After four days of celebrating literature in all its forms, the second Dumaguete Literary Festival officially concluded at the Arts and Design Collective – Dumaguete.
Themed Towards a City of Literature, the festival underscored Dumaguete’s bid to become a UNESCO Creative City of Literature.
Festival co-directors Ian Rosales Casocot and Gayle Acar opened the program, and set the tone with a panel discussion featuring institutional partners from the Department of Trade & Industry–Negros Oriental and the Dumaguete City Tourism Office.
The opening panel, titled On the Road to the City of Literature, explored the City’s growing commitment to fostering literary access and excellence, drawing insights from policy-makers and community stakeholders.
A festival highlight was the keynote talk by National Artist for Literature Resil Mojares who delivered a lecture on What Makes a Creative City of Literature. His keynote outlined the cultural infrastructure and imaginative commitment needed for such a distinction.
Over the course of the festival, writers from Dumaguete and beyond also took part in various panels that explored topics such as food writing, LGBTQ literature, the intersection of storytelling and artificial intelligence, and narratives that transcend the traditional confines of the book.
The Romance Class community, led by Mina Esguerra, hosted writing workshops and held an ‘April Feels’ reading that brought together fans and authors in “a shared space of kilig and community.”
In addition, well-received panels such as Literature Outside of the Institutions featured Enriquita Alcaide, Anthony Maginsay, Nicky Dumapit, and Richel Dorotan. The discussion highlighted how stories from the streets, everyday life, and grassroots communities offer vital contributions to the literary landscape.
On its final day, Filipino historian Ambeth Ocampo concluded the festival with his Bookend Talk titled City of Literature: Looking Back, Moving Forward.
Ocampo reiterated Jose Rizal’s words about “entering the future with the memory of the past”. “Remembering does not bound them by the past but rather moves them beyond what holds them back, and to step boldly into an uncertain future,” Ocampo said.
The festival also featured a zine fest and literary bazaar, film screening, spoken word, and open mic nights, erotic readings, and numerous book launches.
Parallel programs at CHADA-A, UNWND Boutique Hotel, Buglas Isla Café, and other partner venues complemented the main schedule.
A special Children’s Day featured storytelling, a writing workshop, and a musical talk, with the aim to promote literature to a younger audience.
The Duma LitFest is a collaborative initiative of the Buglas Writers Club, LibrAria Books, and the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center. It was made possible with the support of official partners DTI – Negros Oriental, the Dumaguete City Tourism Office, Cebu Pacific, and UNWND Boutique Hotel. (Jan Andrei Elizalde)
