fair, is the country’s biggest and longest running book fair that usually happens in mid-September. As per usual, I am a relative n00b to this, and only attended it for the first time in 2013. A sort-of mistake, because I didn’t bring a lot of moolah with me so I failed buying more books. (Then again, that might have been a very wise move.) I did come home with three new books and I was happy and content with them. If I have read all three is another matter altogether.

This year, I got to attend the 36th MIBF as an author. No, really. I had to sit down and read those words from a friend’s Facebook post and realized it was true for me too, and the feeling is unbelievable. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t get a book signing session or people following me around asking to take pictures. I didn’t even actually sell books in the traditional sense, nor did I participate in any talk or seminar about writing. Nope. None of that . . . BUT!!! those are my future goals.

So what did I do, you ask? Well, I . . .

Reacquainted myself with Filipino publications, especially those outside my genre, by walking through the different booths and browsing their selections.
Donated a couple of old books for a library and exchanged them for #BuqoYA bundles I haven’t read yet.
- SIDENOTE: A total of 489 books (novels, textbooks, even comic books) were donated. These books will be distributed to different libraries in Mariveles and Binondo.
Hung out at the Buqo booth for long stretches of time, which was really convenient because all the walking can really take its toll on you, especially when you’re lugging a bag of books.
Bought new books by fellow Filipina writers and got some of them signed too! (Thank you Agay, Mina, and Edith!) It was just too bad I wasn’t there when Kate Evangelista signed her books!)
Met other Buqo workshoppers and got to take pictures and chat with them, if only for a little while.
“Gave away” freebies to any book donors who chose the Buqo bundle I belong to (#StrangeLit #KillerSeasons REPRESENT!)
Gave away promo codes to my book Paper Planes Back Home too, in the form of cute little bookmarks.
Had lively, oftentimes non-sequitur chats with author friends, new or otherwise. (We have set goals, people. Just watch out for them! :P)

As a child, there were weeks wherein I’d collect stacks and stacks of old newspapers from neighbors and sari-sari stores near our house for the annual newspaper drive at school. Competition was really fierce. You could sense it in the way students would try to sneak a peek inside your homeroom classroom to see how huge of a “lead” or “deficit” their class has over the others.

I don’t know if the schools these days still do this, but that was a fond memory to look back on, especially when our class would win. There isn’t even any tangible prize; it’s just being hailed champions for bringing the most newspapers that mattered. (The thought of raising funds through drives like these didn’t even enter my system until I was much older, but it seemed like a good idea. You bring in newspapers for recycling, and you get cash in return. Not too shabby.)

Ah, childhood.

So I’m not sure this story is connected to what I really wanted to talk about, but let me try.

Them MIBF Shenanigans

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