News Bits
- Charles has posted a summary and MP3 of the latest LitCritters session here.
- Kenneth has posted pics and details of some events, among which are the NWA5 writers forum and the Manila LitCritters meetup. Visit the PGS blog for more.
- Speaking of Kenneth, his short story "House 1.0" is now out on The Town Drunk. Go read!
- Andrew Drilon's Kare-Kare Komiks has been featured in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Congrats, Andrew!
- Read or Die announces its plans for the first series of Write Or Die: Writers Write lecture workshops. The purpose of the workshop is to promote the UP Gawad Centennial Likhaan 2008, a special literary prize sponsored by the University of the Philippines.
Non-professional and non-academic writers are encouraged to submit their work for consideration to the Gawad Likhaan. For more information, see this page.
- Related to Write or Die: Writers who wish to have their chapter excerpts from their novel-length manuscripts critiqued by Charlson Ong and Jun Cruz Reyes should submit their excerpt to readordie.ph@gmail.com on or before November 8 (for Jun Cruz Reyes) and November 18 (for Charlson Ong).
A maximum of 5 manuscripts will be discussed. For more details, see this page.
- This is not related to spec fic, but still something that may interest Tagalog essay writers:
Bilang paghahanda sa darating na kapaskuhan ay magsisimula nang tumanggap ang patnugutan ng mga lathalaing napapanahon sa okasyong darating. Tatanggap at bibigyang halaga rin ang mga lathalaing tumatalakay sa Edukasyon, Sining at Kultura at artikulo hinggil sa Wika na makapaghahatid impormasyon sa mga mambabasa. Mangyari lamang na lakipan ng mga larawan ng talakayin ang bawat artikulo, 4 na pahina, double space, at ipadala sa liwayway_manilabulletin@yahoo.com. Lakipan din ng maikling detalye ng manunulat, kanyang larawan at propesyon kasama ang maikling impormasyon hinggil sa kanyang tagumpay na nakamit sa larangan ng pagsusulat. Kapag napili at nalathala sa Liwayway, kinakailangang nagtataglay ang sumulat ng valid ID at TIN number upang matanggap ang kaukulang kabayaran sa bawat artikulo. Maaari ring ipadala sa koreo ang akda sa: Managing Editor, Liwayway Department, 2nd floor, Manila Bulletin Bldg., Muralla Street, Intramuros, Manila.
On that note, would anyone know if Liwayway still accepts fiction contributions? I've emailed them asking if any of their magazines (Liwayway, Bannawag, Bisaya and Hiligaynon) still accept fiction, especially spec fic. I certainly hope I didn't breach protocol by doing so. Updates, if any, will be posted here.
Spec Fic-Related Announcements
1. From Philippine Genre Stories:
There will be a feature and interview on October 18, 2007, on the radio station Jam 88.3, for PGS. It will be from 8 to 9 in the evening. I'll be there, on-air, with PGS contributor Miggy Escaño, author of the cover story for PGS3, Tuko. Hope you have the time to tune-in and listen!2. Don't forget, the LitCritters will be holding their next Open Session on October 20, at A Different Bookstore in Serendra. Everyone's welcome to attend. 3. The Writers Forum panelists for New Worlds 5: The 5th Philippine Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, have been revealed! For their names and the forum schedule, click here.
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…)
Workshops and Fora on Children’s Fiction
Charles posts about two opportunities for locally-based writers of children's fiction to get together:
Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators August Book Talk and Critique
Seminars and Workshops for Writing/Illustrating/Storytelling for Children
Ateneo National Writer’s Workshop
From notes from the peanut gallery:
The Ateneo Institute of Literary Arts and Practices (AILAP) is now accepting applications for the 7th Ateneo National Writer’s Workshop to be held on October 22-27, 2007. Each applicant should submit a portfolio of any of the following works: five poems, three short stories, or two one-act plays, written in Filipino or English, with a title page bearing the author’s pseudonym and a table of contents. The portfolio must also be accompanied by a diskette/CD containing a file of the documents saved in Rich Text Format. All submissions should include a sealed envelope containing the author’s name, address, contact numbers, and a one-page resume including a literary curriculum vitae with a 1x1 ID picture. Twelve (12) fellows will be chosen from all over the country. Food and lodging accomodations will be provided. Please address entries to: Marco A.V. Lopez, Acting Director, AILAP, c/o Filipino Department, Horacio de la Costa Hall, Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City. Deadline of submissions is on August 3, 2007. For inquiries, please contact workshop coordinators Ms. Bong Oris and Mr. Yol Jamendang at 426-6001 local 5320-22. You may also e-mail Mr. Lopez at mvlopez@ateneo.edu.
About the LitCritters
Discussions on Philippine speculative literature are by no means confined to Metro Manila. If you're interested in participating in a workshop on writing held outside of Manila, take a look at the workshops offered by the LitCritters.
The LitCritters is a small reading and writing group based in Manila, as well as in Dumaguete. Every week, we read and discuss several pieces of short fiction from various genres from different writers with the goal of expanding our reading horizons, improving our ability to critique, and learning how to write from the good texts. In addition to speculative fiction, we read Philippine literature in English, as well as world literature. Once in a blue moon, we are requested to conduct writing workshops (such as our recent 3-weekend stint at A Different Bookstore), and are planning to hold a more formal one, maybe next summer, as schedules and realities of life permit. For those who'd like to join us, we recommend participating in one of the workshops, or signing up for the LitCritter mailing list (which is basically me sending the readings once a week). We also accept the occasional sit-in (when we conduct sessions in restos or cafes). If you'd like to be on the mailing list or want to sit in on one of our sessions, email me at deanalfar(at)gmail(dot)com.check out this post by Dean Alfar for more details.