Manila International Literary Festival

Last week I attended and presented at the second Manila International Literary Festival, dubbed The Great Philippine Book Cafe. Sponsored by the National Book Development Board and held at the Ayala Museum, the three-day festival was a wonderful introduction to the Manila writing scene and a chance for me to meet some familiar and many new faces. The organizers did an outstanding job with the ambitious program, and I thank Neni Sta. Romana Cruz and Andrea Pasion-Flores for inviting me.

Day 1 I had no presentations so was able to mingle and listen to presentations. The keynote talk by Resil Mojares "Where in the World is the Filippino Writer?" was followed by "Writing from the Margins" featuring Pulitzer prize winners Junot Diaz and Edward P. Jones, including short readings of their work. Discussion ranged from similarities between the Philippines and the Dominican Republic, race as an undercurrent in the U.S., the authors' role models, the differences between short stories and novels, and the thinking groundwork for a novel (ten years of thinking for Edward P. Jones's The Known World).

Edward P. Jones and Junot Diaz

In the afternoon I floated a bit, and peeked in on "In Search of the Next Great Philippine Novel" with authors Jose Dalisay, Jr., Charlson Ong, Alfred Yuson and Edgar Samar.

Following those I attended the lively "Conversation with Junot Diaz." His talk covered his personal background, reading, writing, history and its interplay with writing, and the obligation for every artist to strive to do what no one else is doing. Powerful.

with Junot Diaz

Book blogger Tarie Sabido then introduced me to her circle of book blogging friends who took me out to sample a few Filipino dishes and a weng weng drink before I attended the dinner for speakers at the Ayala Library. 

with Tarie Sabido, standing, and book bloggers and friends

Day 2 I had three panel presentations. First was "The Stranger Experience" on writing away from home, cross-cultural experiences, and the multi-faceted immigration experience with Junot Diaz, Gemma Nemenzo and me.

with Junot Diaz and Gemma Nemenzo, Managing Editor of the U.S. magazine Filipinas

Next was a panel on writing for young adults with author Perpi Alipon-Tiongson and publisher RayVi Sunico.

with RayVi Sunico, Perpi Alipon-Tiongson and Tarie Sabido

Book bloggers then took me to Via Mare for more excellent Filipino food for lunch.

After lunch I caught part of "Of Folktales, Myths and Legends" featuring authors who have drawn inspiration from the folklore of the Philippines--I wished I'd been able to catch more about the intriguing tales and legends. And after that I presented on a panel "The Many Forms of the Novel" in which I spoke about writing in verse and read an excerpt from Orchards. I was pleased to meet Que Mai, poet from Vietnam and to come home with one of her books of poetry. I expect she'll be coming out with a novel in verse in the future... It was exciting to share the news of Thanhha Lai's National Book Award win with her on the day it was announced.

with poet Que Mai

That evening I was invited to the home of Yvette Fernandez, Editor-in-Chief of the Philippines Town and Country magazine. There I enjoyed a Filipino feast, a bit more conversation with Junot Diaz before he left for the airport, family conversations, and amazing mango, rice cake and turon (banana rolls).

Filipino hospitality

And I learned that there are some impressive beetles in the Philippines.

Friday morning I caught up with Nikki Torres, Assistant Regional Advisor of SCBWI Philippines, at an early breakfast meeting--it was so good to meet face to face. Next time I'm in the Philippines I hope to have more time to do an event with the chapter.

with Dominique (Nikki) Garde Torres

At the festival Day 3, I attended the panel "Mentoring the Writer" with Jayapriya Vasudevan and Priya Doraswamy of Jacaranda Press, Rachel Kahan, Senior Editor at G.P. Putnam, and Ravi Mirchandani, Editor-in-Chief of Atlantic Books U.K., which opened with a contract signing with crime writer F. H. Batacan.

Blurry, but a great celebratory moment with Priya Doraswamy and Jayapriya Vasudevan and F. H. Batacan, seated, with NBDB's Andrea Pasion-Flores and Neni Sta. Romana Cruz in the back

Ravi Mirchandani (Atlantic U.K.), Rachel Kahan (G. P. Putnam), Priya Doraswamy (Jacaranda Press), Jayapriya Vasudevan (Jacaranda Press) and author Jose Dalisay, Jr.

Next up was "A Conversation with Edward P. Jones" in which he shared his background and his amazing brain that held the details of his book The Known World for ten years before he began writing. He spoke on revision, the importance of reading, and the need for everyone to discover their talent. 

Edward P. Jones signing my books

Next I went to "So You Got Yourself Published. Now What?" with the same great panel of agents and editors. And finally I presented with author Carljoe Javier on teaching fiction writing. Great fun!

with Andrea Pasion-Flores, Executive Director of the NBDB, and author Carljoe Javier

And the amazing Tarie Sabido, book blogger extraordinaire, and Honeylein de Peralta, Managing Editor of Flipside Digital Content, then took me to Intramuros, the old walled city. Not ideal timing since it was dark and the fort was closed, but it was so nice to have a glimpse at the area, even at night. We had a perfect meal of Filipino specialties at Ilustrado to cap off my visit.

Tarie and Honey pore over the menu at Ilustrado

Excellent choices, Tarie!

I look forward to reading more stories from the Philippines and I believe that we will soon be seeing more and more literature coming from this multilingual, diverse and complex country. The Philippines has MA, MFA, and Ph.D. programs in creative writing. There is tremendous energy and drive in the writing community, and I predict that we'll soon see more of its talented authors emerging into the spotlight. Thank you, Manila!