PHILIPPINES – The National Book Development Board (NBDB), the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP), and Primetrade Asia, Inc. opened the second Asian Rights Fair–Manila (ARF-MNL) 2025 today, 8 September, at the SMX Convention Center.
Under the theme Archipelago of Stories, the ARF-MNL is the first of its kind in the country, bringing together publishers, agents, and industry leaders from across Asia and beyond to explore translation opportunities, rights exchanges, and regional collaborations. It follows the Philippine publishing industry’s renewed efforts to strengthen ties within Asia, and comes as the country prepares to be Guest of Honour at the 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest book fair.
In her welcome remarks, NBDB Executive Director and Philippines as Guest of Honour Project Co-Director Charisse Tugade emphasized the importance of stories crossing borders, noting that while “a Malaysian reader may rarely encounter Philippine works, and a Filipino student may not know the powerful voices from Indonesia, Thailand, or Central Asia, these stories—our stories—deserve to be shared.”
Since assuming leadership in the NBDB in 2021, Tugade has been a pioneering figure in expanding the Philippine book market, spearheading flagship projects on industry development and boosting the country’s presence in international markets such as Bologna, London, and most notably, Frankfurt.
The ARF-MNL’s opening program featured industry leaders, including Hasri Hasan of Malaysia;
Yani Kurniawan of Indonesia; Sartika Dian of Thailand; Bayan Kabylash of Kazakhstan; and Jérôme Bouchaud of France. Philippine publishers Ned Parfan (UST Publishing House) and Rica Bolipata-Santos (Ateneo de Manila University Press), with Jun Matias (Precious Pages Corporation, Lampara Books) as moderator, joined the discussions, which spanned topics from academic markets and digital platforms to translation initiatives, literary prizes, and regional distribution.
Sessions on the Southeast Asian market were led by Atty. Dominador Buhain, Philippine E ducational Publishers Association Chair Emeritus, for the Philippines; Malaysian Book P ublishers Association/ASEAN Book Publishers President Shake Faisal for Malaysia; and Intan F . Anggraini for Indonesia. Ranya Bakr introduced participants to the Arab publishing market, while Arthorn Techatada of Elite Creative Agency and Edmund Wee of Epigram highlighted the role of literary prizes in raising Asian voices, and Maria Christina Pangan-Cagalingan of the NBDB Philippines and Duangporn Sudhisomboon of Publishers Ande Booksellers Association of Thailand shared insights on grants available to publishers and authors across the region.
The second ARF-MNL welcomed notable publishing professionals from Thailand, Singapore, IVndonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, and Kazahkstan, including Ampaporn Borwornratansilp, Worawit
Kitikusoun, Kiridaren Jayakumar, Netrnudda Malicum, Khatthiya Banmai, Patcharee Boonchauy, Sasithorn Teth-uthapak, Jintana Srithilah, Mohd Khairulanuar Bin Manshor, Nurin Afiqah Binti Azlan, and Evelyn Ghozalli.
The ARF-MNL is organized by the BDAP, led by its president, Atty. Andrea Pasion-Flores. By showcasing Asia’s publishing landscape, the ARF-MNL reaffirms its mission to make regional literature more visible to the world, and to one another. The program will be followed by the Rights Marketplace on 10–11 September 2025 at the Manila International Book Fair, also at the SMX Convention Center.
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