Submit to Anvil Fantasy
From Dean Alfar:
Anvil Fantasy is the newest imprint of Anvil Publishing. If you have a manuscript, send it in (contact details are available over at their website). Bonus points if your novel is geared towards a young adult readership.Anvil appears to have a detailed explanation of its editorial procedures on its website. I'm supposing this applies to all new book proposals, so the following guidelines ought to be a great place to start:
First submit an abstract, a complete Table of Contents and two sample chapters. Don't submit a complete hardcopy or paper copy of your manuscript. We try our best to evaluate all kinds of work, but our publishing program mainly considers the more popular trade genres: self-help, reference, biographies, literary anthologies, cookbooks, inspirational, humor. There are no exact criteria for a good piece of work. That’s why we ask help from in-house as well as genre experts and other readers to evaluate the publishability of a submission. Generally, all evaluation is done at the beginning of a year, when we firm up our publishing line-up.They also have this important note at the end:
Manuscript evaluation is done within the first quarter of every year (January - March). Submissions later than the first quarter will be evaluated for the succeeding year.The -ber months are upon us, which means the year is coming to an end. Now would be a good time to submit something for evaluation. Got a short story compilation you've always wanted to put together? A finished novel? A poetry collection? An anthology you've finished with friends? Send in your proposals!
Deadlines! Deadlines!
1. Dean Alfar has posted the final call for submissions to Philippine Speculative Fiction vol. 3. Deadline is on September 15.
2. Philippine Genre Stories is accepting Christmas-themed stories for its December special until October 5.
3. The Fully Booked contest I linked to earlier has an October 31 deadline.
Submit, submit!
Dean Alfar Invites You to the Launch of the Kite of Stars
From his blog:
Congrats ulit, Sir Dean! :)Click the invite for a larger image - and please help spread the word. The book will be available at Powerbooks, National Bookstore, Bestsellers and other fine bookstores. You can also order directly from the publisher, Anvil.
RX 93.1 Spotlight on the Manila International Book Fair, Philippine Speculative Fiction, and Read or Die
Charles has posted a recording of the RX 93.1 interview of Dean Alfar of the LitCritters, Kristin Mandigma of Read or Die, Gwen Galvez of Anvil Publishing, and Blooey Singson of the Manila International Book Fair.
He's also posted transcripts of some excerpts from the interview. Thanks, Charles!
Please note, Kristin Mandigma of Read or Die is going to be on radio again tonight at Jam 88.3, 9-10 PM. She will be reading some poetry and promoting the Manila Book Fair.
The Digest of Philippine Genre Stories Vol.3 is Out!
Philippine Genre Stories Vol.3 is Out! Look out for Volume 3 of Philippine Genre Stories, on sale at the Anvil Publishing booth at the Manila Book Fair. I was able to finally catch up on all three volumes for only P285!
Incidentally, the last day of the Fair is tomorrow. There will be a literary cosplay that should be worth seeing, among many other fun activities. Be there!
The LitCritters on Philippine Speculative Fiction
I attended the LitCritters' talk on speculative fiction on the first day of the Manila International Book Fair armed only with my trusty WinX notebook and cell phone camera, so I'm afraid I wasn't able to get any clear shots or recordings. But I'd like to share what I learned there, and I hope I'll be able to present my notes in an orderly fashion, because a lot of interesting things were said.
I've also taken the liberty of linking to some of the recommended stories, so you can read them online. If there are any that I missed, please feel free to comment with links to them, and I'll add them right away.
The speakers were Dean Alfar, Nikki Alfar, Vin Simbulan, Kate Aton-Osias, Alex Osias and Andrew Drilon. They each spoke of the different forms speculative fiction in the Philippines could take.
Dean Alfar opened the talk by defining Philippine speculative fiction as "the literature of the fantastic." It is fiction written by Filipinos that asks "What if?" or "How about if?" This sort of writing has not always been welcome in "serious" literary circles, he said, since traditionally, all other stories seem unimportant compared to "realistic" stories.
But while writers are being taught to write fiction that matters, young people (writers and readers) want what matters to them. There is now a decline in the number of Filipino readers, because of the need to prioritize what we read. (more…)
Philippine Spec Fic-Related Manila Book Fair Events
From the Read or Die blog:
The Filipino is no stranger to wonder and the fantastic. Join multi-awarded fictionist Dean Francis Alfar and the LitCritters as they discuss the emergence and growth of Philippine Speculative Fiction on August 29, 2007 at the 28th Manila International Book Fair . Fantasy, science fiction, horror and the literature of the imagination are alive and here to stay. The event will take place at Function Room A of the World Trade Center from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM and is sponsored by Powerbooks.And just because it bears a repost: Indie publishers from the Philippines are welcome - nay, invited! - to sell their work at the book fair.
With the cooperation of the Book Development Association Of The Philippines and the National Book Development Board, Read Or Die is inviting independent and small press publishers to sell their books (including comics, folios, magazines and chapbooks) at the 28th Manila International Book Fair. All merchandise will be consigned at the booths of the National Book Development Board. This is the first time that indie publishers will be selling as a group at the Book Fair so we hope that you’ll take advantage of this opportunity. The Book Fair routinely attracts at least 50,000 people on its five-day run.There is no selling fee, although there are some conditions. Read more at Ang Bagong Libro. All this and more make this year's Manila Book Fair an event not to be missed!
Adarna House Publishing Seeks Story Proposals for New Graphic Novel
Now I'll be reposting a series of announcements, mostly found through Charles Tan's blog.
From Filipinowriter
:
:
Adarna House is currently looking for story proposals for its next graphic novel under the Anino Comics imprint. Proposals should include: 1. Project brief with the following details: -Title -Story genre, -List of the creators to be involved in the project -Estimated number of pages. 2. One page story synopsis 3. Sample pages, character studies Stories may be in Filipino or in English. Compilations of previous published material are also welcome. Submissions may be sent to Adarna House, Room 201, JGS Building, 30 Scout Tuason St., Quezon City, or e-mailed at pdg@adarna.com.ph. Deadline for story proposals is November 30, 2007. For questions, email Jordan Santos at rjordanpsantos@yahoo.com
Anvil Fantasy Presents Dean Alfar’s “The Kite of Stars and Other Stories”
Congratulations to Dean Francis Alfar! His collection The Kite of Stars and Other Stories will hit the shelves in September :)
This book will be among Anvil Publishing's upcoming Anvil Fantasy titles. Looks like Philippines-based fantasy buffs have a lot to look forward to!
Collaborative Work: Heart
Randy Valiente, a very talented artist and advocate of Philippine Komiks, has posted about a collaborative work that Mia Sereno (scribe and artist extraordinaire) and I are participating in. I hope it's OK for me to repost the teaser illustration that he made for it in this blog, because I think Randy and Mia's art is well worth promoting:
Mia is a good online friend, and a firm advocate of literacy in the Philippines. She is also a member of Read or Die, a Philippines-based literacy group I've mentioned on this blog not a few times.
I'm very honored that Mia and Randy took an interest in my fiction, and I'm really looking forward to when it'll be out for distribution. We're planning to make it available for the 28th Manila International Book Fair, so please do attend!
Randy has also mentioned a press conference of "big" komiks publishers who will be present at the National Center for Culture and the Arts Building at 12 noon this July 26. Tune in to his blog for details!
Mia is a good online friend, and a firm advocate of literacy in the Philippines. She is also a member of Read or Die, a Philippines-based literacy group I've mentioned on this blog not a few times.
I'm very honored that Mia and Randy took an interest in my fiction, and I'm really looking forward to when it'll be out for distribution. We're planning to make it available for the 28th Manila International Book Fair, so please do attend!
Randy has also mentioned a press conference of "big" komiks publishers who will be present at the National Center for Culture and the Arts Building at 12 noon this July 26. Tune in to his blog for details!