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National Book Store has been making readers super happy by bringing in so many authors here! Back when books were much cheaper and e-mail wasn’t mainstream, to have a book signed by your favorite author either meant going to the States, or according to the back flap of some paperbacks, sending a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) to the author in question, and it was so frustrating because I didn’t know where or how to get an SASE!!! 

Today, NBS has spoiled us all by flying in authors and creating massive mall events where we can just queue up and have books signed; although based on the queue sizes I see on Instagram, it ain’t no easy feat having your books signed here, too, with so many fans showing up! The authors, meanwhile, LOVE coming here. National Book Store and their super first-class author treatment have gained a reputation in the literary circuit and the authors all jump at the chance to come here—they want to see for themselves how Filipino readers treat authors like huge rock stars.

Speaking of the literary circuit, National Book Store, together with Raffles Makati, will be holding the first ever Philippine Literary Festival featuring authors Amy Tan and Chang-Rae Lee. The festival will be from October 23-25 (Thursday - Saturday).

The three days will cover book signings, discussions, and panels about books and literature.

Amy Tan’s panel will be on October 24 (1:30 pm), and her book signing will be on October 25 (2 pm). Her latest book is “The Valley of Amazement.”

Chang-Rae Lee’s panel and book signing will both be on October 25 at 9 am. His latest book is “On Such A Full Sea.”

All events will be held at Raffles Makati with registration starting at 8 am every day and admission is free! How cool is that?

Miguel Ramos, Marketing Director of National Book Store, says about the event, “National Book Store believes that the promotion of reading is one of the best ways to promote education; having a literary festival with A-list international authors will hopefully further our goal of getting as many Filipinos as possible to read.”

I’m so excited! I really loved “The Joy Luck Club,” (both the book and the film), and I’m going to read Chang-Rae Lee’s book before he arrives.

If you’re planning to have books signed, remember that only books purchased at the Philippine Literary Festival will be entitled to signing passes for Amy Tan and Chang-Rae Lee.

To know more about the event and its complete schedule, visit http://philippineliteraryfestival.com. For updates, follow National Book Store on Facebook, Twitter (@nbsalert), and Instagram (@nbsalert). Tag your tweets/posts with #PLF2014 to participate in the discussion.