TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Pinay Gathering 2018 at Philippine Expressions Bookshop #Literature

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Pinay Gathering 2018 at Philippine Expressions Bookshop #Literature

L-r: Linda Nietes, Tessie Jayme, Angela Narcisso Torres, Prosy Delacruz, Irene Suico-Soriano, Marianne Villanueva, and Cecilia Brainard

The 2018 Pinay Gathering at Philippine Expressions Bookshop featured Filipina writers and poets (in no particular order): Prosy Delacruz, Marianne Villanueva, Irene Suico-Soriano, Angela Narcisso-Torres, Tessie Jayme, and Cecilia Brainard.

I've participated in past Pinay Gatherings hosted by Bookstore owner Linda Nietes and her husband Robert Little, and these literary events are all successful, but I have to say that the event last Saturday was particularly enjoyable.

The program started with the gathering when people had the chance to mingle and enjoy the spread put out by Philippine Expressions. A reading by the six writers and poets followed. Linda Nietes introduced each writer who then did a literary reading for eight minutes. There was a lively Question and Answer that followed, after which there was Book Signing, and more socializing.

Here are some pictures taken at the Pinay Gathering at Philippine Expressions, hosted by Linda Nietes and Robert Little at the bookshop's address at 479 W. Sixth Street, Suite 105, San Pedro, CA 90731, tel: 1-310-514-9139.

Note the lovely Art Deco details of the historic building!

Thank you Linda Nietes and Robert Little for featuring me once again! I was delighted to share an excerpt from my recent novel, The Newspaper Widow (UST Publishing House, 2017).

Linda Nietes and Cecilia Brainard

l-r: Ming Menez, Prosy, Cecilia

Robert Little

Cecilia and Lynette Torres

Irene, Marianne, and Tessie

Angela

Philippine Expressions Bookshop displayed quite a number of my books. In the pictures below, I see Vigan and other Stories, When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, Angelica's Daughters: A Dugtungan Novel, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Growing Up Filipino II, Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites, Out of Cebu, A La Carte Food and Fiction, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, Finding God: True Stories of Spiritual Encounters, Behind the Walls: Life of Convent Girls, Cecilia's Diary, and Journey of 100 Years: Reflections on the Centennial of Philippine Independence.

Wow! Some of these titles are hard-to-find, so I'm delighted that the Bookshop carries a comprehensive collection of my titles.

Thank you, Linda!

#Philippine #literature #pinoylit #FilAm #novel #writer #Filipino #author #goodreads #librarians #poets #Filipina

Novel Excerpt from The Newspaper Widow: The Old Mansion Near the Plaza by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Novel Excerpt from Magdalena: Winning Hearts and Minds (1967) by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Fiction/short story: Friday Evening at the Seashore by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Fiction/short story: The Blue-Green Chiffon Dress by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books.. Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized. Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines. She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.