LitFest turns folk, pop!

Filipino writers will discuss folk and popular literature as shown in komiks, TV, and film as the National Book Development Board (NBDB), Filipinas Heritage Library (FHL), and Ayala Museum hold POPtastik Pinoy! this November.

The event is part of the 4^th Philippine International Literary Festival. Titled Text and the City, the LitFest will take place in the major universities in Metro Manila from November 11-14 and culminating at the Ayala Museum on November 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Promotional activities will also be held at the Makati Ayala Malls from November 17 to 24.

The November 15 event is a whole day series of talks which will cover the following topics: “Folklore in Pop Literature (komiks, graphic novels, novels, short stories, and TV);” “Kuwentuhan on Komiks;” and “Writing in Different Genres.” Among the panel discussants and moderators are comic artists Manix Abrera, Noel Pascual, AJ Bernardo, Karen Francisco, and Budjette Tan; novelists Eros Atalia, Luna Sicat Cleto, and Edgar Samar; scriptwriter Suzette Doctolero; fictionists Sarge Lacuesta and Yvette Tan; journalists Ruel de Vera and Kristine Fonacier; and Prof. Patrick Campos.

Celebrated writers Tony Perez and Rolando Tolentino will open the POPtastik Pinoy! program of activities with talks of writing and the city. Korean-American writer Krys Lee will then discuss her short story compilation Drifting House. Lee will be joined by Sarge Lacuesta, Andrea Pasion-Flores, and Kristine Fonacier for a flash fiction writing masterclass, “City Fiction 100,” while other pocket lectures are being held in the Ayala Museum function rooms.

From 5:00 pm, writer and educator Isagani R. Cruz will hold another seminar on “How to write a book” for professional and amateur writers. Garitony Nicolas will also share his experience of publishing his own books with the help of Central Books, the first publisher-on-demand in the Philippines.

The LitFest will stretch to the following week at the Ayala Malls. On November 17, a marathon of GMA films will be held at the New Glorietta Activity Center, along with a mini fair for indie komiks creators and sellers and small or independent publishers. The public can also view GMA 7 telefantasya costumes at Ground Floor Greenbelt 3 from November 18 to 24.

POPtastik Pinoy! is supported by Ayala Malls, GMA Network, Brother Philippines Inc., Intercontinental Hotel, the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP), the Korea Copyright Commission (KCC), Fully Booked, and McDonald’s. For inquiries, contact Verne Ahyong at the Ayala Museum at 759-8288 local 46 or ahyong.vy@ayalafoundation.org. To register, call Marj Villaflores at 759-8288 local 25, or email litfest@filipinaslibrary.org.ph.

City Fiction 100: A Fiction Writing Masterclass

As part of the POPtastik Pinoy! program of activities held in celebration of Text in the City: The 4^th Philippine International Literary Festival, Ayala Museum will hold City Fiction 100, a flash fiction masterclass, on November 15, 1:30-3:00 p.m. This workshop is open to professional and budding writers of all ages. Participants will get feedback from acclaimed writers Sarge Lacuesta, Andrea Pasion-Flores, and Krys Lee, with Kristine Fonacier as Moderator.

Write about a city, real or imagined in 100 words or less.

City Fiction 100: A Fiction Writing Masterclass

15 November 2013

1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Open to professional and budding writers of all ages. Get feedback from writers Krys Lee and Sarge Lacuesta, and literary agent Andrea Pasion-Flores, with travel writer Kristine Fonacier as moderator.

Presented by the National Book Development Board (NBDB) in partnership with Filipinas Heritage Library and Ayala Museum

Guidelines:

Submit your works of flash fiction saved in .doc format to Camille Dela Rosa (cvdelarosa@nbdb.gov.ph) and Verne Ahyong (litfest@filipinaslibrary.org.ph).

Multiple entries are allowed.

E-mail must have the subject heading “City Fiction 100 Entry,” and include the writer’s full name, cellular phone number, and short bio (3-4 sentences only).

Only 25 slots are available. Early submissions will be given priority.

Deadline for submission is on 2013 November 8. Final list of participants will be announced on November 11.

A Php 1,000 workshop fee will be collected from the 25 chosen participants. Fee includes a copy of Krys Lee’s short story collection Drifting House. Fee also includes access to all panels for the rest of the day.

Only one story per participant will be discussed during the masterclass. The decision of the NBDB screening team is final.

For inquiries, e-mail Camille Dela Rosa (cvdelarosa@nbdb.gov.ph) or Verne Ahyong (litfest@filipinaslibrary.org.ph). You can also call Verne at 759-8288 loc. 46.

About the facilitators:

Krys Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea, raised in California and Washington, and studied in the United States and England. Her debut book Drifting House by Viking/Penguin, USA, and Faber and Faber, U.K., made the San Francisco Chronicle and Kansas City Star 2012 best books of the year list. She was awarded The 2012 Story Prize Spotlight Award and was a finalist for the 2012 BBC International Story Prize.

Her work has appeared in the Kenyon Review, Narrative magazine, Granta (New Voices), The Guardian, Financial Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Conde Nast Traveller, UK, and other publications. She is a professor of creative writing at Yonsei University's Underwood International College.

Andrea Pasion-Flores is the former Executive Director of the NBDB where she was known for her pioneering work introducing high-impact literary events to the country. Starting with Lit Out Loud (2010), followed by The Great Philippine Book Café (2011), and Read Lit District (2012), the Philippine International Literary Festival has made the country a permanent fixture on the literary calendar.

Andrea is also a copyright lawyer. She teaches English at the University of the Philippines, as a member of the Department of English and Comparative Literature. She is now the Manila-based agent of Jacaranda, a full-service literary agency catering to both first-time and established writers. She may very well be the country’s first literary agent.

Amado Angelo Rodriguez Lacuesta (a.k.a. Sarge Lacuesta) is writer who has won the Philippine Graphic Awards for Fiction, Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature, and NVM Gonzalez Award, among other accolades. Life Before X and Other Stories (2000), his first short story collection, won the Madrigal-Gonzalez Best First Book Award and the Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Award, while his second collection White Elephants: Stories (2005) also won the National Book Award. His recently published his third collection Flames and Other Stories (2009).

Sarge edited the books Latitute: Writing from the Philippines and Scotland (2005) and Fourteen Love Stories (2006). He is now the Literary Editor of the Philippines Free Press and Editor-at-Large of Esquire. He has received several local and international grants and writing fellowships including The International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in 2007.

Kristine Fonacier is a food writer, travel writer and magazine editor whose works have been published in Lonely Planet, Smile, Mabuhuay, Esquire, Rogue, Pulp, and MTV Ink, among other publications. She is now associate editor at Women’s Health, while working on a book of travel stories.