The National Book Development Board (NBDB) is pleased to announce its second Call for Submissions for the Special Online Edition of Bookwatch. We invite stakeholders in the industry to send to us their narratives, experiences, observations, and insights of our time in quarantine.

For this second round submissions, we put emphasis on the following thematic clusters:

1. Education during the pandemic. We would like to hear your short stories and essays on the various systems and processes being developed to strengthen the educational system during this pandemic.

2. The Publishing Trade in times of crisis. We are soliciting insights on the struggles, challenges, and alternative modalities employed by the publishing sector, given the trade limitations during this pandemic.

3. Translation. The global lockdown has created opportunities for people to get connected virtually, opening doors to linkages and collaborations from various regional and international publishing communities. We would like to hear insights on translation opportunities brought about by these opportunities.

4. Regional Publishing. Has the lockdown been an opportunity for the local publishing communities to thrive? We would like to hear stories from our regional publishing sector in terms of how the lockdown and the pandemic had affected them.

5. Book selling during the pandemic. Who reads books during the quarantine? More so, how have sales been during the quarantine? We want to hear the pains and gains of being a book seller in these trying times. What are your major challenges and milestones, if any?

Content Format

Your contributions can be in any Philippine language or in English, and may be in the form of long-form essays, interviews, and short stories.

– Long-form essays (in any Philippine language or English, 2000-5000 words)
– Interviews (in any Philippine language or English, 2000-5000 words, with at least 3 to 5 accompanying photos, in JPG/PNG, at least 150dpi)
– Short stories (in any Philippine language or English, at least 1000 words)

For long-form essays, please ensure that references (citations, URLs) are provided accordingly. Submissions in vernacular languages should be accompanied by a 100- word synopsis in either an English or Filipino.

Deadline for submission of contributions is 07 September 2020.

Each approved contribution will receive an honorarium of P5,000.00 subject to applicable government taxes. Each individual/contributor/stakeholder will only be allowed one submission considered for the duration of the project.

Please send your contributions to https://tinyurl.com/NBDBBookwatch

Disclaimer

By submitting the work, the author/contributor is allowing NBDB to edit the submission, where necessary, to align with the objectives of Bookwatch. The author/contributor also licences NBDB to publish the work in parts or in whole, for purposes other than Bookwatch, including but not limited to marketing and social media posting, where the author/contributor will be duly mentioned.

For clarifications regarding this call, please send mail to bookwatch@nbdb.gov.ph