Creatives gather in Tawi-Tawi for a one-of-a-kind literary cultural tour

MANILA, Philippines – Just in time for National Arts Month, Philippines-based creatives from different fields in media are set to share their love for art and reading on a cultural trove in the country’s deep south for the first-ever Book Nook Creative Tour 2025.

Brought together by the National Book Development Board (NBDB), a diverse group of writers, artists, and media practitioners will be given the opportunity to explore the Philippines’ cultural treasures in Tawi-Tawi from February 17 to 21.

The week-long creative tour is promoted by the Book Nook Project, which established Book Nooks in strategic areas all over the Philippines. These are reading and storytelling spaces filled with Filipino-published books for kids and kids at heart.

“We are excited not only to hold an exchange of cultures, but also an exchange of energies. By this, we mean to impart not only culture, but the very soul of the region — now made more colorful through the gift of books by the Book Nook Project,” NBDB Executive Director Charisse Aquino-Tugade said.

Of the 42 sites in Mindanao, the creative tour will mainly visit Book Nook Sitangkai and Book Nook Bongao both in Tawi-Tawi, an island province boasting a rich cultural heritage as the land (and sea) inhabited by the Sama people.

“The Book Nook sites in Sitangkai and Bongao were awarded a generous book package of hundreds of Pinoy books in 2021, along with training sessions on reading engagement, librarianship, and community partnerships. We are happy to know that four years later, the community-initiated reading spaces stand as pillars in the community, being a conduit to pass down oral traditions and local culture,” Aquino-Tugade said.

Among the tour’s delegates are illustrators Beth Parrocha and Danielle Florendo and author Jay Ignacio. They will be conducting various workshops from storytelling to illustration and painting, guided by officials and coordinators from the NBDB’s flagship Book Nook Project.

Also participating are journalists Carsten Stormer, a world-known German documentary filmmaker, and Elle Guison, a Rappler contributor. 

Aside from conducting workshops, delegates will also be visiting libraries, meeting local officials, and experiencing cultural performances prepared by the community. 

The creative tour aims to bring together writers, illustrators, educators, cultural workers, and media practitioners to come together to visit Book Nooks, learn about the communities and their reading landscape, work on collaborative programs, and inspire one another.

For the multiple cultural groups hailing from the Philippines’ southern islands, the tour is also an opportunity to showcase their local culture on the national and world stage.

First launched in 2021, the Book Nook Project aims to instill a reading culture among Filipino children by establishing reading sites all over the country. As of February 2025, there are 113 sites — 48 in Luzon, 23 Visayas, and 42 in Mindanao. 

New Book Nook sites are on their way, as NBDB applications for Book Nooks are still open until February 28. Accepted applicants can enjoy over a thousand Filipino-published books, as well as access to capacity-building training from experts.

On January 31, the first-ever Book Nook Reading Festival was held at the Book Nook in SM Aura, Bonifacio Global City. The festival drew over 500 book lovers of all ages who got to participate in author meet-and-greets, lively performances, and informative workshops offered by the event.

NBDB will also hold the 3rd Philippine Book Festival in March at the Megatrade Hall in SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City. The four-day book fair will offer thousands of literary works, books, and art pieces, among others. – Rappler.com