"Piolo: Believing" is a pictorial biography of Piolo Pascual in celebration of his first decade in show business. Debuting in the book writing scene is David Fabros, a celebrity photographer, who has worked with Piolo and other young stars throughout his seven years at ABS-CBN Talent Center (now Star Magic). Most of his celebrity photos are showcased in his website www.davidfabros.com.

"I believe in Piolo and in his commitment to his craft, and in using what he has to touch lives of people… that’s simply where this all started," writes Fabros in his preface.

"Piolo: Believing" also includes never-before-seen images from Piolo Pascual’s personal photo collection such as those from his childhood, life before showbiz, outtake footage from his film, his day-to-day life with family and friends, and his remarkable showbiz career.

ABS-CBN star-maker Johnny Manahan writes the foreword for the book: "This is about a major star that a network has brought up – and we are mighty proud of what this young man has achieved for himself through the years. His exemplary professionalism and work ethic are things that have always impressed me and my colleagues…we feel this guy would breeze through the next 20 years, still doing award-winning films and highly-rated TV shows."

"Piolo: Believing" is co-published by San Mig Coffee, Banco de Oro, Sky Travel Luggage and Centrum. "Piolo: Believing" is available in softbound and hardbound editions at leading bookstores and magazine outlets nationwide. For more information about the book, log on to www.wikipilipinas.org.

The traditional UP Writers’ Night on Dec. 8 at U.P. Diliman promises to be more than a chance to meet the idols of Philippine literature.

The event starts off at 5:30 p.m. with the awarding ceremony of the Madrigal Gonzalez Best First Book Award at the Teatro Hermogenes Ylagan, Bulwagang Rizal (Faculty Center), UP Diliman. This award honors authors whose maiden publications merit an auspicious introduction to modern-day readers. This annual award is administered by the UP Institute of Creative Writing for the Madrigal and Gonzalez families. Gisela Gonzalez Montinola will be present at the affair.

Shortlisted for the award are: Dean Francis Alfar’s "Salamanca" (novel); Barbara-Ann Gamboa Lewis’s "Barefoot in Fire" (creative non-fiction); Maria Isabel Garcia’s "Science Solitaire" (essays); Rica Bolipata-Santos’s "Love, Desire, Children, Etc." (creative nonfiction); Helen Yap’s "From Inside the Berlin Wall" (creative nonfiction); and Katrin De Guia’s "Kapwa; The Self In The Other" (creative nonfiction).

This activity will be followed by the launching of the first issue of the UPICW’s new literary journal, "Likhaan 2007: The Journal of Contemporary Philippine Literature," with Jose Dalisay as issue editor; and J. Neil Garcia and Lilia Quindoza Santiago as associate editors.

Performances are by Cesare Syjuco, Heber Bartolome, DJ Alvaro, dancer/choreographer Myra Beltran, zitar player Joey Valenciano, ventriloquist Ony Carcamo, experimental artist Jeena Marquez, Romancing Venus, and poets Marne Kilates and Teo Antonio.

There will also be a mock fashion show staged by campus groups UP Quill, UP Speca, UP Ugat and UP Writers Club. All in the spirit of carnivalesque play. For details, call Eva Cadiz at UP ICW.

The European Studies in Asia (ESiA) network is launching the publication "The EU through the Eyes of Asia: Media, Public and Elite Perceptions in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Thailand" on Dec. 5, at 7 p.m. at the Crown Plaza Galleria Manila. The event will be held immediately before ESiA’s "Workshop on the Future of European Studies in Asia", a major gathering of European studies academics from Asia and Europe hosted by Ateneo de Manila University.

Two keynote speakers, H.E. Alistair MacDonald, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission in the Philippines, and H.E. Prof. Dr. Edilberto C. de Jesus, former Secretary of Education of the Philippines, will address the approximately 100 invited guests representing the academe, think-tanks, government officials, the diplomatic community, the private sector and the media.

The publication is the outcome of ESiA’s pilot study "EU through the Eyes of Asia". It presents an in-depth analysis on Asian perceptions of the EU through media evaluation, public opinion surveys and elite interviews in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Thailand between January 2006 and July 2007.

ESiA is an academic network initiated by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) to stimulate European studies in the Asian region. It is a partnership between ASEF, NCRE, Ateneo University of Manila, and the University of Warsaw, and is supported by the European Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France. The publication is printed in Poland by the University of Warsaw.

Book donations received by the National Book Development Board (NBDB) from private companies are now fully tax deductible.

In an effort to encourage more local companies to donate books for its countrywide book donation drive, the NBDB, after consultation with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), will now be issuing Certificate of Donations for books purchased from NBDB-registered booksellers and publishers and subsequently donated to NBDB, which will qualify the donors for full tax deductions from their gross income.

Pursuant to Section 5 of BIR-NEDA Regulations No. 1-81 of the Tax Code of 1997, NBDB, as a government agency, is an eligible donee institution, thus, donations it receives are deductible in full from the gross income of the donor.

To avail of the said incentive, donors are required to submit a notice for every donation worth over P1,000 to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue within thirty (30) days after the receipt of the Certificate of Donation issued by NBDB.

As the government agency mandated to promote readership and an efficient system of reading centers across the country, NBDB is currently accepting book donations from NGOs, private companies, and interested individuals for distribution to barangay reading centers throughout the archipelago.