Philippine Speculative Fiction IV Book Launch
Philippine Speculative Fiction IV
Edited by Dean Francis Alfar & Nikki Alfar
Book launch: February 28, 2009 - 5:30PM
U-View Theater, Fully Booked High Street
Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City
- From Dean Alfar's blog. Fandom Café Book Discussion Series Launches
Fandom Café presents its bi-monthly book discussion series starting 29th of November 2008. Fandom Café will be hosting a series of intimate gatherings discussing books, authors, poetry, creative writing and of course…one’s passion for the written word-the love of reading.
The series kicks off with a discussion of works by Arthur Clarke, Robert Jordan and Michael Crichton. For more information, visit their official website. Links to Filipino-made speculative works online, some announcements
1. Charles Tan has been compiling a list of speculative works written by Filipinos and published in the international market in 2007 and 2008. He also posts links to the full texts of some earlier speculative fiction stories posted in Literatura.
2. The Philippine Speculative Fiction Sampler compiled by Charles Tan and Mia Tijam has been reviewed at Boing Boing. The group blog is having some server problems, so if you can't view the page now, try again later.
3. Dean Alfar, co-editor and publisher of the annual Philippine Speculative Fiction anthology, says that the publication and launch of PSF4 has been moved to February 2009.
4. In honor of the Komikon - the 4th Philippine Komiks Convention which takes place today, at the UP Bahay ng Alumni, UP Diliman, Quezon City - I plug two comics by authors of Filipino heritage:
a) No Formula: Stories from the Chemistry Set
This clever science fiction story is also a social commentary by Filipino artist Elan Rodger Trinidad. Read the whole piece at Theory of Everything Comics, and don't forget to check out Elan Rodger's afterword.
This clever science fiction story is also a social commentary by Filipino artist Elan Rodger Trinidad. Read the whole piece at Theory of Everything Comics, and don't forget to check out Elan Rodger's afterword. Fiction Submissions Calendar is Up
Ever wanted some sort of calendar that could help you keep track of story deadlines, and make it easier to cram? :P
I've just set up the Events Calendar widget on my blog in order to track submission dates that I think may be relevant to the interests of speculative fiction writers. See the new baby on the sidebar!
Numbers marked in RED have events scheduled for them - hover over the number to see the title of the event, and click on it to show the details. Currently there are only seven entries there: five for October and 2 for November. Most of the openings came from announcements in Philippine Genre Stories (thank you, Sir Kenneth!). I'll be adding more as I find them.
...I'm thinking of making this thing an events calendar for anything related to the local writing scene, but I'm not yet sure if I have the machineries or the time to do this. I'm not sure, either, if a similar and more comprehensive calendar already exists; I'd be glad to link to it and just filter in the speculative fiction avenues, if so.
I'll be doing my own research, but I'll be grateful for any info and suggestions. If you know of a deadline that should be here but isn't, please let me know?
Tor books offer free downloads
Via Philippine Genre Stories: for a limited time only (until July 27, Sunday - I can still download from there right now, though), Tor offers free and legal downloads of some of its ebooks. There are some lovely desktop wallpapers by Luis Royo, Boris Vallejo et al up for grabs, too. Go here for them, quick!
3rd Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards Launched + 4th PGS Image Inspiration Writing Contest
Something to add to our deadlines lists! For the record, Fully Booked has included the category "Short Films" to this contest.
Detailed guidelines and PDF download of the application form are on the official website.
Philippine Genre Stories' Image Inspiration Writing Contest #4 is also up! See the image and learn about the rules here.
Philippine Genre Stories' Image Inspiration Writing Contest #4 is also up! See the image and learn about the rules here.
Buying Books in Manila
Am most behind on local spec fic news. Will at least try to keep up with events from now on.
In the meantime, there have been some interesting book-related posts that I think readers based in or near Manila may want to know about.
1. Kenneth Yu of Philippine Genre Stories talks about an Ateneo Press Anniversary Sale - 10%-50% off all titles from June 16 to June 30, 2008.
2. Kenneth also blogged about the grand opening of Bookay-Ukay Bookstore on June 28 at 55 Maginhawa St., U.P. Village, Quezon City.
3. Charles Tan has written up a helpful and comprehensive guide to ordering books in the Philippines.
Man Asian Prize Exec Director Coming to Manila
Everybody's talking about:
   Peter Gordon, Executive Director of the Man Asian Literary Prize, will be in Manila on Thursday, January 24, to promote the prize among Filipino writers and to speak on “International Opportunities for Filipino Writers.†The UP Institute of Creative Writing is hosting his talk, which will be held that day at 2:30 pm at the AVR Room, 2nd floor, Rizal Hall (Faculty Center), UP Diliman. The Man Asian—informally known as the “Asian Bookerâ€â€”was established in 2006 and made its first award in 2007 for the best unpublished novel in English or English translation by an Asian. Filipino fictionist and UP professor Jose Dalisay Jr.’s novel Soledad’s Sister made the shortlist of the inaugural prize, which drew 243 entries from all over Asia. The deadline for the 2008 Man Asian is March 31. Gordon will speak about the prize and on literary publishing in Asia in general. The UPICW is inviting all interested writers, translators, publishers, teachers, and students to attend the lecture-discussion, which will also feature Dr. Dalisay and fellow novelist and columnist Alfred “Krip†Yuson. Peter Gordon is also a founder and former Director of the Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival (held each March in Hong Kong), founder and editor of the Asian Review of Books, and publisher at Chameleon Press. He writes a weekly op-ed column in the Hong Kong daily The Standard and is chairman of the Russian Interest Group at the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.
Update on the Writing Markets List
I'm taking a break from updating the list - I think I've included most of the major pro and semi-pro markets, at least for SF&F writers. Still need to look into the horror and dark fantasy market more, and do a little more research on local publishers. If I've missed a publication that you feel should be included, feel free to tell me about it.
Please note: the tables may be sorted by Name, Language, Description, etc. Just click on the headings for each column. Not very useful, but still funky :P
Some big publishers don't accept email manuscripts - that definitely doesn't mean they aren't worth trying. If you're concerned about response times, a useful website for tracking that is Submitting to the Black Hole.
Building a Writing Markets Page
I've finally gotten around to putting up a Writing Markets page for Pinoy spec fic authors. Visually it's a bit cramped, but I'm hoping the info in there is at least up to date and correct.
Will be adding more info as soon as time permits. This list is very open to input. If you would like to help out other Filipino spec fic writers and contribute some publications, please use this form or email me the details at preyfal -at- yahoo -dot- com.
Corrections are welcome. Please email me if there's anything that needs fixing.
2008 is the year to make ourselves known, people. Let's get it on!