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Them MIBF Shenanigans

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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)

PHOTO BREAK!

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^ This was Ariel’s idea. All three of us were at the booth Thursday afternoon, and he saw us holding each of our books so he suddenly said we should take a picture. Teehee. #LookAtThisLegitness

Author Six de los Reyes (Just for the Record, After the Moment) and I hamming it up at the booth. We should have taken on with the huge Buqo logo behind us but, oh well. :P
Author Six de los Reyes (Just for the Record, After the Moment) and I hamming it up at the booth. We should have taken on with the huge Buqo logo behind us but, oh well. 😛
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I loved how the Adarna House booth facade was simple and attractive (to the child in me, at least). I loved their selection of books even more! Too bad I only got to take home two of them, and only because a friend was generous enough to buy them for me. ;;

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^ First day haul, AKA the reason why my wallet is on a diet right now. I am currently in the middle of reading Once Upon a Player by Agay Llanera right now, but I had to pause because bundle review priorities.

How the book donation box looked like Thursday afternoon before I left. If memory serves me right there were about 180 books in there more or less when the day ended.
How the book donation box looked like Thursday afternoon before I left. If memory serves me right there were about 180 books in there more or less when the day ended.
The freebies I prepared for people who would be picking #StrangeLit bundle 1 (#KillerSeasons) on Sunday. There's coffee and bunny references. You'll find out why if you read my story. ^^
The freebies I prepared for people who would be picking #StrangeLit bundle 1 (#KillerSeasons) on Sunday. There’s coffee and bunny references. You’ll find out why if you read my story. ^^
The scene I returned to on Saturday morning. There were already two boxes of donated books at the Buqo booth because the first box couldn't handle them all anymore. WOOHOO!
The scene I returned to on Saturday morning. There were already two boxes of donated books at the Buqo booth because the first box couldn’t handle them all anymore. WOOHOO!
Two young ladies donated their books and were picking out #StrangeLit freebies. They saw my coffee cup notepads and wanted them, plus my clay bunnies. Told them they should get our bundle and they did! ^_^ You get bunnies and coffee! <3
Two young ladies donated their books and were picking out #StrangeLit freebies. They saw my coffee cup notepads and wanted them, plus my clay bunnies. Told them they should get our bundle and they did! ^_^ You get bunnies and coffee! <3

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^ Sunday haul, AKA the reason why my wallet is on a diet right now, part deux. My heart may be happy, but my wallet is screaming at me. I’m sorry, my dear.

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The #ClingyCrew + Six. Love the cropping work in this photo, heh. <3

Aaaaand that’s it! I am so looking forward to reading all the books I managed to take home, and for next year’s MIBF! But before that, there’s the FilReaderCon event in November, and I gotta see that for myself too!

Stay tuned!

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