Rocket Kapre – Fantastic Filipino Speculative Fiction

It’s that time of year once again (although it seems you’ll have a bit more time to prepare this year): the annual Philippine Speculative Fiction anthology is now open for submissions. This volume will be edited by Nikki Alfar and Kate Aton-Osias. Here’s the official call:

Editors Nikki Alfar and Kate Aton-Osias invite you to submit short fiction for consideration for Philippine Speculative Fiction volume 6.

Philippine Speculative Fiction is a yearly anthology series, which collects a wide range of stories that define, explore, and sometimes blur the boundaries of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and all things in between. The anthology has been shortlisted for the Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Award, and multiple stories from each volume have been cited in roundups of the year’s best speculative fiction across the globe.

First-time authors are more than welcome to submit; good stories trump literary credentials any time.

Submissions must be:

1. speculative fiction—i.e., they must contain strong elements or sensibilities of science fiction, fantasy, horror, magic realism, alternate history, folklore, superheroes, and/or related ‘nonrealist’ genres and subgenres

2. written in English

3. authored by Filipinos or those of Philippine ancestry

Submissions are preferred to be:

1. original and unpublished

2. no shorter than 1,000 words and no longer than 7,500

3. written for an adult audience

In all cases, these preferences can be easily overturned by exceptionally well-written pieces. In the case of previously-published work—if accepted, the author will be expected to secure permission to reprint, if necessary, from the original publishing entity, and to provide relevant publication information.

Submission details:

1. No multiple or simultaneous submissions—i.e., submit only one story, and do not submit that story to any other market until you have received a letter of regret from us.

2. All submissions should be in Rich Text Format (saved under the file extension ‘.rtf’), and emailed to kate.osias@gmail.com, with the subject line ‘PSF6 submission’.

3. The deadline for submissions is midnight, Manila time, November 15, 2010. Letters of acceptance or regret will be sent out no later than one month after the deadline.

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This coming Saturday is June 12, Independence Day here in the Philippines, an occasion well worth commemorating–and, for writers, perhaps commemorating in our own inimitable way. Last year, on my old blog “Bahay Talinhaga”, I invited people to celebrate independence day on Twitter by tweeting six word stories and tagging them with #RP612fic. Even on such short notice–I only had the bright idea a day before independence day–quite a few people chose to participate and we ended up with a hundred original micro stories, (some NSFW so ‘ware the link) give or take, which I personally found to be an excellent way to celebrate our independence.

So, as should be apparent by now, I’d like to do this again this year–and with more advance notice as well. For RP612Fic 2010, I’m doing away with the six word limit–any story which would fit a tweet with the #RP612fic tag will do, so 130 characters, regardless of how many words are included therein. Let’s start posting the stories on Friday, June 11, and I’ll wait until the afternoon of June 14 before putting all the tweets/stories together in a post. Aside from that time limit, there are no real rules, though obviously I’d love good spec fic micro stories about Filipinos/the Philippines–and I have a special love for alternative history stories at this time of year. (For instance, what if there had been perfect attendance at the House of Representatives when the Freedom of Information Bill was on the table last Friday?)

If you’re on Twitter, tag your stories with #RP612fic so I can compile them in a post. If you’re not on Twitter but would still like to participate, just shoot me an email before June 13 at rocketkapre[at] gmail.com and place “RP612fic” in the subject line and I’ll include these stories in the aggregation post.

So that’s it. I hope that all of you can participate and help spread the word. Looking forward to reading all your stories ^_^

(Image of old school Philippine soldiers from Filipiniana.net)

And we’re off! The reading period for Alternative Alamat opens today and will stay open until August 30, 2010. Guidelines can be found here.   I ask for your patience and forbearance, kind authors, should it take me a bit to reply to your submissions. For those still in need of ideas, never fear, there’s still quite a bit of time, and I’ll be posting a new aid, similar to the Myth List, on the site soon.

Good luck and write well everyone! Can’t wait to read your stories.

Estranghero Press has released a call for submissions for their newest anthology, and, as expected, this time the genre is science fiction–specifically science fiction featuring Filipino characters or the Filipino race (note that this criteria was not present in either their horror or secondary world fantasy anthologies). The title of the new anthology is Diaspora Ad Astra, and you can check the submission guidelines here.

[Note: If you want to head straight to the story guidelines, head here. If you'd like a bit of a background as to why I'm looking for this particular type of story, read on.]

The Philippines is blessed with a multitude of mythologies and legends, yet too few of these tales are known and read today. While it is understandable that the modern reader might find it difficult to relate to ancient oral tradition, we’ve all seen how the gods/goddesses and heroes/heroines of other cultures have remained relevant (or at least well-known) because of writers who incorporate the old myths and legends in modern tales. (See: The Percy Jackson series, or the many re-imaginings of the King Arthur myth.)

(Image from Komiklopedia)

My first encounter with our mythic heritage, outside of school (which tends to suck the joy out of many a topic), was one such re-imagining: Arnold Arre’s “The Mythology Class” (the original four issue version, not the collected graphic novel).  I loved that story to pieces (it was the first time a local work ever moved me to indulge in fan art and fan fic) and it remains dear to me as an example of how a well told story in the present can lead to an appreciation–even a hunger–for the foundational tales of our ancestors. A more recent example is Rochita Loenen-Ruiz’s Hi Bugan yi Hi Kinggawan over at Fantasy Magazine.

I think we need more Filipino tales in that vein–and with that in mind, I’d like to announce a call for submissions for Rocket Kapre’s first commercial anthology: Alternative Alamat.

But Mr. Editor, you say, I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I don’t know many of our myths and legends. I’ve anticipated this, dear writer–after all, I wouldn’t be trying to raise awareness about our mythic heritage if I felt it was already common knowledge–so what I’ve done is I’ve gone through my collection of books and done a bit of research online and in libraries, and I’ll be putting up the resulting list of myths and legends sometime this week. Somewhere down the line, I’ll also put up a similar list of Philippine deities.

So I’ll be doing my part, and I hope you’ll do yours. Submission guidelines are after the cut.

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Back from Tokyo (more on that later) and there’s a lot to catch up on, so let’s get to it.

• Rochita Loenen-Ruiz has a new story up on Fantasy Magazine “Hi Bugan yi Hi Kinggawan” based on the Ifugao legend. Fantasy Magazine also has an interview with her up.
• Budjette Tan is Author of the Month for April at Powerbooks
• On the topic of horror, Yvette Tan talks to Ige Ramos about ghosts
• Then it’s Yvette’s turn to get interviewed over at Filipinas Magazine
• Gerry Alanguilan and Gilbert Monsanto talk about the hard work involved in creating komiks.
• Gerry also talks about “The Need for Serious Criticism” in the komiks industry.
• Speaking of komiks, Carlo Vergara added a few more pages to the Zsazsa Zaturnnah sequel, Zaturnnah sa Maynila, viewable online. (Bringing the total up to 18)

Now, here are a few new-ish SF fiction markets (via the specficmarkets lj community) and a contest (via email from chiles samaniego):

• Basement Stories
• Giganotosaurus – long stories from 5,000 to 25,000 words, for a flat US$100.00
• The Campaign for Real Fear – FAQ is here – deadline is April 16.

Finally, some events to mark on your calendars (Let me know if I’m missing anything):

• April 17: The Summer Komikon 2010
• April 19 – 24: Scholastic Summer Warehouse Sale (via PGS)
• April 24: Launch of Philippine Speculative Fiction V (via PGS)

Just a quick note: Crossed Genres has currently opened for submissions to their Eastern-themed issue, which they’re loosely defining as any story set in an Eastern culture. Seeing as we are the Pearl of the Orient and all, I thought this would be right up the alley of most of our authors, so do try and send something to Crossed Genres before the end of March. Don’t forget to check out the submission guidelines first though.

Writing (and Writer) News:

• Dominique Cimafranca shares his presentation on Online Literature for the Tabaoan Writers Conference (yes, he does mentions us ^_^). The conference is ongoing at the moment, so do check Dom’s blog for coverage (he has Day 0 and Day 1 impressions up on his site.)
• Speaking of writers getting together, Ian Rosales Casocot has posted a call for submission of manuscripts to the 49th Silliman University National Writers Workshop.
• Ruin and Resolve contributor Catherine Batac Walder tells us she’s got a story out in this week’s Philippine Graphic. It’s entitled “Hey Soldier”. Congrats Catherine!
• In further congratulatory news, I’ve read that (via macoy’s blog) it seems that Gio Paredes’ Kalayaan indie superhero series might see some U.S. distribution.
• Via Yvette Tan’s, we’ve learned of Filipino Scares, a tumblr site with short (flash-length) horror stories.
• Over at the Philippine Genre Stories blog, Kenneth Yu has a post on ongoing local writing competitions, and another on a workshop for online writing from Luis Katigbak (the first is on the 15th).
• Kenneth also informs us that the launch of Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. V will take place on April 24, 2010, 3 p.m. at the UView Theatre of Fully Booked at Bonifacio Global City.

Events:

• For those looking for a twist on typical Valentine’s fare, science writer and curator of the upcoming Mind Museum (and friend of the site) Ms. Maria Isabel Garcia dropped us a line to let us know of When Love Falls an evening of love and science on February 12, where psycho-analyst Dr. Agnes Bueno will discuss love gone awry. You can see the poster here.
• I think we’ve mentioned it before, but let me remind everyone that KomiksTrip, the first UPLB comics convention, is taking place on February 13.
• Speaking of comics, the Renaissance Project, a comics/komiks event for the benefit of Filipino artists who have fallen on hard times, seems to be pushing through on February 20 21 at the SM Megamall Megatrade hall.

Reviews:

• Some reviews of interest over at Metakritiko (which I’ll be leaving soon, unfortunately. Although I’m sure you’ll all be pleased with the new man at the helm ^_^). I take on Lola by J. Torres and Elbert Or  (it’s also been reviewed by Ruel de Vera)
• Also on Metakritiko, Fidelis Tan reviews Underpass. You can actually read her favorite story of the lot (by the Trese pair of Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo here or here). Also on the channel, Mighty Rasing reviews Legion and Marrianne Ubalde praises Kapitan Sino.

The Philippine National Red Cross has a page up with information for those who want to help the people of Haiti in the wake of their worst earthquake in centuries. You can find that information here, but I also found a few other ways to help that might be of special interest to genre fans and creators.

First up, DriveThruRPG is selling a Gamers Helping Haiti bundle, where for a US$20 donation, you get to download a cornucopia of RPG ebooks with a total worth in excess of US$1000 (yes that’s one THOUSAND dollars). Even if you’re not a gamer, if you’re a writer you might find RPG source books can be a great way to jumpstart your imagination–I certainly read through dozens when I was young, even if I never used them in an actual game. The promotion lasts until the end of January, so please head on over and take a look.

Next, we have Crossed Genres’ Post a Story for Haiti initiative. Authors can post stories at their own sites and make them available for free online, then once they notify Crossed Genres the stories will be added to the list of stories already contributed (which includes stories from the likes of Jeff Vandermeer and Jay Lake) as an incentive for donors. If you’re a writer, feel free to contribute (and hey, let us know when you do), and if you’re a reader, why not use the stories as a way to reward yourself after sending in a donation?

If you guys know of any other ways to help, feel free to post in the comments. I’ll update this post if I stumble across any more that might involve the genre in an interesting or unique way.

(Image source: PNRC)

Our friends over at Estranghero Press have been busy lately, so I thought it might be best to gather some relevant updates in this post.

First off, everyone remembers that the deadline for story submissions for their Demons of the New Year anthology is on January 15 right?  Well if you didn’t remember, now you do, so no excuses. Procastinators and crammers (I think that covers about 90% of the people I know) have around five days to polish up those horror stories and send them to co-editors Joseph Nacino and Karl R. De Mesa.

Second, Estranghero Press now has a facebook page so go add them up if you’re a fan.

Third, head honcho Joseph Nacino has posted the digital press’ guidelines to shed some light on how it will be run and how often they plan to release new titles.