News and Events - Monica Macansantos

Monica Macansantos

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!

Book events in nevada: nevada lit crawl in reno (October 12), las vegas book Festival (october 19)

10/4/2024

If you told me a few months ago that my schedule would be this booked, and that I'd be attending TWO literary festivals in addition to curating my own reading series featuring Filipino authors, I wouldn't believe you at all. But I'll take it! Here is my Nevada literary festival schedule for 2024:

1) Nevada Lit Crawl 2024, Reno, Nevada (October 12, 2024): This is the second Lit Crawl I've attended ever, after Lit Crawl Wellington in New Zealand (2017, a lifetime ago). I'll be on two panels: one about food writing with Kim Foster, author of The Meth Lunches, and another about landing in Las Vegas, together with my fellow BMI fellows Alejandro Heredia and Maryam Ala Amjadi. More information about the festival, including the full program and a map, can be found here.

2) Las Vegas Book Festival, October 19, 2024--details on registering and schedules here.

Title: Publishing 101: Are We There Yet?
This is the panel where writers share what they wished they would've known about publishing when they began their journey. They'll also share their joyful publishing milestones.

 Vogue M. Robinson - Moderator
 Alejandro Heredia
 Elizabeth Allen Berry
 Ellen Neuborne (Ghostwriter)
 KP Simmon
 Sarah Lohman
 Monica Macansantos

Date: Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024
Panel Time: 11:45 am - 12:30 pm
Location: Historic Fifth Street School
401 South 4th Street Las Vegas, NV 89101
Internal Festival Location: Downtown Tent
Book Signing: Directly following the reading.

talking about love and other rituals with the boston filipino-american book club

10/4/2024

Grateful to Bren Bataclan of the Boston Filipino-American Book Club for taking up Love and Other Rituals! I'll be meeting the crew virtually on October 5, 7 pm Eastern/4 pm Pacific. More about BFAB here.

kwentuhan at chikahan: a las vegas filipino book club

9/26/2024

As part of my Shearing Fellowship at UNLV's Black Mountain Institute, I am convening a series of author events and book club meetings collectively called, "Kwentuhan at Chikahan: A Las Vegas Filipino Book Club." In the fall, we'll be inviting Mia Alvar and Grace Talusan to read from and talk about their work, while in the spring, we'll be welcoming Oliver de la Paz and Cherry Lou Sy. For my fall events, please refer to the links below:

Thursday, October 17 from 5 - 6:30 PM, we will host a read-aloud book club about the work of Mia Alvar in the BMI Library (Rogers Literature and Law Building on the UNLV campus). No RSVP required. Refreshments will be served!
October 29 virtual event, at noon Pacific: Mia Alvar in Conversation with Monica Macansantos. Free to attend, RSVP required.
Sunday, November 17 from 3 - 4:30 PM, we will host a read-aloud book club about the work of Grace Talusan at the East Las Vegas Library in the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. No RSVP required.
An Evening with Grace Talusan and Monica Macansantos: In-person event, December 3, 7 PM Pacific in the Rogers Literature and Law Building in room 101 (RLL 101) on the UNLV campus.

More about the Black Mountain Institute's events here.

awarded shearing fellowship at the black mountain institute

6/6/2024

I can finally share news I've been holding onto for a month and a half--that I'll be moving to Las Vegas in August to be a Shearing Fellow with the Black Mountain Institute at UNLV! I will be there for one academic year to work on a new novel and new story collection, while directing literary programming for the Filipino community (and beyond) in Las Vegas and Southern Nevada. I am eternally grateful to the Shearing Fellowship's selection committee for taking a chance on me, to my references for being absolute troopers and doing lengthy phone interviews with BMI on my behalf (I owe you my life), and to all the institutions and communities that have supported my work through the years. Thank you to my family, mom and dad, cousins, titos, and titas!

"Writing the coming-of-age story": a workshop at the university of melbourne

5/28/2024

Happy faces after my May 8 writing workshop at the University of Melbourne titled "Writing the coming-of-age story"! We read and discussed stories from Fiona McFarlane's The High Places and Lysley Tenorio's Monstress, before responding to writing prompts inspired by these stories ("Cara Mia" and "Those Americans Falling from The Sky" by McFarlane; "The View from Culion" by Tenorio). Our conversations were lively and energetic, and I'm grateful to have been given the opportunity to spend an afternoon with these wonderful young Australian writers.

author visit at the university of melbourne

4/21/2024

I'm pleased to share that I'll be visiting Melbourne, Australia to talk about my first book, Love and Other Rituals, with students and faculty at the University of Melbourne! This reading and Q&A on May 9 will be moderated by author and professor Julienne van Loon, and is hosted by the School of Culture and Communications. In addition to this, I'll be teaching a writing workshop for students of the Masters programme in creative writing and publishing. Much gratitude to my publisher, Grattan Street Press, for arranging these events and funding my trip to Australia!

My May 9 event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Review of "in everything i see your hand" up on colorado review website

4/21/2024

I first came across Naira Kuzmich's work while reading The Hopkins Review, which published her essay, "On Borders," (currently free to read) in its Winter 2023 issue. I was impressed by her writing and saddened to learn that she had passed away in 2017. I sought out her debut story collection, In Everything I See Your Hand (published posthumously by University of New Orleans Press), and was astonished by the beauty of her stories. Saddened by the knowledge that she was no longer around to share more of her brilliance with us, I decided to write a review of her book, and Colorado Review was kind enough to pick it up. I highly recommend this story collection about the Armenian-American experience--read my review here.

an acceptance from river styx!

2/15/2024

It took us three years and nearly sixty rejections for us to get here, but my story, "Leaving God on Cuba Street," finally has a home with one of my dream journals, River Styx! Really excited to bring this new story about a recovering Filipino-American evangelical, struggling to find her sense of self in New Zealand, into the world. Stay tuned!

My events at awp 2024

1/21/2024

Heaps of thanks to the folks at Colorado Review and Another Chicago Magazine for inviting me to take part in their offsite readings, to Another Chicago Magazine, for inviting me to sign copies of my book at their bookfair table, and to Grace Loh Prasad for inviting me to read my work on the AWP panel, "Bad Immigrant Daughters in Fiction and Nonfiction." If you're headed to this year's AWP in Kansas City, you'll know where to find me!

1. February 8, 2024, 12 noon to 1:30 pm: AWP Offsite Reading with Another Chicago Magazine & JackLeg Women Writers, Kansas City Public Library, Helzberg Auditorium (5th floor). With Dr. Taylor Byas, Jessica Cuello, Suzanne Frischkorn, Rita Mookerjee, Melissa Studdard, Gemini Wahhaj, and Karen Rigby. Free and open to the public, but registration is required via Eventbrite.

2. February 8, 2024, 1:45 pm to 3:00 pm: AWP Panel, "Bad Immigrant Daughters in Fiction and Nonfiction." Room 2211, Kansas City Convention Center, Street Level. With Grace Loh Prasad, Lisa Chiu, Putsata Reang, and Lindsay Wong. More info here.

3. February 9, 2024, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm: AWP Offsite Reading with Colorado Review, Parlor Press and Futurepoem. Torn Label Brewing Co, 1708 Campbell, Kansas City 64108. With Kazim Ali, John Gallaher, Gale Marie Thompson, Sasha Steensen, Kylan Rice. Aby Kaupang, Matthew Cooperman, Daniel Bourne, Molly Spencer, Manuel Paul López, Stephon Lawrence, and Isabel Sobral Campos.

4. Thanks to the generosity of Another Chicago Magazine, I'll be signing copies of my debut story collection, Love and Other Rituals, at their bookfair table! That will be on Saturday, February 10, from 12 to 1:30 pm, at table T1820.