It has been a month or so since the 37 Manila International Book Fair happened at SMX Convention Center in Pasay. There were a lot of people who went there and here’s my experience.

37th Manila International Book Fair

The event photo

I think this will be just a short post. Just a few years back, around 2014, I was able to go here for the first time. Honestly, I would definitely say, it’s a crazy world there! For all the book lovers and the enthusiasts and all the stationery lovers, fangirls, this is the place to be!

Since we went there during the weekend, the place was so full of people. The most crowded area were NBS and Fully Booked. It was really a tie between those two. NBS had a lot of fans for those who wanted their books signed and photographs taken with their idols. Others were focused on the goods sold at a lower price. I bought brush pens and inks or cartridges from ZIG and Marvy Uchida. I’ve seen from a calligrapher, Alex of Decalex Calligraphy, that Le Plume brush pens are a cheaper version (or as I would refer it to, a dupe) of a Tombow brush pen.

Marvy Uchida Le Plume costs Php 99.75 per piece while Tombow brush pen costs Php 144.75 per piece. So if you are saving and thinking about pens to use for practice, try Le Plume! Maybe on my next calligraphy post, I’d share some pros and cons about brush pens. 😊

Why I really went to MIBF?

It was really a simple reason, to have my book signed by Bianca Gonzalez!

With Bianca Gonzalez-Intal!! Photo credits to: Sam

I endured the line, the loud music that almost killed my ear drums and the heat that was there. It was all worth it especially when she signed my book and took home the postcard and sticker I gave her. It was the first I gave a celebrity my work (with my message at the back, of course!). I even told her that I was the person who wrote a blog post/review of her book. And she remembered me! My heart was so happy that it skipped a beat! 💙

Read the blog post / review about Paano Ba ‘To? here.

Selfie with her! Captured by Sam Manalo.

It was such a bliss. She gave me a hug after signing my book and it felt like I was in cloud nine!

To the people who are responsible for the MIBF, I do hope that next time they would do something to manage the flow of the crowd. Show more visible signs for the people to see. It was also hard to navigate through seas of people and to walk through hallways or passages with people sitting down along it. I hope they would place more chairs or benches for people to sit on when they feel tired from going around SMX.

Have you ever been to MIBF or seen and/or hugged your idol?