Filbook Fest: Hot Off The Press Literary Readings

CEBU, Philippines - The first Filipino American International Book Festival (FilBookFest) will be held in San Francisco’s Civic Center on October 1 & 2, 2011. The book festival is the first-ever of its size and focuses on literature, music, art, and performances by and from Filipinos and Filipino Americans.

The book festival will take place in three adjacent locations in Civic Center: the San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin St., the Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., and on Fulton Street between Hyde and Larkin Streets. Lectures, author readings and panel discussions will take place through the Library; the Asian Art Museum will host culinary demonstrations and tastings; and booksellers, vendors and food booths will be located on Fulton Street.

Some 100 Filipino and Filipino American authors will be attending the Festival. Eighteen of these authors will be featured in two literary readings called HOT OFF THE PRESS, which will be held on October 1 and October 2, from 12-1:30 p.m. in the Koret Auditorium.

Those participating in HOT OFF THE PRESS include Tilay Angbetic who received her Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of the Philippines. After her year-long world tour with “Up With People,” Tilay moved to New York City, where she worked in the fashion industry and studied the craft of writing. She now lives in San Diego, pursuing her passions for writing, travel, photography, and food.  She will read from her new novel entitled, Love & Other Firsts.

Still another participant is Benito M. Vergara, Jr. who was born and raised in the Philippines, and is the author of Displaying Filipinos: Photography and Colonialism in Early 20th-Century Philippines (University of the Philippines Press, 1995) and Pinoy Capital: The Filipino Nation in Daly City (Temple University Press, 2009). He received his PhD in Anthropology from Cornell University and has taught Asian American Studies and Anthropology at different universities in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Two other featured readers in HOT OFF THE PRESS were born and raised in California. Tony Robles is a writer and activist. His poetry has appeared in numerous journals including DisOrient Journalizine, Pinoy Poetics, The Asian Pacific American Journal, and the anthology Seven Card Stud with Seven Manangs Wild. He is the author of the children’s books Lakas and the Makibaka Hotel and Lakas and the Manilatown Fish. Tony is an editor of Poor Magazine.

Peter Jamero is the eldest son of Filipino immigrants, and was raised on a Filipino farm worker camp in California. He is the founding national vice-president of the Filipino American National Historical Society and the author of Growing Up Brown: Memoirs of a Filipino American and Vanishing Filipino Americans: The Bridge Generation.

The hosts of HOT OFF THE PRESS are Cecilia Brainard and Veronica Montes. Cecilia Brainard is the multi-award author of eight books, and editor of ten more. Cecilia’s work has been widely anthologized; her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish.Veronica Montes’ short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies such as Growing Up Filipino, and Going Home to a Landscape. Her work has also been published in the literary journals Bamboo Ridge, Prism International, and maganda. She is co-author of the dugtungan (“connecting”) novel, Angelica’s Daughters.

These authors will read in the Saturday HOT OFF THE PRESS: Bob Flor, Janet Stickmon, Geraldine Solon, Marivi Blanco, Paulino Lim, Veronica Montes, Almia de los Santos, Peter Jamero, Tony Robles, and Gloria Ramos.

On Sunday, these authors will read in HOT OFF THE PRESS: Tilay Angbetic, Benito Vergara, Angela Narciso Torres, Reme Grefalda, Cecilia Brainard, Aileen Ibardaloza-Cassinetto, Marily Orosam and Myles Garcia.

Booksellers and organizations, such as Anvil, Philippine Expressions, Arkipelago, PALH, PAWWA, and others will have the authors’ books available.