It’s time for WIT 2! September 8, Saturday, 6th Floor, Alphaland Towers, from 8 to 5 pm. Entrance is only P100! Check this link for information and recordings about the first WIT event in September of last year.
Will update this post once I get the complete schedule with time slots, but from my end, expect a short talk about A Bottle of Storm Clouds, reading and storytelling, and the markets where aspiring writers can send their stories. Expect excerpt readings of my stories as well!
Panelists and speakers include Budjette Tan (Trese), Manix Abrera (Kikomachine Komix), Karen Francisco (Naermyth), Carlo Vergara (ZsaZsa Zaturnnah), Karl de Mesa (News of the Shaman), and many more. Save the date and stand by for updates!
Poster art and design by Manix Abrera
UPDATE!
Morning (8AM-12NN) divided into (2) two sessions (Session A & Session B)
J’s ma got us free tickets to Resorts World Manila’s Ultra Cinema, “with fully reclining seats, enclosed private cubicles for couples, unlimited popcorn and drinks—and even a butler service”, thanks to her Platinum Membership Card. The film? Expendables 2. Ha! Campy and noisy, it was the perfect film to watch with cheese popcorn, rootbeer, and a chair to help you sleep.
J’s too shy to call the butler (actually just some young dude who probably hates his job) himself.We should have brought a blanket.
The Youth & Beauty Brigade wants to publish your book!
We are looking towards publishing books by young, unpublished authors with brave, new, and vibrant works we are both befuddled by and believe in.
The guidelines:
The book should be about an investigation: implicit, explicit, inner or outer, about any and all – a family member’s suicide, flood control protocols, a detective novel, history of the evolution of the logo of a multinational company, etc etc – as long as something is being detected, uncovered, found, as long as the investigation is refracted through art’s lens;
The book should fit 48 pages, all in, from 9”x9” to 6”x6” to 4”x4”, counting the front and back matters, i.e., title page, copyright page, dedication, acknowledgements, endnotes, etc etc;
The book need not be pure prose or pure poetry: any multimedia and extraliterary form is welcome, as long as it can be fitted and printed within the 48 pages.
The finalists will be deliberated upon by select judges for each category composed of Filipino readers. They will read and discuss the books and decide which is deserving to receive the Readers’ Choice Award in that specific category. More details about the judging period and the judges will be posted soon!
Are you ready to see the finalists now?
Children’s Picture Books:
Mahabang-mahabang-mahaba by Genaro Gojo Cruz and Ghani Madueno (2010, Adarna)
Oh Mateo 13: Tree for All by Grace Chong and Beth Parrocha-Doctolero (2011, Hiyas/OMF Lit)
But That Won’t Wake Me Up by Annie and Anelka Lumbao and Liza Flores (2010, Adarna)
Chick Lit:
One Crazy Summer by Ines Bautista-Yao (2011, Summit)
Table for Two by Marla Miniano (2010, Summit)
Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra (2010, Self-published)
Novel in English:
Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco (2010, Anvil)
Super Panalo Sounds! by Lourd de Veyra (2011, UST Publishing House)
Tall Story by Candy Gourlay (2010, Cacho Publishing House)
Novel in Filipino:
Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin by Bob Ong (2011, Visprint)
Ang Huling Dalagang Bukid at ang Authobiography na Mali by Jun Cruz-Reyes (2011, Anvil)
Ang Mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan by Bob Ong (2010, Visprint)
Comics/Graphic Novels:
KikoMachine Komiks Blg 6 by Manix Abrera (2010, Visprint)
Angel Crush by Ace Vitangcol (2011, Alturia Hill)
Love is in the Bag Vol 5 by Ace Vitangcol (2011, Alturia Hill)
Short story anthology:
The Secret of the Cave and Other Stories for Young Readers edited by Ed Maranan (2011, Anvil)
Alternative Alamat edited by Paolo Chikiamco (2011, Rocket Kapre and Flipside)
Philippine Speculative Fiction 6 edited by Nikki Alfar and Kate Aton Osias (2011, Kestrel DDM)
Essay Anthology:
It’s a Mens World by Bebang Siy (2011, Anvil)
Astigirl by Tweet Sering (2011, Astigirl Publishing)
Chulalongkorn’s Elephants by Ambeth Ocampo (2011, Anvil)
Poetry
Under the Storm: An Anthology of Contemporary Philippine Poetry by Khavn de la Cruz and Joel M. Toledo (2011, Antithesis Collective)
May Tiyanak sa Loob ng Aking Bag by Eugene Evasco (2011, Anvil)
Off the Beaten Track: Tulaan sa Tren 2 (2010, Vibal)
I had fun at the PSF 7 launch on July 28, but the celebration was a bit dampened by the discovery that the anthology contained an earlier draft and not the final approved version of my story, “username: tanglaw”.
Good news, though, the corrected version is now live on Amazon. Hopefully the authors will get their compli ebook copies soon with the correct version of the story.
I’ve already begun reading PSF 7, and I think this is the strongest PSF anthology yet. The quality of the stories is just staggering. Early favorites (I need to mention that I don’t read in order): “All the Best of Dark and Bright” by Victoria Isabel Yap, “East of the Sun” by Dean Alfar, “The Changes” by Benito Vergara, “Pet” by Kristine Ong Muslim, and “The Likeness of God” by Crystal Koo.
The crowd at the launch at CBTL, Shangri-La Mall.
With Kristine, Flipside’s Acquisitions Editor. (And Alex posing for GQ, apparently. Haha.)
Feast your eyes on this gorgeousness! The cover art is here and my first short story collection – A Bottle of Storm Clouds – is coming to bookstores real soon, courtesy of Visprint.
Cover art and design by Karen Francisco, author of Naermyth.
Award-winning author Eliza Victoria mixes magic with the mundane in this special concoction of 16 short stories. A girl meets a young man with the legs of a chicken. A boy is employed by a goddess running a pawnshop. A group of teenagers are trapped in an enchanted forest for 900 days. A man finds himself in an MRT station beyond Taft, a station that was not supposed to exist. A student claims to have seen the last few digits of pi. Someone’s sister gets abducted by mermaids.
Includes stories that have appeared in the critically acclaimed anthologies Philippine Speculative Fiction and Alternative Alamat, and stories that have won prizes in the Philippines Free Press Literary Awards and the Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio Literary Contest.
A comic book fan gets his wish; A woman’s quest for the perfect man; Diseases sold over the Internet. The Philippine Speculative Fiction series are anthologies that showcase the rich variety of Philippine literature: between these covers you will find magic realism next to science fiction, traditional fantasy beside slipstream, and imaginary worlds rubbing shoulders with alternate Philippine history — demonstrating that the literature of the fantastic is alive and well in the Philippines.
Stories from this series have been included in the Honorable Mentions list from The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror edited by Ellen Datlow and Kelly Link & Gavin Grant.
“Volume 4 of the series is, in my humble opinion, the best yet in the series. It contains 24 stories by both new and more established writers.” – World Fantasy Award-winning author Jeffrey Ford
Contributors include:
Ronald Cruz
Charles Tan
Jose Elvin Bueno
Kenneth Yu
Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
Maryanne Moll
Carljoe Javier
Joseph Nacino
Paolo Jose Cruz
Adam David
Erica Gonzales
Anne Lagamayo
Vincent Simbulan
Eliza Victoria
Leo Magno
Noel Tio
Celestine Trinidad
Isabel Yap
Monique Francisco
Kathleen Aton-Osias
Sharmaine Galve
Crystal Gain Shangkuan Koo
Andrew Drilon
Apol Lejano-Massebieau
Hello, hello! A belated Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there. I spent it in Bulacan, with J and my family. I gave my mother a Strawberry Cream-scented lotion and body scrub that smelled so good I was, for a brief moment, tempted to just keep them and give her a blender instead.
Mark Twain, in his essay, To the Person Sitting in Darkness, speaks out against the Imperialism of the United States and in particular against the actions taken by the Americans in subjugating the Philippines and appropriating the victory of the Filipinos against the Spanish colonizers.
Mark Twain writes in his essay about the mindset of America in those days: We have got the Archipelago, and we shall never give it up.
When I read this essay, I can feel the bewilderment of the patriots who had fought and won the war against the Spanish, and I feel utter sorrow in knowing that our supposed allies painted us as being uncivilized and not fit to rule our own country. I also feel indignation on behalf of the soldiers who fought against the Spanish and who realized that they were facing another, more insidious enemy. The thing is, where Spain very clearly presented themselves as conquering overlords, America presented itself as a friend. It was an excellent strategy which confused us completely because what they did to the Filipino was a betrayal of that word “friend”.
And for something fun, read madmacarta. It’s my daily pick-me-up. Bonggey!
Eliza Victoria 