San Francisco, Oct. 7, 2026 — The Filipino American International Book Festival (FilBookFest), presented in partnership with San Francisco Public Library (SFPL), returns this October 17 and 18 to SFPL's Main Library for its 8th iteration, continuing its legacy as the largest Filipino American literary festival in the U.S.
This year's theme, "SANGGALAN: Stories that propel us, stories that protect us," centers stories that carry us forward and hold us together: stories as refuge, stories as resistance, stories as action.
Held during Filipino American History Month, FilBookFest brings together writers, scholars, and creatives from across the globe, including the U.S., Canada, and the Philippines, to the iconic San Francisco Public Library. Over two days, attendees can enjoy panel discussions, book signings, and readings featuring a vibrant mix of established and emerging voices. The festival celebrates storytelling, culture, and the diverse experiences of the Filipino diaspora.
Keynotes
Randy Ribay, author of Patron Saints of Nothing and Nest of Tongues, opens the festival on Saturday, October 17, at 10:30 AM in Koret Auditorium.
Dr. Robyn Rodriguez delivers the keynote on Sunday, October 18, at 12:15 PM in Koret Auditorium.
Program Highlights
FilBookFest 8 continues its community-curated panels, with programming across four spaces in the Main Library: Koret Auditorium, the Hormel LGBTQIA Center, the Children's Center, and the Chinese Center.
Saturday highlights include:
Then, Here and Now: Celebrating Publications Over a Decade Old: Barbara Jane Reyes, Mia Alvar, Noel Alumit, and Shirley Ancheta revisit books that have shaped Filipino American literature, moderated by Edwin Lozada.
Love at the Fiesta: Romance Fiction and Filipino American Joy: Celeste Dador, Maan Gabriel, Maida Malby, and Mia Hopkins explore love stories rooted in joy and community.
From Prey to Slay: Women, Horror, and Filipino Myth: Daphne Fama, Jet Tagasa, Teresa Aguinaldo, and Yvette Tan, moderated by Dina Klarisse Dugar, dig into the monstrous and the mythic.
To Write You The Poem I Owe You: Filipino poets Isabel Cristina Legarda, Michelle Peñaloza, Rhoni Blankenhorn, and Tony Robles, moderated by Janice Lobo Sapigao, reflect on wandering and writing today.
Multiverse of Filipinx Identities: David Flores, Marie Cruz, Candy Gourlay, and Tracy Badua discuss writing and publishing for young adult readers, moderated by Carolyn Sideco.
Pinoy Komiks Through the Years: Angelo Mendez, Eric Ignacio, Nathan Cayanan, and Jay Kalagayan lead an interactive show and tell on the history of Filipino comics, moderated by Jaena Rae Cabrera.
Pilipinx Playwright Power: Amanda L. Andrei, Conrad Panganiban, Erica Miguel, and Giovanni Ortega, moderated by Aureen Almario, spotlight the voices shaping Filipino American theater.
A Fogside Chat: M. Evelina Galang and Lysley Tenorio come together for an intimate conversation.
Fil-Am Creatives in Food, Design & Entrepreneurship: Cheska Torres Ibasan, Henry Awayan, LeRoid David, and Woldy Reyes, moderated by JJ Jumoc-Casas, discuss building creative businesses.
Building Literary Communities: The Carlos Bulosan Book Club hosts an informal lunchtime roundtable with Jaime Geaga, Mila de Guzman, Cindy Domingo, and Michael Magnaye. Attendees are invited to bring their lunch.
Sunday highlights include:
LINTIK: Poetry Performed Becomes a Living Word: Aimee Suzara, Arlene Biala, Jason Bayani, nawa angel a.h., and Zosimo Quibilan, moderated by Irene Faye Duller, bring poetry to life in performance.
Writing in the Gaps: Silence and Inherited Trauma in Fiction and Memoir: Nita Noveno, Patrick Joseph Caoile, Sheilah Jane, Glenda Macatangay, and Adrian de Leon, moderated by Beverly Parayno, examine silence and inherited trauma in fiction and memoir.
Critical Filipinx Studies: Building Knowledge with and for our Communities: Michael Schulze-Oechtering Castañeda, Valerie Francisco-Menchavez, and Bernard James Remollino, moderated by Dr. Robyn Rodriguez, discuss building knowledge with and for communities.
Magic, Mystery, and the Surreal in Philippine Diasporic Fiction: Dom Magwili, Mia P. Manansala, Monica T. S. Flores, and Marianne Villanueva, moderated by Mia G. Rios, explore the magical and the surreal in diasporic fiction.
Reimagining Belonging Through Cross-Cultural Solidarities : Jaya Jacobo, Roland Tolentino, Aileen Cassinetto, and Kathy Nguyễn, moderated by Dr. Jody Blanco, consider solidarity and belonging across cultures.
Inkstorm Readings return with four sessions over the weekend in which dozens of authors read from their recent collections. Saturday participants include Randy Ribay, Celeste Dador, Daphne Fama, Isabel Legarda, Jet Tagasa, Nathan Cayanan, Tony Robles, Victor Barnuevo Velasco, Vyxz Vasquez, Conrad Panganiban, Dani Putney, David Flores, Giovanni Ortega, Justine Ramos, Lauren Lola, Marie Cruz, Michelle Peñaloza, Rhoni Blankenhorn, Tracy Badua, and Yvette Tan. Sunday participants include Aimee Suzara, Arlene Biala, Dom Magwili, Jaya Jacobo, Lorenz Mazon Dumuk, Marivi Soliven, Mia P. Manansala, nawa angel a.h., Sheilah Jane, Adrian De Leon, Anthony Abulencia Santa Ana, Jason Bayani, Marianne Villanueva, Nita Noveno, Patrick Joseph Caoile, and Zosimo Quibilan.
Children's Program
FilBookFest welcomes families to the Children's Center with storytimes, conversations, and presentations. Saturday offerings include Books to Teach Children to Feel and Heal with Niña Mata, Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young, Dr. Jeannie Celestial, and Cleodia Martinez, moderated by Celina Tirona. Storytimes feature Gilmore-Young, Mata, and Martinez, and a presentation by Kumusta Pusa and Marlon Rimando follows. Saturday closes with Packed with Love: The Balikbayan Box in Picture Books, a storytime and conversation with Christine Alemshah, Faith Kazmi, and Carren Jao. On Sunday, the Children's Center hosts Connections, Culture, and Community Through Picture Books with Analene Go, Michelle Sterling, Cristina Oxtra, and Stephanie Vivit Lehmann, moderated by Celina Tirona, along with storytimes featuring Sterling, Oxtra, Go, Candy Gourlay, Lehmann, Dr. Jeannie Celestial, and Art Bautista.
Festival Marketplace: Come support PAWA's table and other book and merchandise vendors in the Latino Room, meet authors at book signings, and sample Filipino-inspired snacks. The marketplace is open from 11:00 AM to 5:15 PM on Saturday and 12:15 PM to 5:00 PM on Sunday.
FilBookFest 2026 will be a weekend of learning, creativity, and community, and a reminder that our stories can move us forward and keep us safe. For the full schedule and lineup of authors, visit filbookfestival.org.
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About San Francisco Public Library
San Francisco Public Library connects our diverse communities to learning, opportunities and each other. The library system is made up of 27 neighborhood branches, the San Francisco Main Library at Civic Center and four bookmobiles. View our Strategic Plan, Vision 2030.
About PAWA
Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc. (PAWA) is a Northern California 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization and independent publisher of Filipino American literature. Founded in 1994 as Philippine American Women Writers and Artists and reorganized in 1998 to welcome writers and artists of all genders, PAWA works to create and encourage literature and arts that preserve and enrich Filipino and Filipino American historical, cultural, and spiritual values. The organization has published three anthologies of Filipino American literature, hosted a monthly literary and performance series since 2009, and funds the Manuel G. Flores Prize Fund, which supports fellowships for emerging writers at Kundiman, VONA, and the NVM Gonzalez Writers' Workshop. Together with community partners, PAWA organizes the Filipino American International Book Festival.