TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: February 2021

Thursday, February 25, 2021

#CopingwithCovid Cecilia Brainard Interviews #CebuLitFest Producer Hendri Go

Writer Cecilia Brainard Interviews Hendri Go about how he has been coping with the Covid Pandemic in Cebu, Philippines. Hendri Go is the producer/CEO of #CebuLitFest & #littleboyproductions . He talks about the pandemic rates in Cebu, how he has had to adjust his lifestyle and work goals. #CebuLitFest #Cebuliteraryfestival #littleboyprods #littleboyproductions #CopyingWithCovid

https://youtu.be/-0a-nTssav4

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Growing Up Filipino Stories for Young Adults - hardcover

The popular young adult anthology, GROWING UP FILIPINO: STORIES FOR YOUNG ADULTS, is now available in hardcover and with a new cover. For a little while it is available for $28 in Amazon. The price will go up on 2/26/21.

https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Up-Filipino.../dp/1953716008

"Emerging and established award-winning writers are the authors of this fine collection of 29 stories about what it means to be young and Filipino in the Philippines and in the United States. … This impressive array captures the complexities of both the Filipino culture and history and the realities of the lives of young adults no matter what their ethnic affiliation. ~ Bookbird Journal International. Children’s Literature, IBBY

“These 29 short stories offer a highly textured portrait of Filipino youth and an excellent sampling of creative writing … Authors include those born and continuing to live in the Philippines, emigres, and American-born Filipinos … There are more Filipinos living in the U.S. than most people realize, but finding literature reflective of their experiences is difficult. The high caliber and broad but wholly accessible range of this collection, however, makes this title a solid purchase for multiple reasons.” ~ School Library Journal

tags: Philippines Filipino Philippine Filipino-America young adult YA Coming of age teen coming-of-age books book

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

2 Collections of Short Stories by Filipino and FilAm authors

Cecilia Brainard talks about PALH's US reissues of two collections of short stories by Filipino and Filipino American writers: FICTION BY FILIPINOS IN AMERICA and CONTEMPORARY FICTION BY FILIPINOS IN AMERICA. -click below

Tags: Philippine books, Philippines fiction, Filipino American books

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Growing Up Filipino Stories for Young Adults - Now in Hardcover and New Cover

The collection of stories, GROWING UP FILIPINO: STORIES FOR YOUNG ADULTS, now has a hardcover edition (ISBN 9781953716002). The softcover edition has a new cover.

GROWING UP FILIPINO was the first publication of PALH (Philippine American Literary House). Written by established and emerging writers, the book delves into universal but at the same time personal themes of how it is to grow up Filipino. The book has received received critical acclaim.

Finalist for the Philippine National Book Award, this collection of stories along with the follow-up book GROWNG UP FILIPINO: MORE STORIES FOR YOUNG ADULTS continues to be read and used by educators. Last summer, the National Geographic included both books in its Summer Reading list.

Here are some book review excerpts of the book:

School Library Journal:
"These 29 short stories offer a highly textured portrait of Filipino youth and an excellent sampling of creative writing. Thematically arranged, most of the pieces have been written since the turn of the 21st century. Each story is introduced by a thumbnail sketch of the author and a paragraph or two about some element that is relevant to the story ... The high caliber and broad but wholly accessible range of this collection, however, makes this title a solid purchase for multiple reasons."

Bookbird Journal International Children's Literature (Glenna Sloan):
"Emerging and established award-winning writers are the authors of this fine collection of 29 stories about what it means to be Filipino in the Philippines and in the United States ... This impressive array captures the complexities of both the Filipino culture and history and the realities of the lives of young adults no matter what their ethnic affiliation."

Booklist:
"In this fine short-story collection, 29 Filipino American writers explore the universal challenges of adolescence from the unique perspectives of teens in the Philippines or in the U.S. Organized into five sections -- Family, Angst, Friendship, Love, and Home -- all the stories are about growing up and what the introduction calls "growing into Filipino-ness, growing with Filipinos, and growing in or growing away from the Philippines ... The cultural flavor aspect never overwhelms the stories, and readers will be drawn to the particulars as well as the universal concerns of family, friends, love, and leaving home."'

Bookseller can order the book from Ingram and readers can easily find this book in Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers.

For more information, please visit: https://ceciliabrainard.com/book/growing-up-filipino-stories-for-young-adults/

tags: young adult literature, young adult fiction, teen literature, YA fiction, YA short stories

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Sunday, February 14, 2021

Panel Discussion with Filipino American Women Writers - March 8, 2021, Philippine Embassy Event

Invitation: The Philippine Embassy of the United States is hosting "A Panel Discussion with Filipino-American Women Writers" that will be held on 8 March 2021, International Women's Day, 5-6PM EST via Zoom and Facebook Live.
The moderator is Aileen Cassinetto, and the panelists are: Cecilia Brainard, Migs Bravo Dutt, Luisa Igloria, and Gayle Romansanta.

To receive the zoom link, please register at https://tiny.cc/IWD3821.

For information, #WomenMakeChange is the Philippines' official hashtag for the national celebration of Women's Month.

Note: 5-6 pm EST on March 8 is 2-3 PT March 8 and is 6 am Philippine time on March 9

Tags: Philippine literature, Filipino American literature, Filipino American writers, Filipina writers

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Saturday, February 13, 2021

Brainard's novel, MAGDALENA, Reissued with Illustrations

PALH (Philippine American Literary House) announces the release of Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, novel MAGDALENA, with illustrations by the author. The book is available from Amazon for $17.95: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1953716113< >.
Previously published by Plain View Press (2003) and available in the Philippines (University of Santo Tomas Publishing House 2016), this 2021 US edition by PALH of MAGDALENA includes illustrations by the author.

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Panel Discussion of Filipino/FilAm Women Writers hosted by the Philippine Embassy

Save the date: March 8, 2pm PST / 5pm EST #WomenMakeChange #womenwriters
The Philippine Embassy in Washington DC, USA is hosting its first ever panel discussion with Filipino/Filipino American women writers in honor of International Women’s Day.
Moderator is Aileen Cassinetto; panelists: Cecilia Brainard, Migs Bravo Dutt, Luisa A. Igloria, Gayle Romasanta.
Register at https://tiny.cc/IWD3821.

#womenMake change
#FilAmwomenwriters
Tags: FilAm writers, Filipino American women writers, Pinay writers

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

US Edition of CONTEMPORARY FICTION BY FILIPINOS IN AMERICA

PALH (Philippine American Literary House) announces the release of the US edition of the collection of short stories, CONTEMPORARY FICTION BY FILIPINOS IN AMERICA, edited by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard. The book is available from Amazon for $17.95 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1953716091
This book is part of PALH’s efforts to reissue in the United States important literary books published in the Philippines, and which have been difficult to find in the US. The release of CONTEMPORARY FICTION BY FILIPINOS IN AMERICA follows an earlier release of another anthology, FICTION BY FILIPINOS IN AMERICA. Both books are considered valuable literary resources, and are available in Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.
First published in the Philippines in 1998, this 2021 US edition of CONTEMPORARY FICTION BY FILIPINOS IN AMERICA hopes to accommodate librarians, professors, teachers, and students. This collection is considered a valuable literary resource.
The anthology collects 26 short stories by Filipino and Philippine American writers, including (in no particular order): Fatima Lim-Wilson, Mila Faraon Heubeck, Eileen Tabios, John L. Silva, Veronica Montes, Cecilia Brainard, Lilia V. Villanueva, Mar V. Puatu, Vince Gotera, Oscar Peñaranda, Luis Cabalquinto, F. Delor Angeles, Melissa R. Aranzamendez, Eulalio Yerro Ibarra, Nadine Sarreal, Jay Ruben Dayrit, Ligaya Victoria Fruto, Edgar Poma, Marianne Villanueva, Linda Ty-Casper, Paulino Lim, Jr., Greg Sarris, Less Respecio Colomby, N.V.M. Gonzalez, and Alma Jill Dizon.
Harold Augenbraum praised the book for MANOA, saying:
“By pulling these personal, fictional quests together, the reader indeed comes away with a varied portrait of Filipinos in America, not the expression of dark causality present in the earlier generations of writers, such as Bulosan and Santos—those fantastic conjurors of Filipino American literature—but of people cautiously settling into what they hope will be a comfortable position … So many of these stories convey loneliness, disconnectedness, and an inability to form lasting attachments … This collection abounds with such tension … Brainard has done a fine job of bringing many little-known writers – and the edginess of Filipinos in America – to the fore. ”
For more information, please contact palh@aol.com or palhbooks@gmail.com.