The Filipino American book festival San Francisco hosts at its Main Library is back this weekend. FilBookFest 8, the 8th Filipino American International Book Festival, runs Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 17 and 18, at the San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, during Filipino American History Month. The festival bills itself as the largest Filipino American literary festival in the United States, and this year it takes on a theme: SANGGALAN, with the tagline "Stories that propel us, stories that protect us."

For anyone in the Bay Area who writes, reads, publishes or programs Filipino American stories, this is the weekend to be in the building. Here is what the festival has confirmed so far, and what it has not.

What is the Filipino American International Book Festival?

The Filipino American International Book Festival is a two-day literary gathering built around panel discussions, book signings and readings. According to the festival's website, it brings together writers, scholars and creatives from the U.S., Canada and the Philippines, with a mix of established and emerging voices. The site describes its mission as celebrating storytelling, culture and the diverse experiences of the Filipino diaspora.

The 2026 edition is the eighth. The festival's site archives earlier editions from 2019, 2022 and 2024, which tells you something about the rhythm: this is a festival that has built its audience over years, not a one-off.

It is presented by PAWA Inc., according to the festival's website. Logos on the site link to the San Francisco Public Library's Filipino American Center, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library and Litquake, though the site text does not spell out each partner's role.

When and where is FilBookFest 8 in San Francisco?

The short answer: Saturday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, at the San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street.

The one set of hours the festival site lists is for its marketplace, held in the library's Latino Room. It is open Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. and Sunday from 12:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The site invites visitors to "support PAWA's table and our other book and merch vendors, meet your favorite authors at book signings, sample some Filipino-inspired snacks!"

The festival's schedule page did not show individual session listings, speaker names or admission details when we checked. Check filbookfestival.org or email filbookfestorganizers@gmail.com, the contact listed on the site, for the program before you go.

What can readers and writers expect this weekend?

Three things are confirmed for the 2026 edition: panels, signings and readings. That mix suits a festival that treats the book as the center of community life, with the marketplace giving authors a place to meet readers face to face and giving independent vendors a place to sell.

The theme, SANGGALAN, and its tagline point to the idea of stories as both momentum and protection. The festival's site does not define the word, so we will not guess at it here.

For a sense of scale, look back at the last edition. The San Francisco Chronicle reported in October 2024 that the seventh festival, held Oct. 12 and 13, was free and drew more than 60 writers, scholars and creatives. That edition featured Ninotchka Rosca delivering the opening keynote and Elaine Castillo, author of "America Is Not the Heart," giving the Sunday keynote on the power of reading. The Chronicle also reported a closing panel on writing in social movements and advocacy with Rosca, Castillo and Albert Samaha. Those details describe 2024, not this year's lineup, and we have not confirmed whether 2026 admission is free or who is speaking.

Why does the festival matter during Filipino American History Month?

October is Filipino American History Month, and the festival places itself squarely inside it. For the industry audience that follows Asian American entertainment, a book festival is worth watching as a place where writers from three countries meet readers and each other in one library.

That is context, not a claim about any specific deal or adaptation, and none was announced on the festival's site.

What should you do before you go?

  • Confirm the program on the festival's schedule page, since session details were not posted when we checked.
  • Plan marketplace time: Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., Sunday 12:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., in the Latino Room.
  • Check ahead for any admission or registration requirements, which the site did not list.
  • Volunteers and authors: the site links to volunteer and author proposal pages.

The festival site describes the event as support for the Filipinx American literary community and accepts donations. For one weekend in October, the largest Filipino American literary festival in the country, by its own description, fills the San Francisco Main Library. Show up, buy the book, and tell the author you came.

Sources: the festival's website (filbookfestival.org) for 2026 details; San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 7, 2024, for the seventh edition. The "largest" description is the festival's own.