Group Photos of 2021 Hot Off the Press Literary Reading

 

 

12/21 Statement from Cecilia Manguerra Brainard regarding PAWA and Hot Off the Press Literary Readings: Please be informed that I will no longer be working on future Hot Off the Press Literary Readings (HOTP) and other programs with the San Francisco group PAWA (also known as PAWA, Inc.).  This group is also known as Philippine American Writers and Artists, Filipino American International Book Festival, Filbookfestival.org.  You can contact me directly for more information. 

~~~ 

Here are group photos of the recent Hot Off the Press Literary Reading (Oct. 9, 2021) with readers: Gina Apostol, Jhoanna Lynn Cruz, George Gonzaga Deoso, Caroline Sy Hau, Mae Respicio, Randy Ribay, Brian Ascalon Roley, Ricco Siasoco, and Lara Stapleton, moderated by Cecilia Brainard.

 

You can view the entire program in the San Francisco Public Library YouTube site:

 

https://youtu.be/dRMiUVvhXbA

 

The photos show: Bottom l-r: Ricco Siasoco, Gina Apostol; row above l-r: Mae Respicio Koerner, Randy Ribay, Beverly Paryno; row above that l-r: Caroline Hau, George Deoso, Brian Roley; Top row l-r: Abraham Ignacio, Cecilia Brainard, Lara Stapleton

 

 

tags: #Philippineauthors #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth #filipinoauthors #filipinobooks

#philippinebooks #HOTP 

 

2021 Hot Off the Press Literary Reading - YouTube link & Graphics Used

 

12/21 Statement from Cecilia Manguerra Brainard regarding PAWA and Hot Off the Press Literary Readings: Please be informed that I will no longer be working on future Hot Off the Press Literary Readings (HOTP) and other programs with the San Francisco group PAWA (also known as PAWA, Inc.).  This group is also known as Philippine American Writers and Artists, Filipino American International Book Festival, Filbookfestival.org. You can contact me directly for more information.

~~~

The 2021 Hot Off the Press Literary Reading by nine Filipino and FilAm authors went on the air, via Zoom, last Saturday, October 9, 2021 at 5 p.m. California time. It was 8 am. Sunday morning for our Filipino authors, and 9 a.m. in Japan for one of our authors who's a professor at Kyoto University.

The readers were: Gina Apostol, Jhoanna Lynn Cruz, George Gonzaga Deoso, Caroline Sy Hau, Mae Respicio, Randy Ribay, Brian Ascalon Roley, Ricco Siasoco, and Lara Stapleton. 

Organizer/Moderator was Cecilia Brainard.

It ran for one hour and 20 minutes.  It was essentially flawless.  You can watch the program in the San Francisco Public Library's YouTube site. Don't forget to "Like" the program. 

https://youtu.be/dRMiUVvhXbA

LIVE - 2021 HOT OFF THE PRESS LITERARY READING OF 9 FILIPINO & FILAM AUTHORS

12/21 Statement from Cecilia Manguerra Brainard regarding PAWA and Hot Off the Press Literary Readings: Please be informed that I will no longer be working on future Hot Off the Press Literary Readings (HOTP) and other programs with the San Francisco group PAWA (also known as PAWA, Inc.).  This group is also known as Philippine American Writers and Artists, Filipino American International Book Festival, Filbookfestival.org. You can contact me directly for more information.

 

LIVE IN A FEW HOURS

Hot Off the Press Literary Reading #HOTP will stream live on San Francisco Public Library's (sfpl.org Events) YouTube site here:

https://youtu.be/dRMiUVvhXbA

Saturday, October 9, 2021, 5 p.m. California Time (or Sunday Oct 10, 8 am Philippine time)

READERS: Gina Apostol, Jhoanna Lynn Cruz, George Gonzaga Deoso, Caroline Sy Hau, Mae Respicio, Randy Ribay, Brian Ascalon Roley, Ricco Siasoco, and Lara Stapleton.

HOST: Cecilia Brainard

tags: #HOTP #Poetryreading #performancereading #philippineliterature #philippinebooks #filipinobooks #filipinoauthors #Philippineauthors 

Tomorrow!!! #HOTP Literary Reading of Nine Filipino FilAm Authors

 

12/21 Statement from Cecilia Manguerra Brainard regarding PAWA and Hot Off the Press Literary Readings: Please be informed that I will no longer be working on future Hot Off the Press Literary Readings (HOTP) and other programs with the San Francisco group PAWA (also known as PAWA, Inc.).  This group is also known as Philippine American Writers and Artists, Filipino American International Book Festival, Filbookfestival.org. You can contact me directly for more information.

 

 ~~~

TOMORROW!!!

NINE FILIPINO AND FILAM AUTHORS READ FROM THEIR NEW BOOKS,

Sat Oct. 9, 5 pm (California time); OR Sun Oct. 10, 8 am (Manila time)

AUTHORS: Gina Apostol; Jhoanna Lynn Cruz; George Gonzaga Deoso; Caroline Sy Hau; Mae Respicio; Randy Ribay; Brian Ascalon Roley; Ricco Siasoco; Lara Stapleton. HOST: Cecilia Brainard

REGISTER via Zoom: https://bit.ly/FilAmHist10-9-21

OR

REGISTER:  https://sfpl.org/events/2021/10/09/author-hot-press-filipino-and-filam-literary-reading.

You can also view the event here:

YouTube Event - https://youtu.be/dRMiUVvhXbA 

tags: #filipinoamericanhistorymonth #philippineliterature #philippinebooks #philippineauthors #filipinobooks #filipinoauthors  

 

Colorado State University feature of Cecilia Brainard - FilipinoAmericanhistorymonth 2017

 

I stumbled on this feature in the Colorado State University site, 2017. Belated thanks! #filipinoamericanhistorymonth

https://english.colostate.edu/news/filipino-american-history-month-cecilia-manguerra-brainard/

Author and editor, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard was born and raised in the Philippines. The death of her father when she was nine prompted her to start writing, first in journals, then essays and fiction. She went to college in the Philippines, then did graduate work at UCLA.

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard is the award winning author of 10 books. Her work has been translated into both Finnish and Turkish, with many of her stories and articles widely anthologized. She has lectured and performed in worldwide literary arts organizations and universities, and now teaches creative writing at the Writers Program at UCLA-Extension.

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard co-founded Philippine American Women Writers and Artists, (PAWWA). She also founded Philippine American Literary House. She has received a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city of Cebu, Philippines.

When asked in an interview if there are good and bad reasons for being a writer, Manguerra Brainard responded, “The bad reasons are for fame, money, immortality, and revenge. The good reasons are because you have no choice but to write; for self-expression, to keep sane, to create something beautiful out of something painful or unpleasant; to educate others and ultimately to educate yourself.” In the same interview, she shared her advice for beginning writers:

1) Keep a journal and write, write, write.

2) Read a lot, and read the type of pieces that are similar to what you want to write (articles or stories or poems).

3) Don’t compare yourself with the others. It will do you no good to fret because some of your contemporaries are getting published or getting awards. You have your own struggle, your own stories to write.

4) Take classes or join workshops so you have a structure.

#filipinoamericanhistorymonth #Philippineamericanhistorymonth #coloradostateuniversity

Thanks to the Philippine Consulate General of San Francisco - #HOTP Literary Reading

 

 

12/21 Statement from Cecilia Manguerra Brainard regarding PAWA and Hot Off the Press Literary Readings: Please be informed that I will no longer be working on future Hot Off the Press Literary Readings (HOTP) and other programs with the San Francisco group PAWA (also known as PAWA, Inc.).  This group is also known as Philippine American Writers and Artists, Filipino American International Book Festival, Filbookfestival.org. You can contact me directly for more information.

 ~~~

Thanks to the Philippine Consulate General of San Francisco for sharing information about the upcoming Oct. 9 Hot Off the Press Literary Reading:

https://pcgsanfrancisco.org/nine-filipino-and-fil-am.../

~~

HOT OFF THE PRESS a Virtual Literary Reading by Nine Filipino & FilAm Authors, Saturday, October 9, 2021, 5 p.m. (California Time), San Francisco Public Library/ Events (sfpl.org).

READERS: Gina Apostol, Jhoanna Lynn Cruz, George Gonzaga Deoso, Caroline Sy Hau, Mae Respicio, Randy Ribay, Brian Ascalon Roley, Ricco Siasoco, and Lara Stapleton.

REGISTER via Zoom: https://bit.ly/FilAmHist10-9-21

OR

REGISTER: https://sfpl.org/.../author-hot-press-filipino-and-filam....

You can also view the event here:

YouTube Event - https://youtu.be/dRMiUVvhXbA

tags: Philippine literature, Philippine books, Philippine authors, Filipino literature, Filipino books, Filipino authors 

Hot Off the Press Literary Reading, Oct. 9, 2021 - SOON

 

12/21 Statement from Cecilia Manguerra Brainard regarding PAWA and Hot Off the Press Literary Readings: Please be informed that I will no longer be working on future Hot Off the Press Literary Readings (HOTP) and other programs with the San Francisco group PAWA (also known as PAWA, Inc.).  This group is also known as Philippine American Writers and Artists, Filipino American International Book Festival, Filbookfestival.org. You can contact me directly for more information.

 ~~~

 

Coming soon: Nine Fabulous Filipino and FilAm authors Read in 2021 Hot Off the Press Literary Reading, Oct 9, 2021, 5 pm Calif time: 

READERS: Gina Apostol, Jhoanna Lynn Cruz, George Gonzaga Deoso, Caroline Sy Hau, Mae Respicio, Randy Ribay, Brian Ascalon Roley, Ricco Siasoco, and Lara Stapleton.

REGISTER via Zoom: https://bit.ly/FilAmHist10-9-21

OR

REGISTER:  https://sfpl.org/events/2021/10/09/author-hot-press-filipino-and-filam-literary-reading.

 

You can also view the event here:

YouTube Event - https://youtu.be/dRMiUVvhXbA

 

~~

Inquirer.net: 

https://usa.inquirer.net/81760/nine-filipino-and-fil-am-authors-to-read-from-their-new-books-oct-9

Philippine Consulate General of San Francisco:

https://pcgsanfrancisco.org/nine-filipino-and-fil-am-authors-in-october-literary-reading/

Poets and Writers:

https://www.pw.org/literary_events/filipino_filam_authors_read_in_hotp_literary_reading_oct_9_2021

tags: Philippine literature #performancereading #poetryreading #filipinoauthors #filipinobooks #Philippinebooks #Philippineauthors  #bookparty 

Register Hot Off the Press Literary Reading Oct. 9, 2021

 

12/21 Statement from Cecilia Manguerra Brainard regarding PAWA and Hot Off the Press Literary Readings: Please be informed that I will no longer be working on future Hot Off the Press Literary Readings (HOTP) and other programs with the San Francisco group PAWA (also known as PAWA, Inc.).  This group is also known as Philippine American Writers and Artists, Filipino American International Book Festival, Filbookfestival.org. You can contact me directly for more information.

 ~~~

 

REGISTER EARLY: 

INVITATION to a Virtual Literary Reading by Nine Filipino & FilAm Authors, Saturday, October 9, 2021, 5 p.m. (California Time), San Francisco Public Library/ Events (sfpl.org).

READERS: Gina Apostol, Jhoanna Lynn Cruz, George Gonzaga Deoso, Caroline Sy Hau, Mae Respicio, Randy Ribay, Brian Ascalon Roley, Ricco Siasoco, and Lara Stapleton.

 

REGISTER via Zoom: https://bit.ly/FilAmHist10-9-21

OR

REGISTER:  https://sfpl.org/events/2021/10/09/author-hot-press-filipino-and-filam-literary-reading.

 

You can also view the event here:

YouTube Event - https://youtu.be/dRMiUVvhXbA

 

 tags: poetry reading, literary reading, performance reading, philippine literature, philippine authors, philippine books, Filipino books, Filipino writers, Pinoylit, Goodreads

Philippine National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera Passes Away

 

l-r: Cecilia Brainard, Felice Sta. Maria, Isagani Cruz, Michael Gonzalez, Bienvenido Lumbera, Marily Orosa, Karina Bolasco

Bienvenido Lumbera (1932-2021), Philippine National Artist for Literature passed away yesterday. May he rest in peace.

 

This is from the UST Publishing House:

"Fondly known as Sir Bien to his students and colleagues, he has become one of the foundational figures in Philippine literature not only for his valuable contribution on Tagalog poetry, but also for his sharp criticism with historical grounding. As a Martial Law detainee, his firsthand experience of state violence inspired much of his social commentaries, which are now considered cornerstone works in Philippine scholarly studies. Lumbera was proclaimed National Artist for Literature in 2006." 

Tags: #philippineliterature #Filipinoauthors #Philippinewriters #Philippinenationalartist 

Book Review of CECILIA BRAINARD'S NOVEL, THE NEWSPAPER WIDOW by Angeles de Leon

 

BOOK REVIEW of The Newspaper Widow a Novel by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

PALH 2021 & University of Santo Tomas Publishing House 2017

By ANGELES DE LEON

Starting out as a riveting murder mystery, it took me along as it branched, twisted & turned along the way, it deepened into the story of a friendship between 2 women, of differing personalities from different cultures (one a Frenchwoman, the other a Chinese-Spanish-Native hybrid) as they mourned their lost loves, and struggled to survive in the clash of the early 1900’s American Colonial Period.

The customs, costumes, society, and details of those times gone by, ring true; they evoke tales of my own grandma. The characters are recognizable- - reminiscent of some folks I have met in the Visayan society of my day. Ubec, (Cebu named backwards) a southern Philippine island, is painted with the atmosphere redolent of the tropical islands where I grew up.

This slim book is enjoyable & engrossing- - like time-traveling to a bygone time & place, sharing the life of interesting characters, transporting us away from our current stressful times.

 

I enjoyed this just as much as 2 novels i’ve read, recently: Where Crawdads Sing, a NYTimes Bestseller with nearly 200,000 reviews in Amazon Books, & The Firekeeper’s Daughter, a Time Best YA Book of All Time.

For copies of the book:

In the US check out Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others; in the Philippines check out Lazada and Shopee

tags: Philippine novels, Filipino novels, Filipino books, Filipino mystery, Filipino murder mystery, Philippine literature books,  Filipino detective novels 

Inquirer Article re NINE FILIPINOS & FILAM AUTHORS READ OCT 9

 

12/21 Statement from Cecilia Manguerra Brainard regarding PAWA and Hot Off the Press Literary Readings: Please be informed that I will no longer be working on future Hot Off the Press Literary Readings (HOTP) and other programs with the San Francisco group PAWA (also known as PAWA, Inc.).  This group is also known as Philippine American Writers and Artists, Filipino American International Book Festival, Filbookfestival.org. You can contact me directly for more information.

 ~~~

 

Article re:

NINE FILIPINO AND FILAM AUTHORS TO READ FROM THEIR NEW BOOKS, Oct. 9, 5 p.m. (California time).

Featuring: Gina Apostol; Jhoanna Lynn Cruz; George Gonzaga Deoso; Caroline Sy Hau; Mae Respicio; Randy Ribay; Brian Ascalon Roley; Ricco Siasoco; Lara Stapleton.

Register via Zoom: https://bit.ly/FilAmHist10-9-21

OR

San Francisco Public Library, Events: https://sfpl.org/events/2021/10/09/author-hot-press-filipino-and-filam-literary-reading. 

https://usa.inquirer.net/81760/nine-filipino-and-fil-am-authors-to-read-from-their-new-books-oct-9

Tags: #Filipinoauthors #Filipinobooks  Philippineliterature #HOTP #literaryreading #poetryreading 

Register for HOTP Literary Reading by 9 Filipino & FilAm Authors

 12/21 Statement from Cecilia Manguerra Brainard regarding PAWA and Hot Off the Press Literary Readings: Please be informed that I will no longer be working on future Hot Off the Press Literary Readings (HOTP) and other programs with the San Francisco group PAWA (also known as PAWA, Inc.).  This group is also known as Philippine American Writers and Artists, Filipino American International Book Festival, Filbookfestival.org. You can contact me directly for more information.

 

INVITATION to a Virtual Literary Reading by Nine Filipino & FilAm Authors, Saturday, October 9, 2021, 5-6:30 p.m. (California Time), San Francisco Public Library/ Events (sfpl.org).

 

READERS: Gina Apostol, Jhoanna Lynn Cruz, George Gonzaga Deoso, Caroline Sy Hau, Mae Respicio, Randy Ribay, Brian Ascalon Roley, Ricco Siasoco, and Lara Stapleton.

 

REGISTER:  https://sfpl.org/events/2021/10/09/author-hot-press-filipino-and-filam-literary-reading.

OR

REGISTER via Zoom: https://bit.ly/FilAmHist10-9-21

 

You can also view the event here:

YouTube Event - https://youtu.be/dRMiUVvhXbA

Read also:

Press Release of  2021 HOTP Literary Reading  - https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2021/08/press-release-2021-hot-off-press.html

Tags: #filipinoauthors #filipinobooks #filamauthors #HOTP #Philippineliterature #poetryreading 

 

Memories & Sketches #2 by Cecilia Brainard - Talisay

 

I continue my blogging about my memories with sketches ... and also old photos. Copyright 2021 by Cecilia Brainard

TALISAY

Cecilia Brainard

My father had been an engineering professor at the University of the Philippines in Manila. He and my mother lived in a big house on Georgia Street, in the Malate District. There they had their first two children -- my oldest sister and brother. When World War II broke out, my father entrusted the Manila house to his nephew Nanding. He brought his family by boat to Mindanao, and there he worked for the guerrilla movement — I have fictionalized some of their war stories into my first novel, When the Rainbow Goddess Wept (aka Song of Yvonne).

There they stayed for four years. My other sister was born “behind some bushes” while a Japanese patrol walked by. My mother lost a baby boy there, a miscarriage. My father would disappear for days without my mother knowing where he went, only to discover later on that he had traveled with the Americans to Australia or some other place.

Remembering Jaime Picornell by Cecilia Brainard

 

 

Cecilia Brainard Remembers Jaime Picornell who passed away last August 16, 2021

Published in Positively Filipino

 https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-jolly-spaniard-of-cebu

The Jolly Spaniard of Cebu

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cebu in the 1950s and 1960s had small-town ways. The city was not as sprawling or as heavily populated as it is now. Families knew one another. Everyone knew the Picornell family. They were a holdover from the Spanish era, pure Spanish in blood, though they had assimilated Cebuano ways.

Jaime became close to our family in the mid-1960s. He became a good friend of my brother and his wife. When my sister Ana and cousin Chickie returned from their post-graduate studies in Spain, Jaime became close to them. He also became a friend of my mother. So, it happened that when I was in Cebu for my school holidays (I attended college in Manila), I got to know Jaime better.

He used to come around for merienda or dinner, and while we sat around the table, my mother would say, “Jaime-Jaime, tell us about …” And Jaime would start telling stories about the personalities of Cebu, sending us into hysterical laughter at his animated lively stories. Jaime was a great storyteller; he knew how to zero on in people’s quirks and turn them into funny anecdotes. We laughed but knew we had our own peculiarities and that we were all part of the fabric of Cebu. - please continue reading in Positively Filipino

 

 

 

Tags: Cebu Society, Cebu Philippines, Cebu culture, Cebu history, Spanish Filipinos

Memories & Skeches #1 by Cecilia Brainard - Santo Nino de Cebu

 I will be blogging my memories of Cebu with accompanying sketch. This first personal essay is about the Santo Nino de Cebu. 

These sketches are part of the book, Magical Years Memories & Sketches by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, available as a limited edition of 100 copies from palh@aol.com. 

~~~ 

SANTO NINO DE CEBU

Copyrignt 2021 by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard 

 

I was born and raised in the island of Cebu where my mother’s people came from. My father and his family came from another part of the Philippines—the North, Laguna specifically, where people spoke another dialect and ate meat and vegetable dishes with strong flavors. Laguna used to fascinate me for the simple fact that my father was born and raised there. Otherwise, it looked like any other provincial town, with a city hall, old church, and Spanish colonial stone and wood houses. I never lived there and only heard secondhand stories about my father’s family, about how for instance they had owned huge tracks of land which my grandfather gambled away. Laguna was a kind of mythic place which I didn’t really know.

Book Review Library Journal for The Newspaper Widow by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

 

Book Review Library Journal August 2021

Mystery

The Newspaper Widow by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

PALH, Sept. 2021

252 p. ISBN 9781953716149 pap $17.95 

When her husband dies in 1909, Ines Maceda inherits his newspaper, which is running out of audience and funds; she soon finds that she’s good at both the money side and the reporting side. The paper gets a scoop about the discovery of the body of a priest who had been missing several months, but any pleasure in Ines’s coup is dampened when her son Andres is imprisoned on suspicion of murdering the priest, whose past turns out to be shadier than imagined. What follows is part detective story and part historical fiction, set in the Philippines seven years after the conclusion of the Philippine-American War (1899-1902) that cemented U.S. occupation of the islands. The mystery elements are competently plotted, and the characters appealing, and there’s a charming long-distance romance, with a hint of another yet to come. The book’s signal virtue, though, is its bighearted look at Filipino culture and society in 1909. With 23 books to her name, Brainard (Magdalena) is hardly a novice, but most of her works have appeared out of small presses (including her own Philippine American Literary House), so she might be a new addition to library collections.

VERDICT An old-fashioned novel isn’t a bad thing when it’s as well done as this one about people growing, loving, and rectifying past mistakes.

Review by David Keymer, Cleveland, July 16, 2021

#bookreview #murdermystery #Philippineliterature #Filipinonovel #Philippinenovel