This past weekend, I went to the Philippines for the Cebu Literary Festival in the city of Cebu. It was the first time in a few years that I got to be behind a table selling books at a show. It was fun getting to show my work again, but there were some issues with the event that became evident early on.
On Friday, when I first got to the IEC convention center where Litfest was held, there wasn’t signage or anything indicating where I was supposed to go. From where the taxi dropped me off, I carried luggage up a set of steps and looked into a set of glass doors. They were locked, but I could see into the next room inside where it looked like people were setting up booths. A few other vendors arrived and we all wondered how we were supposed to enter. Some people inside saw us peering in and motioned for us to go around the building. Following their advice, we went up a stairwell on the side of the building, and from there got into the convention area on the second floor. Once I got in, I couldn’t see where tables were marked to indicate whose table was whose. For example, I knew my table was C-10, but I didn’t know where to find my spot. I didn’t see any convention staff, no one with Cebu Litfest shirts or badges indicating that they worked there. A random person who had a table themselves ended up helping me get to my place.
Conventions like this often have one big room for exhibitors. Lit fest had one large room and three smaller rooms in the back for all the vendors. The venue itself wasn’t the best looking. Its walls were painted plain white and a little dirty, and there was no WIFI. On the first floor were a few vendors for coffee and snacks, but no place to get a sandwich or proper meal (There were restaurants and a grocery store just down the street). At least the venue had air conditioning, as this country is hot!
Litfest ran from 1pm to 8pm each day. There was a steady stream of foot traffic most of the time I was there. Saturday was more attended than Friday, but even then it rarely felt packed. My sales were okay. I made more than the cost of my table, but even though Saturday was more crowded, my sales were about the same as Friday’s. I probably would have sold more but with some of my books I had less stock than I realized. It was evident that many people spent their budget in the larger room, before realizing there were a few more rooms left to explore.
The thing about Litfest was that it wasn’t really a literature fest. There were literally less than ten vendors selling books or comics. All the other venues were artists selling stickers, prints, dolls, etc. Nothing against them, there were some great artists with amazing work, but I was expecting to see other authors, publishers, magazines, etc. Imagine going into a comic book show and finding people sitting around reading poetry, nothing wrong with it per say just not what you’re expecting to find.
In between the large and smaller rooms was a small stage area where they would have artist talks which were broadcast over the venues intercom so everyone could hear. It wasn’t a bad idea in theory, but when in a crowded and small room talking to people it was hard to make out what the people on stage were saying. Other times, pop music played over the intercom, which was a nice touch. On Friday the stage hosted an open mic during which most people sang. I had one of my old poetry books with me and decided to read from it. I hadn’t read on stage in a bit so it was fun, but I only read a couple pieces. I could tell most of the audience was there to see music, and while some gave me there attention, the general background noise drowned out my non musical act.
I did see Roland and Bambi Amago, the husband-and-wife team who have published Carnal Tales, a series of horror comics based around Philippine folklore. I’d met and bought books from them at a previous comic book show. I bought a few more comics from them that I enjoyed reading later. I also met for the first time the team behind the Maharlikan Chronicles, which is a series of comic books about Philippine History and mythology.
There was also a young fan who was really enthusiastic about my work, and was really excited when he found out I help out at wrestling shows in China. He does this shtick where he takes selfie while in a yoga like pose on the ground. He wanted one of these selfies with me and I was happy to oblige. People in my position always appreciate enthusiastic fans. When I was young, if I had met someone that wrote comic books and helped out at wrestling shows I would have thought they were the coolest person ever.
The Philippines seems to have had a good North American style comic book scene for quite a while. Artist from this country have worked for Marvel and DC, and shopping malls here will have comic book stores not unlike those found in North America. Conventions also abound in this nation. Back in March I went to a Komiket show at the Megamall in Manila to scout for artists. There I got connected with artist Roy Allen Martinez who collaborated with me on a web comic called Masked Striker. A few months ago I inquired about getting a table at another show in Manila, I was not able to get in, but was instead contacted about Cebu Lit fest
I printed Masked Striker along with other web comics I’d written previously and bound them in a little booklet to show people and sell at litfest. Obviously, I’m not Filipino, and I wondered if anyone would take issue with my presence. In America I worked with Filipino’s and have visited this country many times before. Filipinos are known to be warm and friendly people. At the show, maybe two or three people gave me a funny look. One guy said, “I wasn’t expecting to see someone like you here.” I asked what he meant, and he specified, “a foreigner.” Everyone else was friendly and welcoming to me.
On Saturday, an artist approached me and apologized for how the festival was going. Evidently there were many complaints about the venue and how apparently there was a Cebu crowd and a Manila crowd that were kept separate from each other. I was given a sticker that said galitfest or something to that effect, which translated to “angry at litfest.”
Sunday I wasn’t able to attend as I had to catch my flight back. In Manila the shows start at 10am, I would have been able to come a few hours in the morning if that was the case. Once I got home, someone personally messaged me saying they didn’t see me on Sunday and wondered if I was upset, as apparently many vendors were not happy with the show.
I wouldn’t say I was angry, I generally had a decent time and sold some books, but I could see why people were upset. On their social media the Litfest issued an apology, on which many people commented on the venue, lack of communication, and other issues. For their own sake, I hope future conventions are better, as they seem to have an active and thriving arts community that wants to be served properly.
Hard Coal Studios 