News

For the latest news, please read and scroll below. For archived news, please visit the dropdown menu under the News tab. 

May 3, 2023

During AAPI Heritage Month, Filipina Authors Book Club has posted their 2023 Book Picks and have included We Are No Longer Babaylan this year. They have an amazing line-up of authors from Inang-bayan and the Diaspora. Please follow their Instagram page for updates. Agyamanac unay unay for continuing to read our stories and listening to our voices! 

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May 1, 2023

Honored to announce that my book review of Godshots Wanted: Apply Within by Emily Perkovich has found a home at Up the Staircase Quarterly’s Issue No. 61. The review can be accessed here.

In her stunning and raw poetry collection, published by Sunday Mornings at the River Poetry Press, Perkovich breaks down a seemingly simple religious notion of a godshot—a term used in substance abuse recovery—where a godshot for the nonbeliever seeking recovery and healing isn’t as simple to attain; where brokenness and healing are not a binary; and where addiction and recovery are an ongoing, fragile coexistence.

Also, in honor of May as National Mental Health Awareness Month, I hope you read the review with compassion and care, and I hope it inspires you to pick up Perkovich’s powerful collection, which can be purchased here.

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The New Rivers Press anthology, Unbound: Composing Home, is a finalist for the Nonfiction Anthology category of the Midwest Book Awards, of which Nayt Rundquist was our brilliant editor for gathering our stories together. My CNF flash piece, “First Home” appears in the anthology. The complete list of finalists can be accessed here.

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April 11, 2023

Honored to say my poem, “Notes To Past Self,” appears in the recently released anthology, Had I Known Before: A Collection Compiled by Unfolded Poetry Project (Esperanza Publishing).

As stated by the editors of the anthology, Victoria Lopez, Abigail Vela, Emmanuel Con Dos Emmes, Julia Paz Garza, Kenan Phillip, and Sonáli Chavez:

[The anthology is] a community of poets conversing about the hopes, dreams, and realities of having known before the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Had I Known Before features over 50 poets giving advice and reflections on what it means to experience heartbreaks, metamorphoses, and regrets. As you travel through this collection, you’ll find yourself among others that understand how heavy and beautiful this existence is. Had I Known Before is a place for us to witness how far we’ve come and to find the power to pick up our pens to share who we are by where we’ve been.

The anthology is a project that was created by Unfolded Poetry Project, a three-part poetry project focused on writing, listening, and speaking. Unfolded was founded by Victoria Lopez, McAllen’s Poet Laureate in Texas; Princess Cibeles Chavez, visual artist and Cybelle Arts owner; and Abigail Vela, multimedia artist and poet. Unfolded currently hosts poetry workshops and open mics for the local community. You can follow Unfolded Poetry Project at their Instagram page @unfoldedpoetryproject.

Had I Known Before is now available on Amazon. Please support by purchasing, spreading the word, and leaving a review.

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April 9, 2023

Happy to announce that “Honoring One’s Queen: A Book Review of Crescenciana by Kenneth Tan” has found a home at The Collidescope. Thank you to EIC George Salis for giving space to this book review. The review can be accessed here.

As stated in my review and for those who don’t already follow The Lola x Kenneth Collaboration, self-taught gifted artist and San Jose-based author, Kenneth Tan, delivers his long-awaited debut memoir, Crescenciana, which chronicles the inspiring life of his beloved grandmother, Crescenciana Carbonel Tan, otherwise affectionately known in Tagalog as “Lola.” Filled with over 80 full-color illustrations, the book displays their art collaboration during the last few years of her life, a collaboration that continues today even after her death as Tan has promised to finish every painting she started. A poignant family saga that spans four generations, Crescenciana illuminates how we can still be in the presence of our loved ones, even when they have crossed over to the Great Unknown.

Please pick up a copy and support this beautiful book.

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March 29, 2023

My speculative CNF flash piece, “Manananggal” first appeared in the Canadian literary journal, Canthius, in Issue No. 8 back in 2020. It has been digitally reprinted on the Canthius website for your immediate viewing access here.

This piece is not to be confused with other Manananggal pieces I’ve written. She’s a complex being who deserves her own epic volumes. If you were at my AWP off-site reading in Seattle this year, I read this piece to a full room where gasps were shared. Good times. This piece centers on a woman struggling with infertility, believing she holds the duality of being a Manananggal who keeps devouring her unborn children month after month.

If you end up loving this piece in that special kind of Manananggal way, please consider purchasing the issue here.

Agyamanac unay. The Manananggal and I thank you.

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March 15, 2023

A bit of news this mid-March.

Just coming back from a spectacular time at AWP in Seattle, and wanted to share what an amazing, powerful night I had to read alongside Abby Minor, Erin Lynch, and the legendary trailblazing Judith Arcana for a Shout Your Abortion event.

So much love and gratitude to all our dear friends and supporters who showed up where it got to be standing room only (all seats taken) and to Creature Consignment for providing us a warm and welcoming place. What a turn out! Also, huge thanks to Abby Minor for putting together this very necessary event amidst these times alongside the lovely and always brave Shout Your Abortion founder Amelia Bonow and Lila Bonow.

We Are No Longer Babaylan made an appearance and of course there was a special nod to our dark angel and fetus-eater, the Manananggal, for where would we be without Her when we talk about abortion.

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We Are No Longer Babaylan makes it on CLMP’s Reading List for Women’s History Month 2023 for Nonfiction! The complete Reading List for Women’s History Month can be accessed here.

Thank you for continuing to read and support!

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And the last bit of news but certainly not least: New Rivers Press’ anthology, Unbound: Composing Home, is a finalist for the Anthologies category for the Foreword Reviews INDIES Awards!

My piece, “First Home,” appears in this anthology along with a stellar line-up of NRP authors. Here’s to my Unbound family and special thanks to Managing Editor Nayt Rundquist for bringing our stories of home together.

Winners in each genre—along with Editor’s Choice Prize winners and Foreword’s Independent Publisher of the Year—will be announced June 15, 2023. The complete list of anthology finalists can be found here.

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February 24, 2023

Honored to say my flash lyrical piece, “Roots,” appears in Sunflower Station Magazine’s most recent issue, Issue 03: RITUALS AND CEREMONIES. In response to their theme, “Roots” examines conception, pregnancy, and birth as rituals in themselves.

So excited to be included in this amazing line-up of contributors, and huge thanks to my editor, PJ Zettle, for seeing the beauty in my little experimental piece.

Please read and support by picking up a copy here. Preorders will ship in early April.

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February 22, 2023

For folks attending AWP in Seattle, I’ll be there and reading off-site at a Shout Your Abortion event. Hope to see you there.

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January 13, 2023

Happy New Year!

Proud to see that my first pub this year is this book review published in Bridge Eight that I did for People Want To Live by Farah Ali. The review can be accessed here.

In her debut short story collection published by McSweeney’s, Farah Ali honors her homeland by stepping away from the media sensationalism which usually paints Pakistan as a place filled with political unrest, and instead Ali delves into the intimacies and intricacies of its citizens, specifically in the city of Karachi, where readers are compelled to consider the complexity of each character’s circumstances.

Ali is a compelling storyteller that I hope you give her stories a read and pick up a copy of People Want To Live.