This personal post was inspired by a blog entry in Philippine Genre Stories titled Generational Reading Gap [blog] [multiply].

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…)

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.”

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.

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.

Detailed guidelines and PDF download of the application form are on the official website.

Mark has kindly granted me permission to repost his list, so here we go:

PGS Special Halloween Issue:
http://philippinegenrestories.blogspot.com/2008/01/pgs-special-halloween-issue-call-for.html
Deadline: June 30, 2008

CANVAS writing contest for children readers:
http://lookingforjuan.blogspot.com/2008/05/call-for-entries-and-contest-rules.html
Deadline: July 31, 2008

What’s your Coffee Bean Story?
http://pinoyfood.nimrodel.net/2008/04/16/what%E2%80%99s-your-coffee-bean-and-tea-leaf-story-contest/
Deadline: July 31, 2008

PGS Special Crime/Mystery/Suspense Issue:
http://philippinegenrestories.blogspot.com/2008/01/pgs-special-crimemysterysuspense-issue.html
Deadline: August 15, 2008

Philippine Speculative Fiction vol. 4:
http://www.newworlds.ph/?p=281
Deadline: September 31, 2008

Thanks, 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!

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

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

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.