News and Events - Monica Macansantos

Monica Macansantos

"leaving god on cuba street" free to read on river styx website

3/6/2025

My short story "Leaving God on Cuba Street" originally came out in River Styx's print edition last year (Issue 108: "Chronicles") and after some waiting, it's finally free to read on the River Styx website! Follow Ruth, a Filipino-American woman trying to forge a path of her own in Pōneke/Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, while grappling with the ghosts of her evangelical Christian upbringing. It's rare that I read fiction about Filipinos in New Zealand, which was one of the reasons why I wrote this piece and fought for it through more than sixty rejections. You can read the full story here.

fun workshop at the writer's block!

3/2/2025

I'd like to thank Maegan of The Writer's Block Las Vegas for inviting me to help teach this workshop for teens! More information here.

see you at awp 2025 in los angeles!

2/22/2025

Just thought it best to push through with my AWP plans to bring some cheer to the Los Angeles community after the devastating fires. Though now I might have to get over my (recently awakened) fear of flying, or else go there by bus. Below are my two events:

1) AWP Panel (which I'll be moderating, woohoo!): "The Challenges to Speaking Our Truth: Filipino Women Writing Nonfiction" (Saturday, March 29, 2025, 9 am-10:15 am, Los Angeles Convention Center). With Laurel Flores Fantauzzo, Jen Palmares Meadows, Melissa Chadburn, and Anna Cabe

2) Offsite Reading With Storyknife Writers Retreat Alumnae. Thursday, March 27, 5-7 pm, First Draft DTLA (120 S Olive St.)--I'll be the first reader at this event!

3) Litowitz MFA + MA Faculty and Northwestern University Press Celebratory Reception. Thursday, March 27, 6:00PM-7:30PM, Los Angeles JW Marriott Hotel, Gold Ballroom 4 (I'll be there as a Northwestern University Press author, will just have to leave the Storyknife Reading earlyish)

kwentuhan at chikahan: spring 2025

2/21/2025

All events are free and open to the public--check the Black Mountain Institute events page for details on how to register.

interview with nevada public radio's desert companion

1/28/2025

This first aired on January 26 in Las Vegas! Have a listen if you'd like to know more about my work and my forthcoming book, Returning to My Father's Kitchen: Essays, which can be pre-ordered from Northwestern University Press and wherever good books are sold.

Black Mountain Institute Conversations, Season Two, Episode Two: Monica Macansantos

Many thanks to the Black Mountain Institute and KNPR Nevada Public Radio for this wonderful opportunity.

film thursdays at unlv: come watch "frantz" with me on february 6!

1/14/2025

Come watch a beautiful black and white WWI movie in German and French with me! Free and open to the public! More information here.

book giveaway!

12/31/2024

Pre-order my forthcoming essay collection, RETURNING TO MY FATHER'S KITCHEN, for a chance to win one of two SIGNED copies of my mother's book, DEPARTURES: ESSAYS, which won a Philippine National Book Award in 2023!
To enter this raffle, simply pre-order my book, RETURNING TO MY FATHER'S KITCHEN: ESSAYS, from the Northwestern University Press website, from your local indie bookstore, or from online retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, Thriftbooks, or Amazon. Then take a screenshot of your receipt, and send your receipt and name to me via private message or to my email, [email protected], on or before January 5 (US time). On that day, I will put all your names in a hat and randomly pick two winners. Shipping will also be on us. Everyone who enters the raffle before January 5 will be eligible for a signed bookplate from yours truly, as a token of appreciation for your support.

About my mother's book, Departures:
In this collection of essays, the author reflects on her life and times, including those of family members, whose lives were marked by departures from home, hometown and homeland. Woven into the fabric of individual lives are events and “upheavals” in history – the peasant unrest in the early 20th century, the war in the 1940s, martial rule, the 1990 Luzon earthquake, and the 2020 pandemic – leading to departure and separation. Macansantos writes with candor and melancholy, though not without hopefulness, because memory bears many gifts, including understanding and insight, and possibly, healing.

So what are you waiting for? Support Filipino authors and treat yourself to great literature! Please share with anyone who may be interested!

"leaving god on cuba street" in river styx issue 108

12/20/2024

River Styx issue 108, which is now available for pre-order and ships before Christmas, features my short story, "Leaving God on Cuba Street," which is my second published work of fiction about Filipinos in Aotearoa New Zealand. It was a pleasure to work with Fiction Editor Christa Fraser, who found my piece in the slush and generously worked with me to fine-tune the story's ending, and with Bryan Castille, River Styx's Managing Editor, who ferried this piece through the publication process.

The story will also appear online early next year, so stay tuned! (This won't be my last collaboration with River Styx, so stay tuned for more announcements.)

some of my activities with the black mountain institute

12/8/2024

I've been told that my reading series and book club, "Kwentuhan at Chikahan," is the most ambitious Shearing Fellow community engagement project yet, and I'm proud of what I've achieved so far by bringing Filipinos to talk and read from their work in Las Vegas, which has the eighth biggest Filipino community in the United States. In the spring, we will have Oliver de la Paz and Cherry Lou Sy--check the events page of the Black Mountain Institute for details on how to register! All events are free and open to the public.

As part of my fellowship duties, I am also judging this year's Witness nonfiction contest. Eight finalist entries have already been forwarded to me, and I'm very excited to dive in!

This is in addition to working on my in-progress manuscripts (a novel and story collection), class visits, and other activities. I am so grateful for this chance to make Las Vegas my home.

it's here! it's here!

11/21/2024

This book grew from my feelings of loss after my poet father's sudden passing in 2017--he was my first writing mentor, and my first mentor in the kitchen too. I honestly thought I'd never write again after his passing, but this book is proof that his spirit lives on, guiding and sustaining me as I continue to fight for my art.

Pre-order here and I will love you forever! And if you're strapped for cash, ask your local public or university library to buy it for you!