December 2009
10 posts
Ruin and Resolve - Cover and TOC Reveal
Given all that the country has been through in the last two months, September 2009 might seem a lifetime away to some of us. Yet the damage from Ondoy and Pepeng still remains, and in the coming year the typhoons will return, as they always do. As Filipinos, as writers, as Spec Fic lovers, we want to do our part to help those who are still recovering from the storms, and to support those who will...
Ruin and Resolve
When calamities befall us, we react not only as individuals, but as distinct communities. After Ondoy and Pepeng devastated the country, as decent men and women we gave money, goods, and time to the relief effort–but we also saw collectors hold auctions, artists offer commissions, and musicians stage concerts, for the benefit of the typhoon victims. Our callings and vocations are part of who we...
Chained Links: 21 December 2009
For your pre-Christmas edition of our link round-up, we’ve got a site launch, science tidbits and a smattering of history: Site Launch: The official Estranghero Press website is now up and running (although parts remain, as per internet tradition, “under construction”). Books and the Writing Craft: Mitali Perkins on why she writes multicultural books. (Via Stacy Whitman) For...
Tabi Tabi Po in San Francisco
The sting of neglecting to cover an awesome event such as “Tabi Tabi Po” (a “group exhibition that explores the rich and colorful creatures of Filipino Folklore through Urban Contemporary art”) is only somewhat mitigated by the fact that I don’t think I could have managed the commute to, er, San Francisco (at the 1:AM Gallery) in time (the exhibit took place from...
Confessions of a Shipper - A Discussion of Fanfic
Anna Felicia Sanchez is a published author, a professor at the University of the Philippines, and a Palanca Awardee. She is also, (refreshingly) unabashedly not only a fan of anime/manga but also a fanfic writer, and one of the few people I’ve found locally who deem fan writings to be an important aspect of popular culture worthy of academic study. I missed her fanfic writing seminar last...
Rochita Loenen-Ruiz on the Context of Culture
Filipina writer and 2009 Octavia E. Butler Scholar Rochita Loenen-Ruiz has a guest post up at Jeff Vandermeer’s Ecstatic Days where she speaks about why she attempts to be true to her culture (as a Filipina who grew up in the Mountain Province) in her writing. Here’s an excerpt: That a lot of Filipinos believe in the superiority of what’s foreign is a sad truth. It’s just like how...
Smashwords Edition of Usok #1
As a publisher (digital or not) avenues of distribution are key to any strategy. It’s our job, after all, to get the stories of our authors in front of as many people as possible. Smashwords.com is one of the more open and promising ebook distribution outlets at the present (it is DRM-free as well), and we’ll be releasing our ebooks and digital files of Usok on the site. Smashwords...
New Trese Graphic Novella at Rogue
For all you Trese fans out there, a new novella entitled Masquerade (or Case File # 1031) has been uploaded to Rogue magazine, with a story by Trese scribe Budjette Tan and art by Mark Torres. It’s nice to see Trese stories appearing in different formats, and it does seem to allow for the possibility of more frequent releases of related content even when co-creator Kajo Baldisimo is...
Isagani Cruz on Teaching Spec Fic
Respected author and professor Isagani Cruz has been teaching a course about Speculative Fiction (“Specfict”is his chosen abbreviation) at the Ateneo de Manila University, and in a recent Philippine Star column he talks about his experiences teaching the course and trying to keep up with the latest developments and trends in the field by allowing his students to have a say in the works...
Chained Links: 2 December 2009
Let’s start off December with another link roundup of news that might be of interest to readers and writers of Philippine Spec Fic: Ateneo University Press is having a booksale (via Philippine Genre Stories) The 2nd San Pablo City Comics Festival will be held this Sunday (via Azrael’s Merryland) Adam David reviews El Indio (via thePOC.net) Carlo Vergara wants More Pinoy Graphic Novels...