Some Submission Deadlines
I was blog-hopping yesterday and I spotted this post over at Mark Poa's LJ, where he lists some upcoming submission deadlines. I remember doing this a lot back when I was more organized, but now that I need to get my head back on straight, I'm finding other people's lists extremely useful :D
Mark has kindly granted me permission to repost his list, so here we go:
PGS Special Halloween Issue: http://philippinegenrestories.blogsThanks, Mark! And I'm really happy you liked "The Magic Christmas Box" :) Might put up a calendar of events on this blog soon, just as a companion piece to the spec fic writing markets list. Incidentally, please feel free to suggest new publications to the list - more is always welcome!pot.com/2008/01/pgs-special-halloween-is sue-call-for.html Deadline: June 30, 2008 CANVAS writing contest for children readers: http://lookingforjuan.blogspot.com/2
008/05/call-for-entries-and-contest-rule s.html 6/what%E2%80%99s-your-coffee-bean-and-te a-leaf-story-contest/ pot.com/2008/01/pgs-special-crimemystery suspense-issue.html
Philippine Sword and Sorcery
There's been a fun discussion going on about Filipino-written sword and sorcery (S&S) stories. Linking to some of the relevant posts here:
Filipino Sword-And-Sorcery (at The Grin Without a Cat)
The Conan Question (at to the tale, and other such concerns)
Filipino Sword and Sorcery (at the PGS Multiply journal)
More on Filipino Sword and Sorcery (PGS Multiply)
Because of the dearth of S&S stories from Filipino writers, Banzai Cat is wondering if it would be good to open a group blog called Pinoy Pulp that would address this issue. Read his post about it here:
Conan vs Panday
Philippine Action Fiction: call for submissions
Since genre fiction also interests me, I'd like to share this open call for submissions with everyone. First spotted on Banzai Cat's blog:
Philippine Action Fiction
We would like to invite you to contribute a story to the first ever action-adventure fiction anthology in the Philippines! The action-adventure genre has long been downplayed by critics as shallow and lacking in literary merit. We disagree; a well-written action-adventure story contains all the necessary elements of good fiction. We believe that this genre deserves recognition if only for the sheer reading pleasure it accords the audience, in part due to the vicarious experiences, the likes of which real life so seldom allows.
We are looking for stories written in English that provide excitement and thrills through fast-paced action and adventure. Action-adventure stories may take the form of detective or crime stories, espionage, the supernatural or even science fiction. The stories must feature a Filipino protagonist while the setting can be the Philippines or other countries (as in the case of espionage). The stories may be set in the present day, the historical past (no alternate histories) or the imagined future (Earth based, no interplanetary romps). Stories must be 10 to 15 pages long, double-spaced with a font size of 12.
Send your stories to: philactionfiction at gmail dot com
We hope to continue to expand Philippine fiction with this anthology. Send us your contribution soon!
Sincerely yours,
Emil M. Flores and Gerald T. Los Baños
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.
2007 Philippine Speculative Fiction Lists
A while back I got an invitation from Charles Tan to put together my "year's best 5 Pinoy speculative works" list. I thought it was a good idea, so he made this document that puts together four lists - namely mine and those of Don, Banzai Cat, and Charles himself.
Visit their blogs to leave comments on their lists. Better yet, make your own lists! I'd be glad to link to them on this blog. Incidentally, Sean Uy of To the Tale, and Other Such Concerns has posted his reactions to the other people's lists.
I still don't want to call mine a "best of" roster, but I will call it a "current favorites" roster. Unlike everybody else, I didn't come up with exactly five stories. And I won't apologize for my apologies :P
But looking at this list, it seems to me that that my taste for stories appears to run along the unconventional route. Which is funny, because I don't feel unconventional...
Saving the contents here, for posterity.
(more…)
Local Publications Available via LBC
First off - guys, I hate Akismet. It's been filtering human-made comments for ages and not letting me in on it.
I'm afraid I can't turn it off, though... I've been getting more spam than I can handle. If you feel you've lost a comment, please email me and I'll email you back a reply as soon as I can.
Now, Charles has come up with a list of local fiction magazines that can be ordered and delivered via LBC's MExpress service. So far only three magazines are signed up for this service, but more may follow.
“Sonia Makes a Baby” in Story Philippines
My story "Sonia Makes a Baby" is out in the latest issue of Story Philippines.
 
PGS Now Available via LBC
You need no longer worry about missing issues of PGS. Kenneth Yu says that "the Digest of Philippine Genre Stories can now be bought online, delivered to your doorstep anywhere in the Philippines!"
Read the details here.
Butch Dalisay on Filipino Speculative and Genre Fiction Writers
Apologies for the late plugs. Still trying to catch up with the latest in the blogosphere. Won't be able to catch them all, I'm sure, but I'll still give it a go.
First off, Butch Dalisay mentions "new kinds of literature" in a paragraph in his Philippine Star column "Animating Philippine Literature":
This brings me to the emergence and the growing popularity of new kinds of literature in the Philippines—genre fiction, speculative fiction, graphic or comic-book fiction, creative nonfiction, chick lit, performance poetry—all of which offer writers, especially new and young ones, some alternatives to mainstream realism. These genres don’t lack for enthusiastic supporters who will go out of their way to promote their favored schools of writing. One young entrepreneur, Kenneth Yu, took it upon himself to publish the slim but groundbreaking Philippine Genre Stories, now on its fourth issue. A prizewinning novelist, Dean Alfar, leads a group of young writers called Lit Critters, who meet regularly to discuss both local and foreign stories that might help them in their own work. Both Kenneth and Dean have extensive online networks. (And here, the formula seems to be alternative + young + Internet + network.)