SU CWC joins Duma LitFest on its second year
Silliman University’s (SU) Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center (CWC) joins the Buglas Writers Guild and LibrAria Books in organizing the second edition of the Dumaguete Literary Festival (Duma LitFest 2025), happening on April 3–6, 2025.
With the theme Towards a City of Literature, the festival is a key initiative in Dumaguete’s bid to become a UNESCO Creative City of Literature.
The festival will be held at the Arts and Design Collective Dumaguete, with satellite events at UNWND Boutique Hotel and CHADA-A.
Festival Director Ian Rosales Casocot and Co-Director Gayle Acar will open the four-day event on April 3 at 04:45 PM alongside key partners from DTI–Negros Oriental and the Dumaguete City Tourism Office. Highlights include a keynote by National Artist for Literature Resil Mojares, and appearances by Ambeth Ocampo, Butch Dalisay, Danton Remoto, Timothy Montes, and Mina V. Esguerra of RomanceClass.
This year’s festival will explore literature beyond the academy through landmark panels like “Balak, Balitaw, ug Uban Pa,” featuring Enriquita Alcaide, Anthony Maginsay, and Richel Dorotan. A rich lineup of poets—including Jam Pascual, Wanggo Gallaga, and Angela Gabrielle Fabunan—will anchor sessions on identity, form, and voice. Panels will also feature Ige Ramos on food writing, Binisaya authors, and community storytellers from Dumaguete and beyond.
Zine Fest and the Literary Bazaar will run all weekend, showcasing titles from LibrAria, XIQ Bookshop, Lost Books, Dum.alt.press, Arrows & Quivers, and Pinspired. ChikitingLit will offer children’s storytelling, screenings, and creative workshops with speakers such as Grace Gaston-Dousel, Merlo C. Fuentes, and Edgar Calabia Samar.
The festival will also present panels on AI and literature, LGBTQ+ writing, speculative fiction, and the future of community theater—alongside book launches, poetry open mics, and the return of RomanceClass’s Feel Mo ’To.
Duma LitFest is made possible with support from DTI–Negros Oriental, Dumaguete City Tourism Office, Cebu Pacific, and UNWND Boutique Hotel. Platinum sponsors include Pinspired, Backpack Solutions, Florentina Homes, Inspiro, Leon Gallery, Adamo, Summit Drinking Water, and Talecraft.
As Dumaguete steps into its literary future, Duma LitFest 2025 reminds us: beyond being the City of Gentle People, Dumaguete is—and always has been—a City of Storytellers, a City of Stories.
View the full program here.
