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.
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.
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Come watch a beautiful black and white WWI movie in German and French with me! Free and open to the public! More information here.
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! 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.) 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.
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. 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.
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:
More about the Black Mountain Institute's events here. 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!
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