Category: poetry

aiming for two book releases in 2016

Hello!

Wow I haven’t been in here since forever.

I realized that I did not have a major print release last year, and so perhaps two books this year will even things out?

(I’m sure Mina Esguerra is looking at this and thinking, oh two books in a year? You’re so cute.)

Mervin Malonzo is busy working on the art for After Lambana. Here are some sample art I posted a while back to remind you/get you all excited. [Further reading: “Visprint announces 2016 Komiks Line-Up” on Flipgeeks.]

I sincerely have no idea how readers will react to this story. I also have no idea how readers will react to Wounded Little Gods, my little novel slated for release in March. [Further reading: “Eliza Victoria has Another Book!” on Whatsageek]

[We geeks band together, as it turns out.]

In other news, I will have a poem in the 42nd issue of Neon Literary Magazine. Thank you to editor Krishan Coupland. Check back on the leap day, and please consider pre-ordering or subscribing.

I’ve spent today putting the finishing touches to the eBook editions of issue forty-two of Neon. If all goes to plan, the latest instalment of the magazine will launch at the end of this month, on February 29th. If you want to be one of the first people to get hold of a copy, why not place a pre-order, or even subscribe?

From a brief biography of a man raised as a chicken, to a mortuary romance, to a tale that teeters on the edge of a precariously-assembled tower, this issue is packed with excellent poetry and fiction. There’s even a grotesquely surreal comic by Swedish artist Janne Karlsson, and an innocuous-looking but unique broadside by poet Jaclyn Weber.

Other writers featured in issue forty-two include Luke Silver, Clifford Parody, Jane Flett, Mack W Mani, Tara White, Eliza Victoria, Gregory Cartwright, Caroline Hardaker, and Natalia Theodoridou.

This will be our largest print run ever for an issue of Neon. Thanks to everyone who has already subscribed or purchased a copy – and for everyone else, it’s never too late to do so.

I am still writing–though not as fast and as often as I used to, as I want to. Work and life get in the way, you know how it is. But I’m enjoying working on the new novel (a murder mystery/fantasy), even if my scattered notes and plot timelines are driving me crazy. I have broken past the 100-page mark. I have a good feeling about it.

2016 poems + filipino readercon

November’s coming to a close, and I’m ending it with a couple of acceptances, a writers night, and a reader conference.

  • UK-based Neon Literary Magazine will be publishing my poem “What Waits” in a 2016 issue. Thank you to editor Krishan Coupland. You can read a poem of mine here, published in Neon’s 34th issue. You can read Krishan’s interview with me here.
  • Singapore-based Kitaab will be publishing my poem “Tiny Tragedies”. My thanks to poetry editor Desmond Kon.

The 9th Likhaan volume, edited by Luna Sicat-Cleto, Eugene Evasco, Isabela Banzon and Charlson Ong, and which includes my story “The Seventh”, will be launched during Writers Night at the UP Executive House on November 26. Read the details here.

readercon-program-v2

The 5th Filipino ReaderCon will be held this Saturday, November 28 at the Henry Sy Hall, the De La Salle University in Manila. Register here  and check out the panel descriptions here.

‘dwellers’ wins best novel in english at the 34th national book awards + a new poem + #talkflip

Exciting stuff! Dwellers wins Best Novel in English, and Visprint is awarded Publisher of the Year. Thank you to Visprint, the National Book Development Board, the Manila Critics Circle, J and my family, and the little book’s readers for their attention and kindness. Congratulations to all the winners. The full list follows.

Dwellers by Eliza Victoria (Cover)

The National Book Development Board (NBDB) and the Manila Critics Circle (MCC) are pleased to announce the winners of the 34th National Book Awards (NBA). Below is the list of NBA winners for books published in 2014:
LITERARY DIVISION

FICTION CATEGORY – NOVEL
(English Language)

Dwellers, by Eliza Victoria, Visprint, Inc.

FICTION CATEGORY – NOVEL
(Filipino Language)

Si Janus Silang at ang Tiyanak ng Tabon, by Edgar Calabia Samar, Adarna House, Inc.

FICTION CATEGORY – SHORT STORIES
(English Language)

Wonderlust, by Nikki Alfar, Anvil Publishing Inc.

NONFICTION CATEGORY
(English Language)

Ramon Obusan, Philippine Folkdance and Me, by Kanami Namiki, Anvil Publishing, Inc.

ESSAYS CATEGORY
(English Language)

Cherry Blossoms in the Time of Earthquakes and Tsunami, by Rey Ventura, Ateneo de Manila University Press

ESSAYS CATEGORY
(Filipino Language)

iStatus Nation, by Joselito Delos Reyes, Visprint, Inc.

ANTHOLOGY CATEGORY
(English Language)

Agam: Filipino Narratives on Uncertainty and Climate Change, edited by Regina Abuyuan, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities

ANTHOLOGY CATEGORY
(Filipino Language)

Ang Labingtatlong Pasaway, by Jun Cruz Reyes, Visprint, Inc.

LITERARY CRITICISM/LITERARY HISTORY CATEGORY
(English Language)

The Postcolonial Perverse vol. 1, by J. Neil C. Garcia, The University of the Philippines Press

LITERARY CRITICISM/LITERARY HISTORY CATEGORY
(Filipino Language)

Talab: Mga Sanaysay sa Wika, Panitikan, at Pagtuturo, by Rebecca T. Añonuevo, Ateneo de Naga University Press

POETRY CATEGORY
(English Language)

Hidden Codex: Fictive Scriptures, by Jose Marte A. Abueg, University of Santo Tomas Publishing House

Time’s Enchantment and Other Reflections, by Marne Kilates, Ateneo de Naga University Press

POETRY CATEGORY
(Philippine Language except Hiligaynon/Kinaray-a)

Kundiman sa Gitna ng Karimlan, by E. San Juan, The University of the Philippines Press

POETRY CATEGORY
(Hiligaynon/Kinaray-a Language)

Tikum Kadlum, by Federico Caballero and Alicia P. Magos, The University of the Philippines Press

GRAPHIC LITERATURE CATEGORY
(English Language)

Rodski Patotski: Ang Dalagang Baby, by Gerry Alanguilan (story) and Arnold Arre (illustration and color), Meganon Comics Publishing House

GRAPHIC LITERATURE CATEGORY
(Filipino Language)

Tabi Po (Volume 1), by Mervin Malonzo, Visprint, Inc.

GRAPHIC LITERATURE CATEGORY
(Wordless)

14 (Silent Comics) by Manix Abrera (writer and illustrator), Visprint, Inc.

TRANSLATION CATEGORY

Manila Synod of 1582: The Draft of Its Handbook for Confessors, translated by Paul A. Dumol, Ateneo de Manila University Press

NON-LITERARY DIVISION

FOOD CATEGORY

Country Cooking, by Michaela Fenix, Anvil Publishing, Inc.

SOCIAL SCIENCES CATEGORY

Rido: Clan Feuding and Conflict Management in Mindanao (expanded edition), by Wilfredo Magno Torres III (editor), Ateneo de Manila University Press

PROFESSIONS CATEGORY

The Adventures of a PR Girl, by Bettina Rodriguez-Olmedo, Anvil Publishing, Inc.

LEISURE CATEGORY

Buti Pa Ang Roma, May Bagong Papa, by Noreen Capili, Anvil Publishing, Inc.

ART CATEGORY

Journey of a Thousand Shuttles, The Philippine Weave, by Norma A. Respicio, National Commission for Culture and the Arts

SCIENCE CATEGORY

Birds of Cebu and Bohol Philippines, by Nilo Arribas Jr., Bobby Kintanar, and Raul Benjamin Puentespina, University of San Carlos Press

HISTORY CATEGORY

Sakdalistas’ Struggle for Philippine Independence, 1930-1945, by Motoe Terami-Wada, Ateneo de Manila University Press

JOURNALISM CATEGORY

Vantage Point: The Sixth Estate and Other Discoveries, by Luis Teodoro, The University of the Philippines Press

DESIGN

Manila Synod of 1582: The Draft of Its Handbook for Confessors, design by Karl Fredrick M. Castro, Ateneo de Manila University Press

LANGUAGE STUDIES

Ambagan 2011: Mga Salita Mula sa Iba’t Ibang Wika sa Filipinas, by Michael M. Coroza and Galileo S. Zafra, The University of the Philippines Press

PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR

Visprint, Inc.

Source: National Book Development Board

Other exciting things:

Live twitter chat eliza victoria

new poem: ‘stargazing’ on southern pacific review

I have a new poem now live on Southern Pacific Review. Click here to read. My thanks to this publication, especially former Poetry Editor Julia Hones, for giving this piece a home.

start the year right with book launches! fast food fiction + chasing tales + the cabinet revival issue

Hi all! How’s your 2015 so far? I’ll have to start with a teeny tiny bad news. Bad news for me personally, but good for devout Catholics in the country: the Pope will be arriving in Manila later today, but due to his arrival and activities here, several roads will be closed. Including our road. Yep. Due to this, I will be missing out on BLTX6 (January 17-18) at Uno Morato in QC. Click here for event details. Do check it out if you are in the area.

The books that will go on sale include Chasing Tales from MoarBooks, which contains a story of mine called “Fairy Tales”, appearing in print for the first time; and the Cabinet’s Revival Issue, which contains a new poem of mine that has not appeared anywhere else, offline or online.

Update: The Revival Issue’s launch has been moved to Jan. 24, 5:30 PM, Uno Morato.

cabinet

bltx6

But before January ends, I will be at the launch of Fast Food Fiction Delivery, a flash fiction anthology edited by Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta and Noelle Q. de Jesus. See you on January 31, 3 PM at Powerbooks Greenbelt!

fffd

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‘apocalypses’: philippine edition cover reveal

victoria-apocalypses-cover01

Apocalypses, poems, 2013. Cover art and design by Adam David.

Adam talks about the cover:

I’ve always loved Eliza’s poems, which I’ve always felt had menacing shadows flickering just past the filigree. Tried evoking that in the cover, but, you know, I’ve also been wanting to take photos of miniature furniture for quite some time now, so when Eliza eMailed me a brief with marching orders to do “a neutral place – a kitchen table, a living room, a train station – no people,” I more or less jumped at the opportunity.

If you have already ordered a copy, my deepest thanks. I will send you an email once the book is ready.

For those interested in having a copy, please contact me.

Anina Abola from the Metro Serye team sent me a message saying that they have received numerous requests for copies of the poems I read during the World Poetry Day event at the Ayala Triangle.

So here they are:

Maps

Always, the request to reconstruct what has already destroyed you. Show us where, and your finger sweeps mountains and seas to settle on a blossoming bruise, a gunshot wound, a burning wall, a room, a face, a sign. Tell us what happened that night. You unfurl what you know and hold down the corners with rocks. Tell us what you saw. If a witness: the bookcases, the overturned lamp, the ruined door, the bodies in supplication, the scattered self. If a survivor: the ceiling with a dying light. If the body – if the face on the photocopied poster –

Here I am, perhaps standing on the second before it happens. I have the grocery list as my guide. I have pre-marked my path.Why did this happen? The key is in the slow deconstruction. Bread, detergent powder, grapes, apples, cheese, a kilo of meat, a head of lettuce. This is why. This is where it starts. Every second is a second before it happens. I hear a siren and say a prayer. I hear a sound in the middle of the night and hope that you are safe. Your only weapon is what you know. I push the cart and know only these aisles and the order in which I visit them. The girl behind the counter offers no clues. What power do I have? Already the curtain curls under the weight of fire. Already the ground welcomes whatever it believes is coming.

 

 Maps

Those of us who still remember – we know nothing but longing.
My grandmother sits perfectly content by the shore
of this day, this isolated ocean, contained within itself.
I never ask, What is my name? for who am I to invade her view,
skipping rocks on her calm waters, blocking this sun she believes
has done her no wrong. Didn’t my grandfather die in heat?
A headache on a summer day, a nap, a death that devastated her
now leaving her without a sound. Define injustice in this context,
define betrayal. Define love. Define peace. My father misses a turn
and I am filled with dread. Is this how it starts?
Perhaps inside him is a house now slowly being emptied
of photographs and furniture. How long before he throws open the door,
before I fail to stem the hemorrhaging moment?

Inside myself is an open window, where I cup my chin and long for you
while I can, while I can still remember. I now treasure the darkening sky,
the memory of disasters, the cold that visits me at night.
I treasure you, this open window, your absence and my awareness
of this absence. In my dreams, we are always the ocean,
I cannot see the end of ourselves, I am blinded by the sun
rising on our horizon, we are the one marvel I never fail to witness.

© Eliza Victoria