Big Bad Wolf Books is building a nation of readers, one book at a time
It’s not a stretch to believe Filipinos are innate readers, just with unmet potential.
A few years ago, when I was a bored college student during the COVID-19 lockdown, I started posting about the books I read on TikTok, in a corner of the platform now nicknamed “BookTok.” The fact that I found a community of like-minded people—both voracious readers and those who picked up the habit after being ‘influenced’—convinces me that the inkling to read is there, waiting to be awakened.
The fair has held book events in eight different parts of the country in the past year. As they return to Manila, the team behind it reveals the heart that anchors their mission.
If only the books weren’t so expensive, or hard to find. If only we didn’t spend so much of our free time surviving hellish commutes.
Big Bad Wolf Books, an enormous book fair that was started in Malaysia by Andrew Yap and Jacqueline Ng, is driven by the same belief. “Books are dangerous, book can change mindsets,” Yap told me. As such, it became the fair’s mission to reach as many people as possible, all over the world.
The fair was in eight different parts of the country in the past year alone, and in the six years that I have attended, their books have never stopped being affordable. My love for reading now, and the people I found because of it, is largely thanks to a fair that never lost sight of its mission, even if it meant putting in extra work.
Big Bad Wolf returns to Manila until June 2 at V-Mall, Greenhills in San Juan City. During the fair’s opening day, I got to sit down with Yap, the co-founder, and Lesley “Ley” Reinares-Almeda, the project director.
YOUNG STAR: What’s exciting about this iteration of Big Bad Wolf that readers (and non-readers!) can look forward to?
ANDREW YAP: Coming to a mall, one of the biggest advantages is that families can come here together, and we reach the majority of Filipinos who will not go to a book event. If you put it in a convention center, only those who love reading will go, but their whole family may not go.
LEY REINARES-ALMEDA: It’s our first time in San Juan. Last time, we had a few runs in Metro Manila, from Parañaque, TriNoma, to Glorietta. One of the reasons why we had to split Metro Manila is that the traffic here is crazy, so when we stay in one area—for example, Pasay—the people in the north wouldn’t go. They would have to put in a lot more effort. We also have a lot of new books. Gen Z (attendees) are asking us about BookTok titles, so finally, when you enter, you will see a spread (of BookTok books).
Big Bad Wolf Books started in Malaysia in 2009 to help increase English literacy in the country. What drove you to expand to other countries like the Philippines?
ANDREW: We always thought it was just a Malaysian problem, where books were not accessible or affordable to the masses. In 2016, when we had an opportunity to spread the event to our neighboring countries, Thailand and Indonesia, we realized it’s a global problem.
LEY: As we evolve, we don’t just anchor on English (proficiency). What’s now important for us is education and literacy. We give space for local publishers; we culturally align with the cities we go to.
ANDREW: Among all the countries we’ve been to, even in cities in first-world countries like Dubai, the Philippines has the highest percentage of people who want to read. The response we get here has just been growing and growing.
There’s always a section dedicated to Filipino books during the sale. What has it been like to form relationships with Filipino publishers?
LEY: Even before, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Big Bad Wolf has been working with Adarna House and Tahanan Books. After the pandemic, we decided to reach more. Because we have the same heart and passion, it’s easy for us to build relationships with our local publishers. We share the same mission of not just changing the world one book at a time, but of making books affordable and accessible. Sinasabi nga nila, sa eskwelahan, pa’no matututo ang bata na magbasa kung walang librong hinahawakan?
Apart from buying books for themselves, attendees can also buy books to be donated to Big Bad Wolf’s Red Readerhood program. What has the response been to this program?
LEY: Red Readerhood is the heart of Big Bad Wolf. Big Bad Wolf is more than just a book sale. Red Readerhood is anchored on our mission of changing the world one book at a time. We have the program for the people who cannot come to the sale—our beneficiaries are usually local NGOs. They don’t have the means (to buy from the fair), but that doesn’t mean we stop including them.
We do our part as well; we don’t just ask for donations. We donate on top of it. In 2024 alone, we donated more than 30,000 books across the Philippines. Some went to orphanages, then to a few public libraries and book nooks.
In the past year, Big Bad Wolf held fairs in Pampanga, Cagayan De Oro, Davao, General Santos City and Bacolod. Not a lot of book fairs go out of their way to hold book events outside Manila. And even in Manila, you split the fair into four events across the north and south. It’s all very intentional—what drives this intention?
ANDREW: We’re a mission-based company. We have to go to the smaller cities and allow access to knowledge and books to them. The more cities we can cover, the better, so we’ll need a lot of support. The cost to transfer from one island to another is almost like transporting to another country. When we do well in the big cities, like here (in Manila), it helps us cover the costs of the smaller cities. Not many businesses do that, but it helps us achieve our mission.
LEY: We’re not doing this because we want to feel good; we want to be true to our mission. We always claim we’re the world’s biggest book sale, but there’s someone who asked me, “Can you still claim it, going from the World Trade Center to now just a 2,000-square-kilometer (venue in Greenhills)?” My answer is still yes. Because we’re in 17 countries, over 50 cities, and in the Philippines alone, we’re not just in Manila, Cebu, or Davao. We’re in more than 17 cities already. We may not be big venue-wise, but location-wise, we are still the world’s biggest book sale.
What’s your dream for Big Bad Wolf?
LEY: My dream for Big Bad Wolf is to go from Batanes to Sulu, and to have public libraries that are well-maintained. It’s the ultimate dream for everyone to own a book, but on top of that, (I dream of an) environment filled with books. You don’t have to bring a book; you can just pick one up (wherever you are) and read freely.
ANDREW: If we can get as many books as possible to the people and everyone has the opportunity to read, we can see a change in this generation. Books are the best teachers. Books are dangerous. Books can change mindsets. Our goal of one million new readers can already move the nation forward; (it can lead to) the Philippines becoming a first-world country.
Big Bad Wolf Books is on the 2nd floor of V-Mall, Greenhills in San Juan City until June 2. For updates, follow @bbwbooksph.
