GUESS who’s back, Wolfies!

Big Bad Wolf, the world’s biggest book sale, will be returning to the Philippines this June.

The Malaysia-based book-selling company will be holding its in-person event in the country for the first time in three years from June 24 to July 3.

Bookworms can hoard titles from various authors all around the world at the Philippine International Convention Center Forum Tent in Pasay City.

Courtesy: Big Bad Wolf on Facebook

This year’s shop will not be open for 24 hours, but it will cater to its customers starting at 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily. Admission is free.

The last time Big Bad Wolf visited Manila was in February 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the book sale transitioned to an online medium to cater to customers through e-commerce sites like Lazada.

Big Bad Wolf was first established in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2009 by Andrew Yap and Jacqueline Ng.

It provides readers with an assortment of genres like science-fiction, thrillers, literature, business, cookbooks, art and design, and children’s books, to name a few. The sale also includes many other sought-after books to indulge every bibliophile’s needs.

The book sale also intends to “cultivate reading habits, increase English literacy worldwide, and build a new generation of readers by making books more affordable and accessible to everyone.”

Big Bad Wolf tours around 37 cities in 13 countries, such as Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Tanzania, and Kenya.

Importance of book sales

Although this is not her first time, 23-year-old Anya Garcia said she feels excited to attend the Big Bad Wolf again.

She told republicasia that book sales similar to this provide an opportunity for literature to reach more audiences. 

It is also a chance for readers to take home titles at a cheaper rate while also supporting the authors behind these amazing stories.

“I feel like the importance of book fairs is that they bring literature and so much knowledge and information to more people, ” said Garcia.

“And I agree, especially because the price of books has gone up with the production cost, din siguro, kaya yung mga iba nagreresort na lang din sa PDF [copies] online,” she added.

Garcia also said that book fairs like Big Bad Wolf will also help prevent the patronization of counterfeit or pirated books.

“Syempre it’s better din to support the authors by buying their real books instead of the pirated ones,” she added.

“Book fairs are also a chance for readers to explore more titles and genres,” she said.

What to expect

Over 2 million new books will be available during the event. Attendees can also score up to a 95% discount on selected titles.

Aside from the unbelievable book deals, Big Bad Wolf regular Garcia said interested attendees should also expect a surge of people splurging on books from different parts of the Philippines.

“I expect a lot of people, maybe even more than the event has had in the past few years,” the 23-year-old graphic artist told republicasia.

She is also anticipating a massive number of books. Garcia also mentioned she wouldn’t be surprised if there would be bookshelves tagged as “TikTok recommendations.”

Courtesy: Big Bad Wolf on Facebook

Meanwhile, Big Bad Wolf first timer Jannica Ramirez said she can’t wait to find and purchase the novels on her to-be-read list during the sale.

The 20-year-old literature major told republicasia that she has been saving her school allowance to buy books at the event.

“I always miss the BBW event the past years, kaya inipon ko talaga [yung] allowance ko from school so I can splurge and buy all the books in my TBR,” said Ramirez.

Things to bring

According to Garcia, attendees should prepare a list of the books they want to buy during the sale.

“Kailangan may listahan ka ng libro na gusto mong bilhin. Open mo na yung Goodreads mo tapos lista mo na lahat para may collected list ka and dire-diretso ka na agad sa paghahanap,” she said.

Her BBW to-buy list for this year includes Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura, The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa, The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing, Before Your Memories Fade, and Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

She also recommends bringing a towel, a water jug, and a portable fan, as it would be quite stuffy inside the venue considering the number of attendees and the current weather.

Garcia said that customers should also bring an extra tote bag for their purchased books and cash, as it might be difficult to make an online payment at the venue.