The Philippine archipelago may comprise more than 7,000 tiny, tropical islands, but from Manila to Mindanao, the Southeast Asian nation speaks with virtually one voice where books are concerned — and it’s in English. With a population of 80 million, the Philippines is said to be the third-largest English-speaking country in the world (after the US and the UK), and English-language titles account for as much as 95% of all book sales, English being the second language of most Filipinos — and a core requirement of the nation’s school curricula.
That’s all fuel to the fire for the Philippine Book Fair, which runs from August 31 to September 8 this year in Mandaluyong City, which is part of the sprawling metro Manila thicket of more than 10 million Filipinos. About 75,000 visitors are expected to crash the fair gates this year, according to Cristina Capistrano, Exhibit Manager for the 12-year-old event. Foreign booths this year were set to include China, Germany, Iran, and Spain, but surprisingly, perhaps, booths from US publishers will be scarce. As the fair is a selling fair, geared toward public attendance, US publishers typically participate through major booksellers such as National Book Store, which is the largest chain in the country with about 60 branches. “Most major US publishers have local regional managers who are very active in the market, and who would attend the fair,” says Simon & Schuster’s Dan Vidra, who nonetheless was heading out the door for Manila himself.
Those who do land at the fair will find a variety of hot-selling categories. “Academic books in English are still the bestsellers,” says Lirio Sandoval, President of the Book Development Association of the Philippines, partly because English is used in most school subjects as the language of instruction. But Sandoval cautions that despite the number of English titles, “we cannot really expect tremendous sales” due to Filipinos’ limited purchasing power: he estimates that only about 30% of the population can afford to buy books. Trade paperbacks can cost around $12, and hardcovers up to $18, though children’s titles go for $2 or less. In recent years the weak peso has put pressure on booksellers to bump up prices, but they’ve struggled to keep them down, mindful of customers’ limited means.
The lower price-points clearly have their appeal. “Children’s books probably outsell all other categories by a huge margin,” says Rino Balatbat, Random House Regional Sales Manager for Southeast Asia and Micronesia. Nonfiction inspirational titles and reference works are also strong categories. Titles are imported from the US, and to a lesser degree the UK, but neighboring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong are getting in on the act. (Sales in the local Tagalog language are mostly romances, often selling for less than $1.) But price pressure has affected the fair as well. “The fair has increasingly become a bargain book fair,” Balatbat notes. “The booksellers are all trying to trim their inventories by offering bargains and discounts, so much so that the ratio of new titles to backlist is becoming smaller and smaller.” Inflation has also taken a toll on sales, as a mass-market paperback might sell 500 copies, with a bestseller occasionally hitting the 5,000 mark. “Five years ago, the retail prices were just 50% of the current prices,” Balatbat says, “and the quantities then were double what they are now.”
