New stories for the New Year

From kyu:

PGS Online will be open to fiction submissions by Pinoy writers for reading and consideration from January 1, 2012 to April 30, 2012.

Here are the guidelines:

1. Word count: 1,500 up to 8,000 words.
2. Preferred genres: Science fiction, fantasy, crime, mystery, horror, and all subgenres falling under these.
3. Keep in mind that PGS caters not only to adult readers, but also to minors. This is not to say that profanity, gore, violence, and sex will not be accepted in a story, but make sure that such is integral to the story and not just for its own sake. Otherwise, PGS is open to any type of story treatment.
4. Payment is P500.00 for an accepted piece.
5. Please follow standard manuscript format for short story submissions.
6. Email submissions as rtf or doc attachments to pdofsf(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Am glad that PGS is now open to stories for submissions. This country can't have enough Philippine speculative fiction outlets as it is! (Especially one that's online.) One thing I have to say though is I definitely like PGS's no-fuss, no-muss site design. Kudos to Dom on that.

One thing I've recently discovered is that there are a number of people out there who are secret writers in their spare time. They like reading, they like writing stories... and that's it. They have no plans in getting their stories published, read and enjoyed by other people. I hope to change that. If ever I have a mission for 2012, it's to get people who like to write to take a chance and let others enjoy their works. I did this how many years ago and I've never regretted sending my first story to Dean's PSF volume 1.

As a short term goal, I'll take this open-submissions call as a sign that it's time for me to get back to writing stories again after my long hiatus.

Welcome the new blood!

Kate Osias and Nikki Alfar, the current editors of the annual Philippine Speculative Fiction anthology, have come out with the final line-up (and table of contents?) of the upcoming volume 6. Here's the list:

1. Alternative Histories by Ian Rosales Casocot
2. Strange Adventures in Procreation by Andrew Drilon
3. Lament of the Counselor by Jay Anyong
4. The Grim Malkin by Vincent Michael Simbulan
5. A Smell of Mothballs by Mailin Paterno
6. Ashland by Elyss G. Punsalan
7. Carpaccio (or, Repentance as a Meat Recipe) by Arlynn Despi
8. Eternal Winter by Maria Pia Vibar Benosa
9. From the Book of Names My Mother Did Not Give Me by Christine V. Lao
10. Hollowbody by Crystal Koo
11. Offerings to Aman Sinaya by Andrei Tupaz
12. On Wooden Wings by Paolo Chikiamco
13. Prisoner 2501 by Philip Corpuz
14. Resurrection by Victor Fernando R. Ocampo
15. Simon's Replica by Dean Alfar
16. Break in at Batay Street by Francis Gabriel Concepcion
17. The Big Man by Asterio Gutierrez
18. The Bookshelves of Mrs. Go by Charles Tan
19. The Impossible and the R.S.C. Gregorio del Pilar by Alex Osias
20. The Kiddie Pool by Kenneth Yu
21. The Storyteller's Curse by Eliza Victoria
22. Villainoguing by Joseph Montecillo

Congratulations to everyone on the list, especially to Andrew Drilon for managing to get in six times out of six. Nice run, man! Alas, I wish I could have been there but it was not meant to be.

The book launch is set for March. Once again, big props to Dean and the rest of the Phil Specfic crew!

Zombies, they freak me out

(Pic from here.)

... or so Dennis Hopper's character proclaims in the movie Land of the Dead. Which is why I had to write my own zombie story.

Fortunately, after some fretful waiting, my story, "Remembering the Nameless Dead", is now out in Playboy (Ph) Magazine's November-December issue and in magazines racks. I was expecting this last November and then December. Yes, I know it's already January. But what can you do?

Some readers may note that certain passages in the story will be familiar. In a sense, I took all the zombie flash fiction I've been doing and mashed it up into one story. Weirdly enough, they all fit together.

What's it all about? It's about how the zombies are actually good metaphors for the economic divide in third world countries. Or you could just say it's what happens after the rest of the world put down the zombie outbreak.

What's nice is that if I consider this story published in the latter half of 2010, I can put a lid to my current writing practices and create a new one for 2011 and up. After all, I've already got 13 published stories and I might as well improve. Change or die, right?

(Here's the cover just in case you missed it.)

The Return of the Word-Eater

Well, it looks like my story Logovore is finally up at Fantasy Magazine.

As some of you may know, this story is the one that won me first place in the Neil Gaiman/Fully Booked-sponsored Philippine Graphic/Fiction Award in 2007. It took me a while to decide to find it a new home online-- especially after it was finally printed in book form only last year.

Here's a screen shot of the site:

Pretty-looking, ennit? The Logovore would likewise appreciate the aesthetics of it.

So, my first international sale! Woot!

(And just in case you want to read another good story, check out this story by a certain Mia Tijam at Expanded Horizons: it's called Wishes Do Come True.

It's a really good story, I kid you not!)

Update: As part of their usual process, Fantasy Magazine also did an interview with me after my story went up on a quick explanation behind the writing of the story.

Personally, it feels weird having me talk about this story that I did several years ago but what the hell, right?

Go check it out if you're headed that that way. You'll learn what food I can't live without as well as the things I do for exercise. Which is, yes, boring but then again I never said I was interesting. *wink*

Spreading the Word of the Diaspora

(Pic from here. And yes, I know the astronaut's American!)

Hey folks, here's a reminder that the deadline for Diaspora Ad Astra: Science Fiction from the Philippines is coming up by July 31. So if you've got an SF story, go submit!

Here are the guidelines for the call for submissions again:

Our upcoming next anthology will look into the future (near or far). Will we still be exporting human workers to Mars or to Alpha Centauri? Will we be ruling an Empire of Humanity? Or will we be running a guerrilla war against robots that we've invented as the rest of homo sapiens flee into space in derelict battleships?

What do you think?

(Unlike the previous collections, we're hoping these stories will be focusing on Filipinos as characters or as a race in these stories. As the title implies, we may have the future but it's our future at least.)

“Diaspora Ad Astra: Science Fiction from the Philippines edited by Joseph Nacino & Professor Emil Flores" will be published electronically to make this collection of stories available to a wider international audience. Through this anthology we will be able to show the world that the Filipino writer can create worlds with the best of them.

Submission Guidelines:

1. As works of the imagination and speculative fiction, the theme is the title: 'Diaspora Ad Astra'. Works of Science Fiction will be preferred.

2. Stories must cater to an adult sensibility. However, if you have a Young Adult story that is particularly well-written, send it in.

3. Stories must be written in English.

4. Stories must be authored by Filipinos or those of Philippine ancestry.

5. We will accept only original unpublished stories.

6. First time authors are welcome to submit. Good stories trump literary credentials anytime.

7. No multiple submissions. Each author may submit only one story for consideration. No simultaneous submissions. Authors should not have their stories under consideration to other publications at the time of the submission and consolidation period.

8. Each story's word count must be no more than 7,500 words.

9. All submissions must be in Rich Text Format (.rtf – save the document as .rft on your word processor) and attached to an email to this address: estranghero@gmail.com. Submissions received in any other format will be deleted unread.

10. The subject of your email must read: DAA Submission: (title) (word count); where (title) is replaced by the title of your short story, without the parentheses, and (word count) is the word count of your story, without the parentheses. For example – DAA Submission: The Constellation of Marcos 4500.

11. All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes your name, brief bio, contact information, previous publications (if any).

12. Deadline for submissions is July 31, 2010. After that date, final choices will be made and letters of acceptance or regret sent out via email.

13.This anthology will be made available online. Target publishing date is August 2010.

14. Compensation is Php500 for every accepted story.

Kindly help spread the word. Feel free to cut and paste or link to this on your blogs or e-groups – and send your story in.

Thanks,

banzai cat
http://estranghero.blogspot.com/

Don't forget, y'all!

Call for Submissions

UPDATE: I've moved the deadline to July 31 to give people more time to write their stories.

What with all the hate going around in this country, it's ironic that we Filipinos have lasted this long. We have the Mindanao massacre, the upcoming national elections, graft and corruption, a history of Martial Law, colonization, etc.

But we've also had some good spots: we have Filipino artists and athletes gaining international recognition, the men and women doing their share as part of the United Nations peacekeeping group, OFWs who go out into the world to do a good job in order to feed their families, national heroes who managed to stand up for our country's pride against overwhelming odds and powerful nations, people who do what is right instead of what is pragmatic, etc.

So it may be that we'll last into the future, when we all have jetpacks and rocketships.

But what will the future be with Filipinos around? And how do we envision our future then?

Our upcoming next anthology will look into the future (near or far). Will we still be exporting human workers to Mars or to Alpha Centauri? Will we be ruling an Empire of Humanity? Or will we be running a guerrilla war against robots that we've invented as the rest of homo sapiens flee into space in derelict battleships?

What do you think?

(Unlike the previous collections, we're hoping these stories will be focusing on Filipinos as characters or as a race in these stories. As the title implies, we may have the future but it's our future at least.)

“Diaspora Ad Astra: Science Fiction from the Philippines edited by Joseph Nacino & Professor Emil Flores" will be published electronically to make this collection of stories available to a wider international audience. Through this anthology we will be able to show the world that the Filipino writer can create worlds with the best of them.

Submission Guidelines:

1. As works of the imagination and speculative fiction, the theme is the title: 'Diaspora Ad Astra'. Works of Science Fiction will be preferred.

2. Stories must cater to an adult sensibility. However, if you have a Young Adult story that is particularly well-written, send it in.

3. Stories must be written in English.

4. Stories must be authored by Filipinos or those of Philippine ancestry.

5. We will accept only original unpublished stories.

6. First time authors are welcome to submit. Good stories trump literary credentials anytime.

7. No multiple submissions. Each author may submit only one story for consideration. No simultaneous submissions. Authors should not have their stories under consideration to other publications at the time of the submission and consolidation period.

8. Each story's word count must be no more than 7,500 words.

9. All submissions must be in Rich Text Format (.rtf – save the document as .rft on your word processor) and attached to an email to this address: estranghero@gmail.com. Submissions received in any other format will be deleted unread.

10. The subject of your email must read: DAA Submission: (title) (word count); where (title) is replaced by the title of your short story, without the parentheses, and (word count) is the word count of your story, without the parentheses. For example – DAA Submission: The Constellation of Marcos 4500.

11. All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes your name, brief bio, contact information, previous publications (if any).

12. Deadline for submissions is June 30, 2010. After that date, final choices will be made and letters of acceptance or regret sent out via email.

13.This anthology will be made available online. Target publishing date is August 2010.

14. Compensation is Php500 for every accepted story.

Kindly help spread the word. Feel free to cut and paste or link to this on your blogs or e-groups – and send your story in.

Thanks,

banzai cat
http://estranghero.blogspot.com/

Stories to Haunt the year 2010

(Image taken from here.)

I've already sent out notifications to those involved. To that end, here's the list of the stories accepted in the upcoming online anthology Demons of the New Year: Horror from the Philippines.

1. Catherine Walder: The Kambubulag
2. Eliza Victoria: Salot
3. Don Jaucian: The Different Degrees of Night
4. Marguerite de Leon: K-10 Mushroom
5. Tyron Caliente: Dark Moving Houses
6. Dominique Cimafranca: People's Champ (English version)
7. Rommel Santos: Best Served Cold
8. Karren Sena: Lullabies

I also solicited a number of stories from a few writers:

9. Adam David: Snip
10. Carljoe Javier: Demon Gaga
11. Ed Geronia: The Summoner

This, plus Karl de Mesa's excerpt of The Magdalene Fist, will make the anthology an even dozen. (Or maybe that should have been 13?)

Anyway, congratulations to everyone!

A Side Look at the PSF5 TOC

Courtesy of Kyu, here's the tentative table of contents of the upcoming Philippine Speculative Fiction volume 5 edited by Nikki Alfar and Vin Simbulan that's coming out this February 2010. It also has a shortlist of possible story submissions-- so for those writers, it's time to bring out those kneecappers, hmm? *winkwinknudgenudge*

But seriously, was looking over the TOC and it looks like a lot of stories-- 25 in all. Geez, is it me or are the number of stories in the PSF volumes growing every year? Based on charles' database, PSF4 had 24 stories, PSF3 had 21, PSF2 had 19, and PSF1 had 18.

What's nice though is that 12 stories were written by women so there's no Genderfail here. Moreover, I don't recognize 1/3 of the names here so that's also good: PSF has always had the rep of introducing new writers to the stage.

On the question of why should there be more recognized writers than unrecognized ones, well... the field of local spec fic still needs its writers to have some body of work and this is one way of doing it. Maybe in a couple of years, the ratio can shift from recognized to unrecognized.

Funny enough, me and andrew hold the awards for longest runs on the PSF volumes. But Allan B. Lopez still holds the award for the longest-title for a short story in PSF 2.

What's even cooler? It looks like Alex Osias has a new Pinoy Western story in the collection. Yes! Score another one for Filipino dicklit!

Call for Submissions

(Well, I was serious about coming up with another anthology after Farthest Shore so...)

Whether you're commemorating the dead or celebrating with the spirits, here's something interesting to think about. After writing about secondary fantasy worlds, I thought that we should breath easy, take a step back-- and think about the remains of the year left to us.

More precisely, think about what 'demons' will be haunting our dreams, our lives and our sleep when the year 2010 rolls around, like that ghost on the shoulder of the protagonist in Shutter. Remember that scene? You know the one.


(To be exact, the scene starts at 6 minutes, 32 seconds. Enjoy!)

After that, tell us about them: the garden-variety demons from hell with plastic forks and spongy tails, the ones in your head that come out to play at midnight, the spirits that make up most of your lives like a Frankenstein monster-- write your story and send it to us. Let out all those things that will be haunting you in 2010 and share the horror.

Joining us for this venture as co-editor will be horror-meister Karl "M.F." de Mesa, of Damaged People: Tales of the Gothic-Punk and the upcoming News from Shaman. Give him a big hand, folks. Preferably one that's not so chewed-on. *wink*

“Demons of the New Year: Horror from the Philippines, edited by Joseph Nacino & Karl de Mesa” will be published electronically to make this collection of stories available to a wider international audience. Through this anthology we will be able to show the world that the Filipino writer can create worlds with the best of them.

This collection of stories will be an anthology about demons-- but don't let that stop you from coming up with a really good idea about what constitutes your 'Demons of the New Year.' Like I said in an earlier post, don't let a particular idea stop you from writing a good story.

Submission Guidelines:

1. As works of the imagination and speculative fiction, the theme is the title: 'Demons of the New Year'. Works of horror will be preferred.

2. Stories must cater to an adult sensibility. However, if you have a Young Adult story that is particularly well-written, send it in.

3. Stories must be written in English.

4. Stories must be authored by Filipinos or those of Philippine ancestry.

5. We will accept only original unpublished stories.

6. First time authors are welcome to submit. Good stories trump literary credentials anytime.

7. No multiple submissions. Each author may submit only one story for consideration.

8. Each story's word count must be no more than 7,500 words.

9. All submissions must be in Rich Text Format (.rtf – save the document as .rft on your word processor) and attached to an email to this address: estranghero@gmail.com. Submissions received in any other format will be deleted unread.

10. The subject of your email must read: DNY Submission: (title) (word count); where (title) is replaced by the title of your short story, without the parentheses, and (word count) is the word count of your story, without the parentheses. For example – DNY Submission: The Fields of Marikina 4500.

11. All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes your name, brief bio, contact information, previous publications (if any).

12. Deadline for submissions is January 15, 2010. After that date, final choices will be made and letters of acceptance or regret sent out via email.

13.This anthology will be made available online. Target publishing date is January 30, 2010.

14. Compensation is Php500 for every accepted story.

Kindly help spread the word. Feel free to cut and paste or link to this on your blogs or e-groups – and send your story in.

I'd like to reiterate that it's up to you define the story's 'demons' but I'd rather keep it vague so that you can have a free field. But make it scary, okay?

Thanks,

banzai cat
http://estranghero.blogspot.com/

Karl "M.F". de Mesa
http://trustyourblackshirt.blogspot.com/

Stories Connecting People

Oh look! ramblingsoul just pointed out that my story, "Malikmata," was published in Writers Connect and is now up. You can find it here.

It's part of the Manila urban horror universe I'm doing, the one that has characters like Jack Estranghero and Johnny Tatô and... uhrm. Yeah, they're all in that universe and this time, I'm introducing a new character, the priest Father Ramon Orteleza.

Anway, go on and check it out. The website Writers Connect also has great stories, essays, and poetry from all over the world. So if you want to read both Western and non-Western stuff, they've got a lot on their site.

(Oh, and congrats also to ramblingsoul and adam for being finalists in this year's National Book Award! Yeah!)

WE ARE NOW LIVE!

The Farthest Shore: An Anthology of Secondary World Fantasy from the Philippines, the first imprint of estrangheropress, is here!

Go read it and tell us what you think! And don't forget to spread the word!

The main site for estrangheropress is still under development but this will soon follow. Kudos to my co-editor Dean, Dom for site support and tech advice, and Tyron for designs. Thanks to everyone who helped, especially to the writers!

Stories to Tell from Lands Far Away

(Picture taken from here.)

Hear ye, hear ye.

After much deliberation, dean and I have finally decided which stories will be accepted in The Farthest Shore anthology. These are:

1. Balancing Darkness- Rodello Santos
2. Hindsight- Paolo Chikiamco
3. Rite of Passage- Dominique Cimafranca
4. The Just World of Helena Jimenez - Eliza Victoria
5. Spelling Normal- Mia Tijam
6. Emberwilde - Nikki Alfar
7. Light - Kate Aton-Osias
8. They Spoke of Her in Whispers - Bessie Lasala
9. In the Arms of Beishu - Vincent Simbulan
10. Wildwater- Crystal Koo

The 11th and 12th story will be a contribution from both co-editors to anchor the anthology. Go forth and disseminate.

Update: As dean mentioned, we're hoping for an August release in the Internet wilds. I'm planning to make this the first of a series of PDF books which you can also read online. Will explain this later.

Here's the actual TOC of the anthology with the finalized story titles:

1. Strange Weather - Dean Francis Alfar
2. Queen Liwana's Gambit - Rodello Santos
3. Emberwild - Nikki Alfar
4. The Just World of Helena Jimenez - Eliza Victoria
5. Wildwater - Crystal Koo
6. Rite of Passage - Dominique Cimafranca
7. Light - Kate Aton-Osias
8. Spelling Normal - Mia Tijam
9. They Spoke of Her in Whispers - Bessie Lasala
10. The Siege of Silence - Paolo Chikiamco
11. In the Arms of Beishu - Vincent Michael Simbulan
12. Brothers-in-Arms - Joseph Nacino

There will be an introduction by yours truly and an afterword by dean with eight original stories, two reprints and two stories from dean and myself.

Do the Deed, Gentlemen

Just updating folks who submitted to the secondary worlds anthology: our selections of the submissions have been delayed a bit due to real-world concerns. That sucks, I know. But don't worry, us editors will get around to deciding the final list by this month.

This will also give me enough time to finalize the plans for the anthology, especially the platform we'll be using to bring it to the readers. That's a promise, okay? Cool? Cool.

Submissions Call for PSF V

Yowza. Is it that time of the year again? It feels like was only yesterday Philippine Speculative Fiction IV was released. Though interesting to see that Dean has now shifted the editorial load to wife Nikki and best bud Vin. One wonders how different the stories will be with them on board (presumably with Dean as series editor).

Here's the guidelines for the call for submissions for the Philippine Speculative Fiction Volume V reprinted.

Editors Nikki Alfar and Vin Simbulan are now accepting submissions of short fiction pieces for consideration for the anthology "PHILIPPINE SPECULATIVE FICTION V".

Speculative fiction is the literature of wonder that spans the genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror and magic realism or falls into the cracks in-between.

1. Only works of speculative fiction will be considered for publication. As works of the imagination, the theme is open and free.

2. Stories must cater to an adult sensibility. However, if you have a Young Adult story that is particularly well-written, send it in.

3. Stories must be written in English.

4. Stories must be authored by Filipinos or those of Philippine ancestry.

5. Preference will be given to original unpublished stories, but previously published stories will also be considered. In the case of previously published material, kindly include the title of the publishing entity and the publication date. Kindly state also in your cover letter that you have the permission, if necessary, from the original publishing entity to republish your work.

6. First time authors are welcome to submit. In the first four volumes, we had a good mix of established and new authors. Good stories trump literary credentials anytime.

7. No multiple submissions. Each author may submit only one story for consideration.

8. Each story’s word count must be no fewer than 1,500 words and no more than 7,500 words.

9. All submissions must be in Rich Text Format (.rtf – save the document as .rft on your word processor) and attached to an email to this address: nikkialfar@gmail.com. Submissions received in any other format will be deleted, unread.

10. The subject of your email must read: PSF5 Submission: (title) (word count); where (title) is replaced by the title of your short story, without the parentheses, and (word count) is the word count of your story, without the parentheses. For example – PSF5 Submission: Meeting Makiling 4500.

11. All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes your name, brief bio, contact information, previous publications (if any). Introduce yourself.

12. Deadline for submissions is October 15, 2009. After that date, final choices will be made and letters of acceptance or regret sent out via email. Target publishing date is February 2010.

14. Compensation for selected stories will be 2 contributor’s copies of the published anthology as well as a share in aggregrate royalties.

Kindly help spread the word. Feel free to cut and paste or link to this on your blogs or e-groups.

Thanks,

Nikki Alfar

Vin Simbulan

Dean Francis Alfar

Hmmm, now what am I going to submit for this year...?

Deadline Over

Just a quick bit: thanks to everyone to submitted to the secondary worlds anthology. Now the hard-- yet fun-- part starts: reading through the submissions!

Will be notifying writers who submitted that we've received their submissions. As much as possible, we'll let them know that we know they are alive and we appreciate their submissions unlike other publications that don't seem to care. (Hint! Hint!)

In the meantime, now that anthology is out of the way (and having to keep the antho post first in the blog line-up) it's back to book reviews for me. Likewise, I'm currently trying to save up for next week. Alas, though I may be living economical as I'm still in a transitional phase (i.e. no job), I'm forced to be a beach bum before the month's end.

Why the arm-twisting? I guess I'm still not used to actually relaxing, you know?

Why Secondary Worlds?

"The fantasist, whether he uses the ancient archetypes of myth and legend or the younger ones of science and technology, may be talking as seriously as any sociologist-- and a good deal more directly-- about human life as it is lived, and as it might be lived, and as it ought to be lived."
-- Ursula K. Le Guin, on her acceptance of the National Book Award for The Farthest Shore

In preparation for the deadline of the secondary worlds digital anthology this April 15, I'm going to spit out something I've been chewing for several months now ever since dean and I first came up with submission guidelines.

Unfortunately-- and here's the scene where I'm pounding on an old typewriter only to pull out the paper, crumple it into a ball and throw it to one side-- I can't seem to get what I'm trying to say right. Maybe it's because I'm relying too much on the thesis-like approach or on other people's words. So I'll try to say it in my own words, based on my own experience.

Some people may wonder: why secondary worlds? Why write about them? Where is the sense of Filipino identity in such a creation? Pertinent questions, I admit. I can only speak for myself but my growth as a writer has lead me to a few realizations about a form of writing that is mostly Western-based (an accusation thrown against-- rightly, I think-- most Filipino spec fic writers).

When I first started writing, I wrote stories the way I read them: i.e. based on the fantasy genre. From grandpapa J.R.R. Tolkien to his children (Stephen Donaldson, Terry Brooks to Robert Jordan and George R.R. Martin), my understanding of writing fantasy stories involved tragic knights, wilfull princesses, and hapless thieves.

Then the criticism by someone near and dear to me made me stop and consider what I write and why I write-- which is not a bad thing to consider every now and then. In this case, the question was: what makes my writing any different? (And I think even then I realized writers hate to be pegged down.)

So I thought about it and I came up with a couple of insights. One is that there is a difference between fantasy and fantastical. The other is that one can develop a Filipino sense in any fantasy story (or horror or SF) even with the most Western of tropes. With these two insights, I started writing again and crafted a number of stories that I felt could stand against criticism in terms of national identity without foregoing the sense of wonder in such stories.

And they were damn fun to write, too.

Nine published stories in, I've now come to another turning point and another insight: as long as you realize that there is such a thing as national identity in your stories, you can now write without regard to it-- if the story calls for it. I mentioned earlier, writers hate getting pegged down and the idea of writing only one type of story-- i.e. the Filipino story-- seems absurd. Why limit myself when I can imagine far bigger things?

I've already proven I can write about dragons in the muck and grime of Philippine soil, or serial killers in the cold towers of the local call center industry. But gazing inward, I now want to look outward.

Thus the idea of a secondary world anthology. Just because these stories will be harkening back to the use of Western ideas (i.e. Tolkien, Donaldson, etc.) doesn't necessarily mean we have ignored what it means to be Filipino. However, this also doesn't mean that we'll only limit ourselves to being only Filipino. We are-- but we're also more than that (and I'm not even talking about international markets and globalization).

We're the same citizens of a world that's far greater than the one we live in and it's only as small as how much we limit our imagination. However, knowing this, I should like to add a warning. To quote Le Guin again in her essay "From Efland to Poughkeepsie":

"To create what Tolkien calls a 'secondary universe' is to make a new world. A world where no voice has ever spoken before; where the act of speech is the act of creation. The only voice that speaks there is the creator's voice. And every word counts.

This is an awful responsibility to undertake, when all the poor writer wants to do is play dragons, to entertain himself and others for a while. Nobody should be blamed for falling short of it. But all the same, if one undertakes a responsibility one should be aware of it."

(Both quotes taken from Ursula K. Le Guin's book on essays, The Language of Night, 1979)

Reminder of the Farthest Shore

I just like to remind people that the deadline of the secondary-worlds anthology, The Farthest Shore, is coming up. It's April 15-- one week from now-- so hopefully the Holy Week will give everyone enough time to write and submit their stories.

Here are the guidelines again:

“The Farthest Shore: Fantasy from the Philippines, edited by Joseph Nacino & Dean Francis Alfar” will be published electronically to make this collection of stories available to a wider international audience. Through this anthology we will be able to show the world that the Filipino writer can create worlds with the best of them.

Combining these two ideas—the short story and secondary fantasy worlds—is well-within the Filipino author’s ability. As a guideline though, we are not looking for treatise or travel guide books of the secondary fantasy world. In the end, a good story and the humanity of the characters in them must take precedence over the well-formed setting.

In keeping with the concept of fantasy secondary worlds, stories based on Filipino mythology are acceptable.

Submission Guidelines:

1. Only works of secondary worlds in the mold of epic or traditional fantasy will be considered for publication. As works of the imagination, the theme is open and free.

2. Stories must cater to an adult sensibility. However, if you have a Young Adult story that is particularly well-written, send it in.

3. Stories must be written in English.

4. Stories must be authored by Filipinos or those of Philippine ancestry.

5. We will accept only original unpublished stories.

6. First time authors are welcome to submit. Good stories trump literary credentials anytime.

7. No multiple submissions. Each author may submit only one story for consideration.

8. Each story's word count must be no more than 7,500 words.

9. All submissions must be in Rich Text Format (.rtf – save the document as .rft on your word processor) and attached to an email to this address: estranghero@gmail.com. Submissions received in any other format will be deleted unread.

10. The subject of your email must read: F2W Submission: (title) (word count); where (title) is replaced by the title of your short story, without the parentheses, and (word count) is the word count of your story, without the parentheses. For example – F2W Submission: The Sword of Ivatan 4500.

11. All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes your name, brief bio, contact information, previous publications (if any).

12. Deadline for submissions is April 15, 2009. After that date, final choices will be made and letters of acceptance or regret sent out via email.

13.This anthology will be made available online via PDF file. Target publishing date is May 2009.

14. Compensation is Php500 for every accepted story.

Kindly help spread the word. Feel free to cut and paste or link to this on your blogs or e-groups – and send your story in.

Thanks,

banzai cat
http://estranghero.blogspot.com/

Dean Francis Alfar
http://deanalfar.blogspot.com/

Hope to see your works, people.

The Sound of Dragon Wings

On a lighter note, I'm happy to hear that vin's draconic anthology, A Time of Dragons, will finally see the light of day courtesy of Anvil Publishing by the end of March.

Here's the money quote:

Join the book launch of A Time for Dragons (Anvil Publishing), edited by Vincent Simbulan, March 29, 2009 (Sunday), 3:00 pm, Shangri-la Mall Grand Atrium. This book is a collection of new dragon stories by Filipino authors to present the dragon in new and inventive ways, and renew and refresh the dragon for a more sophisticated and mature audience. Don’t miss the parade of dragons at the launch in Shangri-la Mall.

Haven't seen the cover yet, will post it as soon as I can. Isn't andrew doing it? I know he did the art for the pages.

In any case, am glad my dragon story in this anthology is finally coming out. Johnny Tatô was already getting pissed for not being able to tell his story.

Update: Yeah! My Internet prowess is good! Here's the cover! (Found here. Though the colors seem to have turned... funky on my blog.)

Update: And for some really teasing excerpts, check out andrew's samplings here. I was really wowed with his illustration for Cyan Abad's story.

Call for Submissions

(Remember my question last year about secondary worlds? This is the reason why...)

Secondary fantasy worlds are well-written fantasy stories that take place in a self-contained and self-consistent fantasy world created by the writer. These can be epic fantasy, high fantasy, or even dark (horror) fantasy.

“The Farthest Shore: Fantasy from the Philippines, edited by Joseph Nacino & Dean Francis Alfar” will be published electronically to make this collection of stories available to a wider international audience. Through this anthology we will be able to show the world that the Filipino writer can create worlds with the best of them.

Combining these two ideas—the short story and secondary fantasy worlds—is well-within the Filipino author’s ability. As a guideline though, we are not looking for treatise or travel guide books of the secondary fantasy world. In the end, a good story and the humanity of the characters in them must take precedence over the well-formed setting.

In keeping with the concept of fantasy secondary worlds, stories based on Filipino mythology are acceptable.

Submission Guidelines:

1. Only works of secondary worlds in the mold of epic or traditional fantasy will be considered for publication. As works of the imagination, the theme is open and free.

2. Stories must cater to an adult sensibility. However, if you have a Young Adult story that is particularly well-written, send it in.

3. Stories must be written in English.

4. Stories must be authored by Filipinos or those of Philippine ancestry.

5. We will accept only original unpublished stories.

6. First time authors are welcome to submit. Good stories trump literary credentials anytime.

7. No multiple submissions. Each author may submit only one story for consideration.

8. Each story's word count must be no more than 7,500 words.

9. All submissions must be in Rich Text Format (.rtf – save the document as .rft on your word processor) and attached to an email to this address: estranghero@gmail.com. Submissions received in any other format will be deleted unread.

10. The subject of your email must read: F2W Submission: (title) (word count); where (title) is replaced by the title of your short story, without the parentheses, and (word count) is the word count of your story, without the parentheses. For example – F2W Submission: The Sword of Ivatan 4500.

11. All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes your name, brief bio, contact information, previous publications (if any).

12. Deadline for submissions is April 15, 2009. After that date, final choices will be made and letters of acceptance or regret sent out via email.

13.This anthology will be made available online via PDF file. Target publishing date is May 2009.

14. Compensation is Php500 for every accepted story.

Kindly help spread the word. Feel free to cut and paste or link to this on your blogs or e-groups – and send your story in.

Thanks,

banzai cat
http://estranghero.blogspot.com/

Dean Francis Alfar
http://deanalfar.blogspot.com/

Heads-Up!

Here's one reason worry-heads and beating hearts don't have to fret about the end of this month: Fully-Booked has extended the 3rd Philippine Graphic Fiction contest from its original deadline this September 30, 2008 to November 3, 2008.

This will give more people a chance to submit, whether fiction, comics or the new category, video/movie. And why not: with a top cash prize of P100,000, that's 100,000 reasons to join.

So get at it!