3 Silliman writers join PH delegation to the 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair

DUMAGUETE CITY – Three writers Silliman University were part of the Philippine delegation to the just concluded 2025 Frankfurter Buchmesse (FBM) or the Frankfurt Book Fair on October 15-19 in Germany, with the Philippines as Guest of Honor of the renowned international book fair this year.

According to the National Book Development Board (NBDB) Executive Director Charisse Aquino-Tugade, the country’s presence will place Filipino literature and culture “front and center of the world’s literary stage.” The NBDB is one of the national agencies tasked to bring the Philippine to the book fair.

Tugade said, the FBM is the world’s largest and oldest international publishing event. Dumaguete fictionist Ian Rosales Casocot, Tacloban poet Merlie Alunan, and Tagbilaran poet Marjorie Evasco, all graduates of the creative writing program of Silliman University, were among 500 delegates from the Philippines, which include creatives, authors, and illustrators, as well as publishing houses and literary organizations.

Casocot, currently a creative writing faculty at the Department of English and Literature said that he was tapped by the NBDB only last August to represent not just writers from the southern Philippines, but also to represent Dumaguete as a potential UNESCO City of Literature, as well as the Negros Island Region, since he is the current president of Buglas Writers Guild, the network of writers from Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and Siquijor.

Casocot was also representing the Silliman University National Writers Workshop, which is the oldest creative writing workshop in Asia.  In Germany, Casocot was part of several panels that discussed specific issues and topics about Philippine literature. He was also part of a poetry reading cycle that put a spotlight on peace and justice issues in the world.

The Frankfurt Book Fair, which traces its roots to the 15th century, annually gathers thousands of publishers, writers, literary agents, and readers from around the world. The Philippines’ participation as Guest of Honor is seen as a milestone in promoting its literature, languages, and creative industries to the world. (Photos: Google Images)