Bookwatch Online Edition

Since mid-March this year, the whole of Luzon, its associated islands, and parts of Visayas, were placed under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the threat of the 2019 N-coronavirus (COVID-19). This had effectively put much of the country in total lockdown, limiting the movement of the general population to securing bare necessities, going to work, and responding to health-related emergencies, in response to the pandemic.

Additional lockdown restrictions across the country likewise mandated the temporary closure of non-essential shops and businesses, including those in the publishing and creative industries. As a community response to these changes, the same disruption gave way to alternative modes of interactions within the book trade and creative circles, among others, during the COVID-19 quarantine.

As the government agency mandated to support the book development and publishing sector, the National Book Development Board (NBDB) sees the importance of gathering narratives and connecting it to the collective memory and cultural experiences of Filipinos during this extraordinary time. The Special Online Edition of Book watch gathers everyday anecdotes, experiences, and reflections which will speak of our narratives about and while in quarantine.

We are pleased to announce the first batch of contributors for the Bookwatch Special Online Edition 2020.

“Mula sa #Dagli19 #COVID19” by Stefani J Alvarez

“Quarantine Market Run bilang Faux Flâneur, at iba pang Naratibong Gobang” by Mark Angeles

“Portraits of Confinement (2020-)” by Mac Andre R. Arboleda

“Kauhaw Giluwas sa Lamaw” (Coconut Juice Save the Thirst) by Kathrece Pia Camacho

“Ambo(N)” by Windel Joy Clerigo

“Mga Paagi sa Pag-Uli” by R. Joseph Dazo

“Our Facades Speak” by Danielle Florendo

“Nagpapangabuhi” by Bryan A. Fruelda

“Lost in Isolation” by Dr. Kristin Managaytay

“Sixteen Minutes: My COVID-19 Travelogue” by Alexander San Pedro