Happy Book Birthday, What the Sun Says to the Moon!

It was an honor to deliver a closing remark at the five day art exhibit of Trina Velilla-Milan's book celebration. Trina and I were colleagues in Xavier School. I left in 2009 and she a few years after. A decade and some more years, we meet again. More intentionally to become writing buddies. 

She has chosen me as her mentor and I accept with great pride and trust. Such choices are precious. I no longer remember what I said at 29 Kapitolyo Art Space. What I remeber most was my daughter, Zoe being moved by my statement that "we all are alone and the feeling of isolation never leaves our side, thus, the desire to reach out and make connections". It sounded so romantic at the time. A few hours after, I realized the painful and risky business of being brave and putting oneself out there. 

This is the cost of survival. We all have to live. We all hope. 

In between is the grace to be had.

Writing Weekend at Brittany Hotel BGC

 

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Online Author Visit at Teacher Portia's Class

 

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Writing Life: Retrospecting and Catching Up

 

Team Teaching with Filipino Teachers (1 of 2)

Writing Life Roundup for June 2022

 And it's June.

What do you know. Half the year is over and soon, it will be the "Ber" months. I am on break from school, which means work is at a pause (yes, my day job) and usually, it is in the summer where I can write more, engage in my advocacies and get back to hobbies that are therapeutic like pottery, collage making and crafts like paper art and cloth art.

All things considered, I am concentraiting on a writing project I signed up for an international publisher. I will be sharing bits and pieces of this project with you, dear readers. For now, here is a list of some good things "yet to come".

1. My Daddy, My One Only, Dear Nanay and Big Sister are in the public libraries of Canada. Super thank you to Mommy Dinah Acedillo-Clemente for sharing a video of Yanyan reading aloud Big Sister. Her video gave me the push to continue on with the R&D of the my new book project. 

2. The STARS Series finally had its verdict from the Department of Education review and evaluation system. It looks like we will need a 180 degree rebranding of the series.

3. A textbook publisher is asking permission for the reprinting of My Daddy, My One and Only. 😁 I already gave them my go signal.

4. I am excited on the release of an anthology where I have a contribution of "letters". Last I heard, it will be launched in the summer. This summer. Damdum-dadum!

5. I accepted an invitation to judge a writing contest on Children's Story Writing. I get to read what young writers are writing about these days. I may be the judge for this competition but I learn from the stories or entries I read as well. 

Like any season, summer is so quick to pass. Like everything else in life, we live in the now and celebrate victories big and small!

The Children’s Book Writer and His/Her World View

Of the four publishers who had an input session during the Room to Read Writing Workshop in Bohol last week, it was Joann Nicolas Na’s session on world views that made a lasting impression. She is the editor of OMF Lit/Hiyas. In her talk, which was like a brief writer’s recollection, she asked participants what we believe in. In a previous post, a wrote them down.

I reiterate them here.

There are three things I believe in. 

I believe in love. I believe in family. I believe, that with the use of appropriate teaching methods, reading and literacy can change lives.

These beliefs all funnel in my stories and the books I have published, so far. Almost all of the six books I have written and collaborated with amazing Filipino artists were all based from real life characters. Many of them are stories of loved ones and family members.

The Day Max Flew Away is the story of my family. Much of what the father told the main character in the story is basically what I often hear my husband tell my kids. In My Daddy! My One and Only!, I celebrate the bond between father and son. Big Sister, is my story. I became one when I was twelve years old. My father is a retired public school teacher but he worked abroad back in the 80s. This became my context for Dear Nanay Needless to say, the experiences a writer go through and the beliefs he or she values are reflected in his/her works.

This prompts me to review and examine the works of my contemporaries. In the coming days and weeks, I will be posting in the blog selected works of writer friends in the industry and their body of works. This is not an academic study of children’s literature but, who knows. Maybe after posting my featured articles on Filipino Children’s Book writers and their world views, I may continue this as a formal study of writing and Philippine Children’s Literature.

Visit the blog and find out the writers, or illustrators, I will be featuring in my quest to understand the writer and his or her world view.

My 2016 In Retrospect: Writing Life

So I begin my inventory of 2016.

It was a tough year, generally speaking. But after looking closely at the events and experiences I had since the year started I realized how grace filled the year has been for me. For the next few days, I will post in the blog my 2016 stories of joy, love and life. World events and the nation's current political climate are very frustrating. There are days when I feel afraid and insecure of my safety and my family's too. The economy is looking glum, from where I am but, as what I learned from Ignatius, God is in all things. There are graces to be had.

In 2016, I was able to work with a team of proactive young writers. Under the efficient leadership of YGOAL, we were able to finish a teacher training manual on Personal Development for the DepEd's Senior High School Program and Curriculum. I blogged about our BPI-YGOAL Teachers' Manual and the wonderful people I worked with.

I did not launch any children's book this year, but Big Sister was a finalist in the Kids Choice Award of the NBDB and PBBY. My story for children, The Little Sparrow was included in CCP's Literary Journal, Ani. I have a contribution in Bumasa at Lumaya vol. 2 A Source Book on Philippine Children's Literature (Anvil, 2016) about setting up libraries and reading centers for children. With the help of MJ Tumamac, we ran a blog tour that had the participation of influential Pinoy book bloggers and industry observers.

Needless to say, 2016 was a productive year. On to 2017!

This year, my book projects include the final production of grades 1 and 2 STARS, my early reading series for Lampara Books. There is also the book project I inked a contract with one of the leading foundations in the country. Here is a preview of the illustration by Tinsley Garanchon. And, if things pan out, I might do a bi-monhly column for a new magazine for Library and Information Professionals.

There is only grace. Only grace.

Aklat Awards 2016: Most Favorite Writer (Lampara Books)

Vote for your favorite writer!

This is a shameless plug and campaign for votes!

I am nominated as one of ten writers for the Most Favorite Writer award in the Aklat Awards 2016 of Lampara Books. Go to the Aklat Awards 2016 Survey Form to vote for me, or for your favorite writer of picture books and story books for children. The survey closes on November 8, 2016. I wouldn't really mind if you vote for another writer, but I am campaigning not just for me but for my friends who are in the list too.

Over in Facebook, the reception I received on the Aklat Awards 2016 Most Favorite Writer has been mixed. Many agree and are game on this ala-beauty pageant cum popularity contest approach to recognising writers and their body works. There are those who find it inappropriate for writers to be pitted against each other in such a fashion. Those who have fans and who are actively visible in social media have the edge over the ones whose works can only speak for themselves. While this is true and may seem unbalanced and yes, not a very good measure of a writer's works, a past experience taught me that writers are brands too.

I was told by a top sales manager of one of the international distributor of children's books in the country that I am a hard sell. I am small, dusky, unfashionable and, at the time, I was FAT. My surname is non-commercial.  On face value, the sales manager did not find anything interesting to sell about me or on the work that I do. That was in 2010. I have published academic papers already; done workshops abroad; was the PBBY president; consultant to a number of NGOs on literacy training and school library development; and one of the few school librarian bloggers in the Philippines with a blog that has a strong readership. And yet, this sales manager was outright in saying that I am not "sellable". As a writer and public speaker, the sales manager did not think that he could market my expertise as a brand that people will buy.

Of course, I was offended. To this day, I have nothing to offer but my genuine love for books, reading and telling stories. I have lost weight because of a medical and health issue, but I remain small, dusky and unfashionable.

My body of work as a writer reflect my own personal struggles and issues as a daughter, sister, wife and mother. My first book, Tales From the 7,000: Filipino Folk Stories (Libraries Unlimited, 2011), co-written with Dianne de Las Casas is my homage to my mother land. It won us an award in 2015 as a World Storytelling Resource in Tennessee, USA. Big Sister, my book with Ruben Totet de Jesus as a top ten Kids Choice Finalist in the National Children's Book Award of 2016. It's been a good run, really!

I think I pretty much know where my heart is and where my head should be.

But this popularity contest is something I am taking a bite out of the marketing game of book selling. I still want to know if that sales manager, coming from a very commercial context, is still right about me.

I may not win here, and that's alright. I will go on doing what I love and what I know I do best.

Backstories of Dear Nanay and My Daddy! My One and Only!

Because it is Mother's Day, and Father's Day is next month, I am sharing this short interview of Iyra Buenrostro, from two years ago, about my writing life. Though brief, you'll get a glimpse of where I get inspiration in writing stories.

Ano po yung inspiration ninyo for writing your books?  (What is your inspiration for writing your books?)

My inspiration to write is my family, primarily, my kids. My Daddy! My One and Only! is the story of my son and husband. 

Dear Nanay is a personal story of mine. My father worked abroad in the early 80s. Nangulila ako sa tatay ng dalawang taon. Nung 2002, na-inspire ako magsulat ng tula tungkol sa isang anak na namimiss ang nanay nya na Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW). Naisulat ko ang kwento pauwi from Singapore. Galing akong congress noon on storytelling. Ang daming OFW na Pinay sa plane puro pasalubong ang dala!

Do you have a specific advocacy as regards Philippine children's literature? 

Produce quality books; fair royalties and professional fees to writers. Mas malaki palagi sa publisher ang share.

Dear Nanay is illustrated by Liza Flowers. My Daddy! My One and Only! is illustrated by Jomike Tejido. Both books are published by Lampara Books.