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Philippine Speculative Fiction Sampler

[caption id="attachment_176" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Philippine Speculative Fiction Sampler"]Philippine Speculative Fiction Sampler[/caption] Philippine Speculative Fiction Sampler is a one-shot "virtual anthology" featuring speculative fiction stories in English by Filipino writers. Edited by Charles Tan and Mia Tijam, it features stories by: Dean Alfar, M.R.R. Arcega, FH Batacan, Douglas Candano, Ian Rosales Casocot, Michael A. R. Co, Khavn dela Cruz, Pocholo Goitia, Francezca C. Kwe, Apol Lejano-Massebieau, and Vincent C. Sales. Cover art by Andrew Drilon.
Recommended Reading

Photoshopped Classic SFF Book Covers

I'm sorry, this isn't related to Philippine speculative fiction, but it's too funny not to share (and I want to be more active in this blog, anyway). I'm sure a lot of us grew up reading these books, so please take a peek if only for the nostalgia value :P MightyGodKing Versus His Adolescent Reading Habits (part 1) MightyGodKing Versus His Adolescent Reading Habits (part 2) MightyGodKing Versus His Adolescent Reading Habits (part 3)
Special AnnouncementsWriting Markets

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?
Essays

A Reaction to an Essay on Philippine Speculative Fiction

Charles Tan wrote an essay here defining Filipino speculative fiction. He brought up a lot of good points and it is an essay well worth reading. However, I would like to call special attention to this passage: Philippine speculative fiction, on the other hand, recognizes that fiction doesn't always have to be socially relevant. Can't we write stories simply to entertain? That's not to say local spec fic isn't socially relevant or doesn't possess gravity. More than a few modern spec fic stories tackle that (spec fic is inclusive, remember?). But the biggest differences is that writers are now able to write and pursue their own agendas without feeling guilt about the lack of Filipino characters or Filipino settings or importance on how their work will change the face of Philippine literature while still being able to gain a certain amount of literary acceptance. I have to put my two cents out there. I'm not going to deny that we have realist writing traditions. We have celebrated literature that aims to represent our unique struggles, as people and as citizens, and even now we're in dire need of skilled wordsmiths who aren't afraid to reflect Filipino society, its glories and ills, in their fiction. But, you see... as a writer of speculative work, I have never felt like I had to break off from or go against any traditions. Or felt guilty or scared because I wrote stories that other Filipinos might not enjoy reading. (more…)
Essays

My Own “Generational Reading Gap”

[note: apologies for not keeping the blog up to date. i have a few announcements lined up for when i have more time to post, please stay tuned.] This personal post was inspired by a blog entry in Philippine Genre Stories titled Generational Reading Gap [blog] [multiply].
I grew up in a library that my father built up from scratch. Most of my literary education came from this. But I'll have to admit, I feel like growing up with this repertoire led me to become more isolated from the readers and writers I correspond with.I know very few readers from my generation (or older) who call themselves "sci fi fans," and at the same time know who Cordwainer Smith even IS. They may have read a little Asimov, a little Clarke, a little Philip K. Dick - but for the most part they've read and liked more Carl Sagan, Greg Bear, David Brin, and people who got published WAY after the "golden age," than I ever will. I sometimes get vibes from younger readers that run along the lines of: "Well, you're not a real sci fi fan if you haven't read China Mieville/Iain Banks/Stanislaw Lem" and my knee-jerk defense is to go "Yeah? To me, you're not a real sci fi fan unless you've read "Doc" Smith/Theodore Sturgeon/at least one Aldous Huxley title that is NOT Brave New World." No, I'm not automatically resentful... and I don't blame people for this, of course. These are just some of the reasons why I don't: (more…)
Philippine publicationsWriting Markets

Three-Headed Monster Publishing Calls for Submissions

First spotted at Philippine Genre Stories. This is from Ria Lu of Talecraft:
THREE-HEADED MONSTER PUBLISHING CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

So, you think you can write? Well, we're a new player in the industry,
and we're looking for a few good Romance Stories.

What we're looking for: Really good Romance Fiction, especially
Fantasy, Sci-fi, Paranormal, and Historical Romances. We're looking
for stories with new ideas. We're NOT looking for stories that
resemble those that are already often being published in popular
romance pocketbooks. There's too much of those already.

What we're giving:
1.)A royalty of 30% of what we make from your story. In other words:
(Selling_Price – Bookstore_Commissio n) * 30% = Writer's_Royalty.
2.)International Exposure. We will be selling internationally.
3.)You get to keep your copyright. We only ask for non-exclusive
rights to publish.

Submission Guidelines:
-Works must be in English, 50,000 – 100,000 words.
-Initially, submit a 1-page summary of your story, and the first 3
chapters. Don't submit the complete manuscript yet. If we like your
story, we will contact you for the full manuscript.
-Make sure you self-edit your submission before sending it to us.
-Works must be submitted in RTF format, 8.5" x 11", 1-inch margin on
all sides. Font must be Arial or Times New Roman, font size 12, double
space.
-Send summary and first 3 chapters to inquiry(at)3hmpublishing(dot)com. Don't
forget to include your full real name, pen name (if any), address,
landline number, mobile number, and a little information about yourself.

At the moment, we are only accepting Novel-length Romance Fiction. We
encourage mixing Romance with other genres like Fantasy, Sci-fi,
Paranormal and Historical. But if you think you have a contemporary
romance story that has an interesting plot, by all means, submit.

For questions and inquiries, don't hesitate to email us at
inquiry(at)3hmpublishing(dot)com. We look forward to hearing from you."
Essays

How to Win the Fully Booked Graphic/Fiction Awards

Gotten from Kenneth Yu, who got it from Azrael:
Tals Diaz, journalist and marketing manager of Fully Booked, explains the rationale for the awards: “Neil’s theme is Filipino unrealism. It has to have that unique sense of Filipino-ness about it. We do have a rich tradition of Filipino mythology and folklore that we hardly explore in our literature. If you look at our literature right now, a lot of it is very realistic. That’s what Neil Gaiman wanted us to veer away from with this contest.” Romulo adds, “Don’t say that he doesn’t like the stuff that he got from here—the realist novels that he read, he liked. He just wanted to explore if we had other things. As for fantasy, he thought we could go beyond juvenile literature and explore what he thinks is an integral part of our culture—science fiction, horror or speculative fiction. It really is how you weave the genre into Filipino heritage.”
Read the rest here.
Philippine publicationsWriting Markets

Bulawan Online: New Online Literary Journal in Filipino

Shared by Philip Kimpo, Jr. on the Phil_SF_and_F mailing list: Mula sa Panitikan.com. ph:

JUNE 22, 2008

BULAWAN ONLINE LAUNCHED

At his lecture in UP Diliman last June 19, National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario was glad to launch a new website: bulawanonline. com. He serves as chief editor while Roberto T. Añonuevo, Romulo P. Baquiran Jr., Michael M. Coroza, Vim Nadera and Fidel Rillo serve as co-editors. Phillip Kimpo Jr., Sophia Lucero, Eilene Narvaez and Ernanie Rafael are the staff members.

Bulawanonline. com gets its name from Bulawan, a refereed quarterly journal published by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts. The NCCA is also one of the major forces behind panitikan.com. ph.

The maiden issue features works and commentary by Nikka Osorio, Roberto T. Añonuevo, Ronald A. Atilano, Romulo P. Baquiran, Jr., Michael M. Coroza and Virgilio S. Almario himself. Visit the new site here: http://bulawanonlin e.com/.

Paanyaya sa mga Panitikero:

Magaling ka ba talagang makata o kuwentista? Ang lathalaang ito ay nakabukás para sa lahat ng mga sumusulat ng tula at maikling kuwento. Maaari ding magpadala ng salin ng ipinalalagay na mahalagang tula o maikling kuwento sa ibang wika, katutubo man o banyaga. Hangga't maaari, ipadala ang tulang hindi lalagpas sa 50 taludtod at ang kuwentong hindi lalagpas sa 15 pahina (na naka-double- space at may 11-12 points Times Roman, New York, Palatino, Book Antique, o Arial na font). May Lupon ng mga Editor ang lathalaang ito, sa pangunguna ng National Artist Virgilio S. Almario, na pipilì tuwing dalawang buwan ng katangi-tanging tula, kuwento, o salin at ang napilìng akda ay ilalathala nang may kalakip na komentaryo hinggil sa katangian ng mga ito. Maglalaan din ng espasyo ang lathalaang ito para sa mga pagsusuri ng aklat at talakay sa mga paksaing pampanitikan, pangwika, at pampagsasalin. Inaasahan ang kontrobersiyal at radikal na punahan bagaman sa paraang walang personalan. Ganap na pananagutan ng may-akda ang anumang paglabag sa karapatang-ari at ibang batas ng Filipinas. Ano pa ang hinihintay mo? Maaaring ipadala nang diretso ang lahat ng kontribusyon sa editor@bulawanonlin e.com. Maaari ding ipadala ang hard copy na may kalakip na soft copy na nása CD kay VIRGILIO S. ALMARIO Institute of Creative Writing Faculty Center (Bulwagang Rizal) University of the Philippines Diliman, Lungsod Quezon Filipinas Para sa file ng lathalaang ito, ilakip din ang isang maliit at pinakabagong retrato ng sarili, permanenteng tirahan, telepono, email adres, at kaunting impormasyon hinggil sa sarili (petsa at pook ng kapanganakan, magulang, paaralan, propesyon, trabaho/opisina, organisasyong pampanitikan, paboritong mga awtor at aklat, atbp.). Nása Lupon ng mga Editor ang ganap na kapangyarihan kung ilalathala o hindi ang anumang tinanggap na padaláng pagsusuri, komentaryo, o liham. Hindi tungkulin ng lathalaang ito na ibalik sa may-akda ang anumang tinanggap na padaláng akda.
Bisitahin ang BulawanOnline. com. Maraming salamat po.
Philippine publicationsSpecial AnnouncementsWriting Markets

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.